SACRAMENTO – California State Association of Counties
(CSAC) issues the following reaction to the Interim Report from
the Governor’s Council of Regional Homeless Advisors.
Counties are the service providers in our communities and will
continue to lead to tackle the crisis of our time, homelessness.
The state, counties, and cities have made strides but more is
needed to build on the existing system. We all have a stake and
responsibility; and solutions must balance
responsibilities with the resources, authority, and
accountability to ensure success.
Progress on homelessness requires all levels of government to
step up and deliver. Counties appreciate the
leadership of the Governor and the Council of Homelessness
Advisors and are prepared to collaboratively charge ahead
thoughtfully and aggressively to make progress on
homelessness.
California’s Counties support Governor Gavin Newsom’s $222.2
billion budget proposal, especially the significant investments
in areas of key county priorities: homelessness, healthcare,
wildfire preparedness and resiliency, and criminal justice.
“The state budget underscores the interconnectedness between the
state and counties in improving the lives of Californians and
implementing statewide initiatives,” said CSAC President and
Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett. “Thanks in part to CSAC’s
ongoing advocacy and education efforts, the 2020-21 budget
invests in critical areas like homelessness and housing, wildfire
prevention and resiliency, and criminal justice to further
provide vital services to our communities.”
The Employee Relations policy area falls under the jurisdiction
of the Government Finance and Operations (GFO) Policy Committee
and is responsible for all issues related to public employment
and retirement. Specific issues areas are pension benefits and
pension system administration; labor relations; issues regarding
county negotiations with employees; workers’ compensation; and
other risk management issues facing public employers.
We kicked off January with a video and blog to introduce
new CSAC President and Orange County Supervisors, Lisa Bartlett.
Now that we’re two weeks in to 2020, we’re turning the spotlight
on to the newest member of the CSAC Officer Team: Second Vice
President and Siskiyou County Supervisor Ed Valenzuela.
An AT+T lineman for more than 30 years before entering public
service, Valenzuela would attend city council meetings in his
telecom territory to immerse himself in local issues. He did a
brief stint on Mount Shasta’s Planning Commission and eight years
on the Mount Shasta City Council before running for Supervisor,
where he’s currently running for his fourth term. Valenzuela says
his lineman role set him up for success as an elected official
because it provided the opportunity to meet all kinds of people
and form a broad perspective on needs and issues.
“As a Supervisor and as a lineman, helping all sorts of people
stay connected is a big part of the job requirement,” said
Valenzuela. “At AT +T it was more a matter of keeping equipment
working properly. It is my job as a Supervisor to ensure my
constituents stay educated and informed on local issues. But
there are certainly similarities between both careers as far as
working with people and communicating with them.”
