Assemblymember Anthony Portantino

Despite the fact they come from different political parties, there were parts of Anthony Portantino's talk at the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce government forum on Thursday that sounded very similar in tone to the talk given by Anthony Adams at the same venue in September.

Adams (R-59th district), told the forum three months ago that there were three factors that were driving the budget crisis, the third of which was a problem with the leadership in Sacramento.

"It has been incredibly difficult to have a substantive dialogue, because every time you think you're getting close to some kind of deal, he goes and drops a bomb on you, and throws you under the bus. We have really struggled this year with this, as late as just last night, we're having Schwarzenegger come out publicly and badmouth Republicans and Democrats, suggesting that if he just bullies us, that that will somehow bring us to the table. Well all that's done is create a unified enemy, and that's not the kind of leadership we need right now. Right now we need somebody who has the ability to bring people together, bring them to the table and have a meaningful discussion, and that's really been absent and very, very frustrating."

Portantino, a Democrat representing the 44th Assembly district, told the crowd on Thursday that "There's a lot of camaraderie between the individual members (of the Assembly)...I don't know if you read in the papers today, there doesn't seem to be a lot of camaraderie between the Governor and the individual members…"

"I think it was in the Sac Bee this morning, talking about how when Arnold got elected there was some hope that his personality would build some relationships but he doesn't seem to be doing that, when he recently met with the Republican caucus, they wore name badges, just to say to him that he didn't even know who they were."

"The other night I was talking with the Republican leader…he said he was disappointed that the other night the Republican caucus had their welcome dinner for all of their new members and he didn't even show up for the dinner to say hello to his own teammates…In California, the budget requires two thirds, which means it's a bi-partisan problem, it requires Republicans and Democrats to work together to solve this problem, and what we've had in the past is we've had a framework where that bi-partisanship could actually work. And a lot of that comes from the Chief Executive, having relationships with both parties to bring that bi-partisan spirit together, because the problems are serious, the problems are real."

He then discussed the fact that California funds education at 46th in the nation, a full $2,000 per student lower than the national average, and that those folks who believe that cutting education further is going to harm the state's economy because of a less educated populace, are willing to spend the money on education, where those who don't believe the state's economy will be harmed are not willing to spend the money and want to cut deeper into education.

He pointed out that seven of ten kids in the foster care system end up in jail, and that there are folks who look at the economics of the situation and say there has to be a better way and are willing to invest money in the system to try to reduce the percentage of foster children that are incarcerated, creating taxpayers instead of inmates that cost the state a tremendous amount of money to maintain.

He expressed frustration that there is no "global economic discussion to where the public buys into what we're trying to do." He referenced Gov. Pat Brown's vision for California in the 1960s which he defined, and got the public to buy into the concept, and were willing to finance it, leading to the prosperity of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

"So we have a situation now where people don't trust the economics because we don't spend enough time articulating why we have to do what we have to do. Last week there was a proposal on the table to try to cut a big chunk of this deficit away, we proposed a balance of $8 billion in cuts, and $8 billion in revenue, to try to deal with some of this situation, the idea was let's share the burden, let's share the pain. Unfortunately, again in my opinion, that bi-partisan framework provided by the Chief Executive to see that something could get done, wasn't there, and if you read in the papers the next day, the Governor had some very nasty things to say about the legislature, calling us kindergartners, saying we didn't take any thing seriously. Well that's not leadership."

He went on to state that California faces an aging population, which means that we will need to be bringing more people into the work force, adding that losing members of the work force decreases the tax base for the state.

In addition, due to the aging population, there is a need for more health care professionals, but the state is falling short in that department, 17,000 doctors short of what we need to meet the demands of an aging population, with fifty-seven different allied health professions that have job shortages. He added that even farmers driving tractors now have to know how to use computers to handle the GPS systems, and you need to know chemicals because of the fertilizers.

"It takes more than just a high school diploma to even drive a tractor…so we have to look at community colleges as a key component of fueling the economic engine that's again going to make all of us be better, so I look at that and I say should we be cutting community colleges today? No, because that's not in our economic health and welfare to be doing that, because where are those jobseekers going to come from if we don't see them get educated? Should we be cutting the Cal State system, where 80% of the teachers who teach in California come from? …Believe me I don't like raising people's taxes unnecessarily, but I also don't like an economy that's not going to be turning the corner where we're all going to be better off. So what's missing in the dialogue is that conversation, is what's in the best interest of the economy, what's in the best interest of the people, what's in the best interest of the state of California, absent the bi-partisan bickering, and absent the finger-pointing from the Governor."