Home Pittsburg Bonilla and Frazier Budget Town Hall Packs The House

Bonilla and Frazier Budget Town Hall Packs The House

by ECT

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In a standing room only Budget Town Hall, Assemblymember’s Susan Bonilla (D-Concord) and Jim Frazier (D-Oakley) discussed the state budget and collected feedback with the independent, nonpartisan organization, Next 10.

The event was so popular; people who showed up late had to be turned away as there was little standing room available.

Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla shared a brief introduction of how Sacramento interacts between the Assembly, Senate and the Governor.

“It was great to see so many engaged students and community members making decisions on the details of the state budget,” said Bonilla.

Meanwhile Frazier added that when true compromise occurs, no one is happy because you don’t get everything you want—he did add its just part of the process in working through bills.

At the event, constituents will be given response clickers that allow them to vote on policy options and see the results instantly. They will have the opportunity to choose how much they would spend on schools, prisons, the environment, and other state programs

“It’s refreshing to see such a large turnout where the community is interested in the budget and how Sacramento works. I was very impressed and happy to answer some really thought out questions,” said Assemblyman Jim Frazier.  

Milton Clarke, Los Medanos Political Science Professor, shared how wonderful the event is for his students because local elected officials typically attend. It’s now transformed into a semiannual activity.

“Assemblywoman Bonilla has been a regular guest, and I am sure the students hope to see more of Assemblyman Jim Frazier in the future.  Not unlike past forums, this event with Bonilla and Frazier generated some great questions from students in attendance.  One student, for example asked What is being done to make pre-school mandatory and how will it be funded?” Another student wondered How feasible is a single-payer plan for Medical?  One reoccurring theme among the all questions was exemplified by one student who asked “How do we as taxpayers know that all of the money is really going towards what it’s said to be going towards?” explained Clarke.

Here are a few photographs from the event:

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