Speakers tackle California’s top issues at #CAPriorities summit — Here’s what readers said

Michael Mott

Housing. Transportation. Proposition 13.

The most challenging issues facing California’s crisis in affordability were at the forefront of Thursday’s California Priorities Summit as part of the California Influencers Series.

Michelle McGruder came from Vallejo. Juan Novello and Maureen White participated between meetings.

“Why am I here? Because Latino communities and their economic growth matter in the development of our state,” Novello said.

White said everything affecting Californians affects students, giving the summit relevance to her work at the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

“We’ve inherited a lot of the messes of our state. Our taxes are already high. Do I want to be part of the solution? Yes. Tell me how. We need to be part of this conversation,” White said.

Are you interested in attending future events like this? Follow our California Influencers newsletter.

Topic experts, stakeholders and community members weighed-in on the mounting issues, from California’s growing housing crisis to needed funding for schools and transportation.

“We can’t build bedrooms in the Central Valley and only boardrooms in Silicon Valley. We need to build homes in communities throughout our state that working families can afford,” said @CarlGuardino.

Amy Chance, political editor for The Sacramento Bee, poses a question to Ted Lempert, president for Children Now, during the panel addressing Proposition 13 at the California Priorities summit, part of The Sacramento Bee’s Influencer Series, on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, at The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts in Sacramento.
Amy Chance, political editor for The Sacramento Bee, poses a question to Ted Lempert, president for Children Now, during the panel addressing Proposition 13 at the California Priorities summit, part of The Sacramento Bee’s Influencer Series, on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, at The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts in Sacramento.

An audience member asked, “We have a love affair with our cars in California. What about Elon Musk’s hyperloop?”

”I’m all for high-speed alternatives to air transit - if that’s high-speed rail or the hyperloop, I’m all for it,” said @DelChiaroSolar.

Who are our 2019 California Influencers? Meet them here

Asked about school funding and Proposition 13, the panelists differed:

“People were literally being taxed out of their homes,” when Prop. 13 passed @JonCoupal said. “This will be interesting to see some of this re litigated and discussed for those of us who believe in Prop. 13,” said @RobStutzman.

“In 1978 I was a high school student. We had school nurses. We had small class sizes. In the 40 years since Prop. 13 we have plummeted to the bottom of school test scores,” replied @CatherineVLew.

Read on for the highlights on Twitter from local readers, experts and advocates:

Are you interested in attending future events like this? Follow our California Influencers newsletter.