U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal, State Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell and 8th District Long Beach Councilmember Al Austin discussed issues and achievements in recent months that included the state budget, education and local happenings, among other items, during a Coffee and Conversation event at the Expo Arts Center.
The three officials and attendees grabbed complimentary coffee and pastries before sitting down in a theatre room— set in a Guardians of the Galaxy vibe for a performance later that night— in order to discuss and hear about legislative issues at the state and local level.
Local
Austin praised the civic engagement in the 8th-district community. He said that in the past few months, it was as if every concern and interaction in Long Beach City Council meetings were in regard to the 8th district, and Austin was glad to know the community was becoming more involved, he said.
“People are becoming more informed about every issue,” Austin said. “Whatever the issue is, whatever its impact, our residents are informed, and we worked really hard so that you are informed.”
The councilmember also praised the success of the First Fridays Art Walk, senior activities in the Expo Arts Center and local happenings around the 8th district.
On a more challenging front, Austin brought up the noise issue with Long Beach Airport.
“The airport won’t go away,” Austin said. “It’s an issue that I’ve done my best to prepare for… I know that is a very, very sensitive issue for a lot of residents… We know the data says the flights are getting quieter; they don’t sound quieter.”
Austin said that a feasible solution is in the works, but he asked those in attendance to stay informed on the issue and to stay patient. The Long Beach City Council will continue to cover the topic in its meetings in the near future, he added.
State
O’Donnell discussed some of his personal connections with some of the state’s issues. He said the state budget is “healthy, and that we need to make sure it stays that way.”
He added that there is a lot of money, and it needs to be spent wisely. On the topic of having money to spend, O’Donnell transitioned into his work with education. He said that his primary goal is to close the achievement gap.
“English-language learners and low-income students are not performing the same as others,” said the veteran high school teacher. “So it’s my job to have a little focus on that.”
Having more music and arts in the classroom is another aim of O’Donnell’s, as well. “They can write, I know that. They can read, I know that. But I want to see them grow as people,” he said of students.
With that being said, O’Donnell was quick to bring up that there is a pending teacher shortage coming.
“The state needs to act,” O’Donnell said. “I will be a voice in that action. We’re trying to come up with a plan on how to encourage others to become teachers.”
Enrollment in teacher-credential programs is down 70 percent, according to O’Donnell. He said that the need for teachers is rising. One reason he gave is that all of those teachers from the baby-boomer generation are beginning to retire.
“Just not a lot of people want to become teachers,” he said. “In fact, the average teacher doesn’t last five years in the classroom. And it’s not just money. [Critics are saying] ‘You’ve got to raise the salary. You’ve got to raise the salary.’ Yeah, you probably have to do some of that, but you also need to build a pathway for people to become teachers that is a little bit smoother than it has been in the past.”
Federal
Lowenthal conversed about his time working on the state level, as well as his relationship with people.
What struck Lowenthal, he said, was that the significant key to working on any field on the political spectrum was that relationship between people and officials.
“The critical issue that confronts our nation is the lack of trust between people and their elected officials,” he said. “They feel like they don’t listen to them because they are not accountable to them.”
He said that he spends a lot of time with people and helping them with their problems and assisting in finding solutions.
Lowenthal emphasized relationships, and in doing so, he talked about his work with others on profound legislation on climate change and foreign affairs.
As far as Lowenthal’s focus goes, he is set on figuring out the causes of climate change, and then using that information to contribute and find solutions to reducing climate damage and the spread of pollution.
Lowenthal’s work with foreign affairs coincides with his work on human-rights issues on a global scale, he said. One course of action he gave as an example was his support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in Iran. He said a majority of the nations in the
world supported this action.
Details will become available as time passes, he said.
Audience engagement
The audience was given the opportunity to ask a few questions as the event started to wind down. One community member asked about any pending legislation for LGBT rights in regard to anti-discrimination and employment, as his hypothetical concern was that “a gay couple could get married on a Sunday, they could receive a notice of eviction on a Monday and lose their jobs on a Tuesday.”
Lowenthal responded by saying that recently there have been some “historic changes,” and that he agrees that there is still a need for more rights within the LGBT community.
He said that a comprehensive bill is in process for this year and in this session to make sure the LGBT community is given proper protection as far as housing and jobs go.
Another person questioned O’Donnell on AB708, which would require manufacturers of cleaning products to label their formula, and whether or not he had an update on it. O’Donnell admitted to needing more research on the matter before he could make a decision or hold a stance on it. He did commend the woman who posed the question for going through the proposed steps prior to the event in order to get the issue across to him.
