Assemblymember Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) issued the following response to Governor Brown’s State of the State address:

“California has faced enormous challenges in recent years: structural deficits, declining revenues, and an economy hit hard by the housing meltdown. But I agree with the Governor that California is on the mend.

“Many of us have been hit hard by the Great Recession, and getting out of it will require sacrifice from all sides. That is why I support the Governor’s plan to raise revenues from high-income earners. The stakes are simply too high for working Californians, many of whom I am proud to represent in the 51st District, to place the burden of recovery on their backs alone.

“I am inspired by the Governor’s commitment to education. In order to facilitate a strong recovery that includes all Californians, we will need a world-class education system. The Governor highlighted many California companies—Facebook, Apple, and Intel among them—that lead California’s innovation economy. If we are to continue to be the leading edge in technology and creativity, we must prepare our students for the economy of the future. That is why I am so passionate about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

“The emerging green technology sector that the Governor highlighted will also depend on a STEM-ready workforce. And a workforce that is well trained in STEM will be better equipped to meet the other challenges the Governor outlined for the coming year: water reform, high speed rail, and renewable energy.

“Education investments also have the added benefit of reducing crime and recidivism. The Governor said, and I agree, that we must reduce California’s nation-leading 70% recidivism rate. Ensuring equal access to quality education is an integral part of that goal. We know that education reduces crime rates; in fact, 75% of prison inmates do not have a high school education. While prisons are eating up a growing size of our budget, schools are being cut. To address both issues,  we must focus on books, not bars.

“While the Governor has laid out an ambitious and admirable plan for California, more needs to be done to protect our most vulnerable. Affordable housing is in jeopardy in California. Local governments, particularly in my district, are worried they will not be able to continue affordable housing projects, which are necessary to keep Californians out of poverty and provide badly needed jobs in our ailing construction sector.

“Projects like these are productive—they stimulate jobs in the housing and construction industry, and they keep people off of the streets and other state programs. While we need to trim waste, we must examine the budget proposals carefully to make sure that cuts do not do more harm than good.

“I look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to ensure we cut and raise revenue responsibly, while achieving our shared goals of job creation, renewable energy, improving education, and reducing recidivism.”

Assemblymember Steven C. Bradford represents the 51st Assembly District, comprised of the cities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, and Inglewood, and the communities of Athens, Lennox, South Central LA, Westchester, Willowbrook, Playa Vista, and parts of Ladera Heights and West Compton.