Today I attended the 14th annual Perspectives. That’s the all day event of excellent speakers put on by the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

This year’s was one of the better Perspectives with a great line-up of speakers. But what I thought about a lot wasn’t the event itself, but the guy who is responsible for it, my good friend Rusty Hammer.

I could say that I started Perspectives. It’s kinda true. The first and founding edition of the event was in 1995, the year I was President of the Chamber.  Certainly it’s why the event is uniquely special to me.  However, the assertion would be self aggrandizement to an absurd degree.  The major accomplishments of “my” year as President of the Chamber were due to Rusty Hammer’s energy and creativity.  I will take credit for recognizing his creative energy and allowing it to flourish.

But back to Rusty.  We (the Chamber Board) hired Rusty to run the Chamber in 1994.  His first full year as CEO was the year I was Chamber President.  What a whirlwind year that was and what great memories I have.  In addition to Perspectives, we founded the World Trade Center for Sacramento, celebrated anniversaries and set attendance records for every major Chamber function.  I learned much from Rusty, grew to immensely admire his capacity for accomplishment and we became fast friends.

Rusty made his mark on Sacramento in the few years he ran the Chamber.  Then his talent was spotted by the Los Angeles Chamber who gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.  When he moved to L.A. I was sad to see him go, but vicariously anxious to watch from afar the success that I knew Rusty would have on a bigger stage.

Then tragedy struck.  Shortly after arriving in the south state, Rusty was diagnosed with Leukemia.  My bittersweet sadness with his departure from Sacramento turned to devastation.  The knowledge I gained from my longtime association with the Leukemia/Lymphomia Society gave me little encouragement for Rusty’s chances.

Rusty Hammer fought Leukemia with the same vigor he attacked life.  During that time he amazed everybody by continuing to add to his considerable life achievements, including writing a book, When Cancer Calls, Say Yes to Life, which I emphatically recommend.  In fact, he actually beat the disease.  Unfortunately, the treatment and its side effects were eventually too much even for Rusty.  He succumbed to a myriad of ailments through which he suffered with characteristic grace, dignity and good humor.

So back at the wonderful event that is Perspectives.  It is actually far from Rusty’s greatest accomplishment, but still a signature event through which his legacy will endure in Sacramento

These are tough times for many.

That’s why I am working to strengthen the economy, keep good paying jobs in
our state, and keep taxes down.

It¹s why I opposed job-killing schemes that would hurt working people by
raising income, payroll, and gas taxes.

To fight higher gas prices, I support expanded use of renewable energy such
as wind and solar and I opposed legislation that would make it even more
expensive to produce gasoline in our state.

To improve our schools, I wrote legislation to promote the recruitment of
experienced professionals into the classroom ­ so our children would have
the best teachers possible.

To make neighborhoods safer, I served as legislative co-chair for the
Jessica¹s Law campaign and helped enact a new law requiring sexual predators
to live more than 2,000 feet from schools. This law also requires these
types of criminals to wear a Global Positioning System device – for life.

I co-authored measures to create a new felony crime for the possession of
the chemicals used to make meth and extend the statute of limitations on
prosecution of child pornography crimes.

Because I understand that the sense of violation felt by victims of identity
theft and the hassle of clearing up credit records, I co-authored a measure
to raise penalties for identity theft.

It has been an honor to serve you and with your support, I’ll help make the
kind of changes California needs to get our state back on track.

I believe that a system of public infrastructure is one of the most important things that a government can do because it is the one thing that has an impact on the lives of all citizens. Accordingly, I have introduced legislation and worked for the past four years to change the way in which California builds our system of roads, bridges, railways, and schools. Unfortunately, to date, these proposals have been met with stiff opposition from public sector labor unions who want to protect public sector jobs.

At a time when taxpayer funds are scarce, one of the methods that has been used in many other states and countries to provide for infrastructure is by utilizing the resources and capital of the private sector. Known as public private partnerships, or P3’s, many successful road and infrastructure projects around the country and the world have been built this way.

For roadways, this often means allowing a private company or investors to build a road and then allowing those investors to realize a return on their investment through the collection of tolls from motorists for the use of that road. After a period of usually 20-30 years, the road is generally turned over to the state or local government. Where no road would otherwise exist if we relied on Government funding, public private partnerships can be a very viable option and something I believe the state should strongly consider.

Do you support the development of toll roads in places where currently no roads exist?

The legislature has placed on the November ballot Proposition 1A, the High Speed Rail Bond Act that would authorize the state to sell $9 billion in new bonds to begin construction of a high speed rail system between Southern California and the Bay Area. Initially, the High Speed Rail would not connect to Sacramento, although long term plans (20-30 years) show a high speed rail stop in Sacramento.

While high speed rail is a romantic notion to be sure, the cost of this is staggering, approaching $40 billion or more. I believe that we could do a lot to improve California’s existing system of rails for this amount of money and I am opposing this bond measure.

I recently rode a high speed rail system in Europe and one of the things that struck me was how low the average speed of the line actually was. While the High Speed Rail line would indeed have a high top-end speed, by the time you factor in the number of stops and the distance between stops scheduled on this new line, the rail line likely will not achieve its expected speeds. Travel times to L.A. from the Bay Area would still be nearly three hours.

Do you support the passage of Proposition 1A, the High Speed Rail Bond Act?

At one point during this year’s budget discussions, the Governor suggested a plan to release thousands of serious criminals without supervision from parole officers. Under this plan, law enforcement would have had no idea where these former inmates were living or if they were on the path to return to a life of crime. We wouldn’t know if they are abusing illegal drugs and alcohol or had acquired a dangerous firearm. Additionally, without taking steps to help former inmates to get their lives back on track, I believe this plan could have lead to a significant rise in violent crime in communities across California, making any potential savings short-lived as they will be returned to prison once they commit a new crime. The plan was put forth by the Governor as he contends that it would have saved the state $200 million.

Do you support the Governor’s plan for early release to save the state money?

The City of Sacramento and other communities within the Sacramento region have considered asking the voters for approval of additional taxes in order to support an increase in funding for law enforcement funding.

Do you support more local or state taxes to increase funding for law enforcement?

Democrats in the Legislature believe that one of the reasons California has late State budgets is because California has a 2/3 vote requirement in each house of the Legislature. I believe that the process betrays the rules in that throughout the entire time the budget is being put together, minority input on the budget is rarely considered. Only after the budget has been put together do majority Democrats then work to get the Republican support in the Legislature to pass. This is never before early to mid June making the Constitutional deadlines exceedingly difficult to meet.

Do you support lowering the vote threshold to a majority in each House?

Proposition 6 on the November, 2008 ballot, will increase penalties for certain gang related crimes and would also dedicate $600 million annually from the State General Fund for the support of local law enforcement. Many communities in Sacramento have been impacted heavily by gang violence and while I have concerns about the dedication of State General Fund money for any purpose, I believe that this measure is needed to combat these gangs. One of the primary functions of government is the protection of the public.

Do you support Proposition 6 on the November, 2008 ballot?