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A19. ,q- lS MANIA �.ffl This week the League's Regional Representa- tives were asked to contact city officials, to urge them to call legislators to oppose budget proposals that would impose large, ongoing cuts to local government funds. (See "City Officials Report Severe Impacts From Proposed Cuts ".) In addition, regional "reps" reported the following grassroots activities relating to the LOCAL coalition. See Also: "The Budaet Story – Press Ouotes" for samples of press coverage over the past week. ................. THE BUDGET STORY - PRESS QUOTES Editorials • The Orange County Division's newly cre- ated Advocacy committee of eleven elected officials is helping to ensure that the division is able to respond quickly to priority matters. Each committee member assigned a legislator (or two) and a number of cities to contact and urge phone calls, a -mails and letters when the League and the LOCAL coalition issues an alert. Recently, the Advocacy Committee went into high gear getting budget stories and urging phone calls to Orange County legislators on the budget. By having a dedicated group of elected officials, the Division could quickly get the word out that cities wouldn't tolerate multi -year cuts. This was the first test of the newly formed group and by all accounts it seems to be working well. On June 3rd, Redondo Beach Councilmember John Parsons, Mike Binh from the City of Torrance and Dennis McLean, Finance Director for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes joined their League Regional Representative Ann Marie Wallace in briefing the South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce on the potential state budget cuts to redevelopment agencies (RDAs). The association is comprised of representatives from over a dozen chambers in the area. The asso- ciation board of directors voted to respond to the briefing by sending letters to legislators to express their opposition to RDA cuts. The letters were sent to South Bay Legislators, including Assembly Budget Committee Chair Jenny Oropeza, who represents part of the South Bay. In addition, the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce sent letters to Legislators and the Carson Chamber of Commerce is coordinating with the City of Carson on strategic follow -up with their legislators. Just this past Febru- ary, the chambers collectively honored Assembly Member Oropeza as their Legislator of the Year. The San Jose Mercury News, 617103, Stop the Budget Bluster. "It's getting to the point that the pain of not knowing is greater than whatever pain the budget will bring. The sooner the Legislature knocks off the bluster, the better off the state will be." The Los Angeles Times, 619/03, George Skelton: Surrogates Just Won't Do; In Budget Crisis, the State Needs Davis to Lead. "The most comical scene in the Capitol this year was at Gov. Grey Davis' announcement of his May budget revi- sion. I mention this now because the episode was then - and unfortunately continues to be - indicative of the governor's dearth of leadership in the elusive search for an honest budget that's balanced and stanches the gushing of red ink." The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 619103, State's Budget Woes Leave Cities in Fiscal Jeopardy. "Cities of every type and advocates of every human service and infrastructure project, all living on the financial edge, are hoping that Sacramento will somehow overlook them. They all have legitimate cases for claiming victimhood at the hands of the governor and the Legislature" News Stories The Los Angeles Times, 619/03, With 6 Days to Go, Budget Talks in Chaos. "After a week in which California lawmakers seemed to pull away from rather than toward a compromise on the state budget, lawmakers now have six days to consider their fateful choice: whether to cut a deal that would allow the $38- billion budget shortfall to be resolved by the constitutional deadline or to stand by as deepening ideological gridlock lets government stumble toward insolvency." San Francisco Chronicle, 6/9103, State Strains to Find Budget Solution — Lawmakers May Use Accounting Tricks to Balance Books. "As the Legislature's constitutional deadline to pass a budget Continued on Page 9 Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS /PAGE 3