Capitol Alert: Voter mood about Legislature? Grumpy, at best, meeting shows

Assemblywoman Alyson Huber saw firsthand Tuesday night what polls consistently have shown: Voters are not very happy with the Legislature and the state's budget crisis these days.

Nobody, not even Huber, praised legislative accomplishments during a town hall meeting at Sacramento's Rio Americano High School that displayed key issues likely to emerge as she campaigns for re-election in balloting Nov. 2.

Huber and Republican Jack Sieglock, a former Lodi councilman and San Joaquin County supervisor, will square off for the 10th District Assembly seat in a rematch of a 2008 race so tight that its outcome was decided by the counting of absentee and provisional ballots.

The El Dorado Hills Democrat criticized the hyperpartisan tone of state politics -- "we have to get past the political name-calling" -- and she cited the Capitol's failure to fix problems ranging from chronic budget deficits to soaring pension obligations.

"The Legislature itself has done some things that are questionable," she said, citing the eligibility of legislative employees for lifetime health benefits after five or 10 years of employment, depending upon age and years of service.

Most telling, perhaps, were questions and comments by the roughly two-dozen people attending Tuesday's event, including:

Were lawmakers crazy, during a budget crisis, to propose bills dealing with side issues such as banning metal bats from high school baseball games or potentially disqualifying high-speed rail bidders based on conduct during World War II? (Huber sympathized and made it clear that she personally is focusing largely on government stability and efficiency).

Would she support efforts to generate new revenue for the state? (Huber, who voted for tax increases last year, was noncommittal. "I'm not sure, because part of the problem is, I don't think we've justified every dollar we've spent so far."

Would she have supported the controversial Arizona law intended to crack down on illegal immigration? (Huber said the federal government is charged with controlling illegal immigration and that she does not support the notion of each state devising its own plan.)

What is her view on the billions in unfunded liability created by state-worker pensions? (Huber said the issue definitely has to be addressed, but she proposed no solution, saying pensions represent future spending while the state's most pressing need is to pass a budget for more immediate spending in the fiscal year that begins July 1.)

Nobody criticized Huber personally, and the session ended with a round of applause from the sparse turnout of constituents in the 10th Assembly District, which stretches from Lodi to Rancho Cordova to El Dorado Hills.

Huber portrayed herself Tuesday night as a problem solver -- an "advocate for common sense" -- who grew up in a low-income household and who knows the "value of a penny because I had to budget every dollar."

"I have to be honest," she said of the budget crisis. "I don't like any of the proposals we have right now."

Huber noted that one of her top priorities is to ensure that the state is getting adequate bang for its bucks. She serves as chairwoman of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and has proposed legislation to require formal reviews in which state agencies would have to justify their existence.