Upcoming events
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Redefining Mobility: Connected Vehicle/Autonomous Vehicle Summit
Tuesday, March 31, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hilton Concord
Register here. ***** East Bay Leadership Series 2015, Part II, East Bay Economic Outlook with Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics and a panel discussion on infrastructure, technology and transportation challenges. Thursday, April 16, 7:30 to 10 a.m., Hilton Concord Registration will open soon. ***** Save the date!
15th Annual Small Business Awards LuncheonFriday, May 8, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Crowne Plaza Hotel, Concord
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| CEO VIEWPOINT | |
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Council Chair Keith Archuleta, center, and Kristin Connelly meet with Assemblymember Jim Frazier
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Building on momentum and a successful California Capitol visit
By Kristin Connelly, President and CEO, East Bay Leadership Council
The East Bay Leadership Council is continuing to build on momentum in 2015 to shape the policy debate on infrastructure, land use, healthcare financing and water. On February 24, during a joint visit to the state Capitol with East Bay EDA and the Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group, a group of EBLC directors met with 10 legislators or their legislative staff who represent the East Bay. We had successful visits with everyone, and believe the East Bay's representatives are well-positioned to influence legislation of significance to our members throughout the legislative session and beyond. Here are some highlights of our day in Sacramento.
Assemblymember Jim Frazier (D-Oakley), chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, told us he wants to develop a long-term vision based on trust with voters on an expenditure plan for the state. He wants to challenge Caltrans to work with the state to get clear, laser-focused objectives. He also highlighted plans to announce a $20 billion transportation bond and discussed a proposal to recapture truck-weight fees currently going to pay infrastructure debt service.
Frazier discussed AB 194, which extends the California Transportation Commission's authority to expand applications for managed hot lanes. He said he favors lowering the voter threshold to 55 percent to approve sales tax increases. He retains his strong personal commitment to traffic safety and offered some great advice on the Northern Waterfront Economic Development Initiative that will help guide our work.
Getting California up to speed
Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Alameda), who chairs the Assembly Health Committee, discussed his bill with Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) to raise Medi-Cal reimbursement rates to the Medicare rate. While it's not enough, it is a start, as an estimated $10 billion is needed to bring California up to the national average reimbursement rate. The EBLC Board took a position earlier this month in support of raising reimbursement rates and looks forward to working with the legislator. Bonta is also looking into the possibility of a cigarette tax increase through a 2016 ballot measure; proceeds would go to Medi-Cal, which would raise an estimated $1.5 billion.
State Senator Bob Wiekowski (D-Fremont), who chairs the Environmental Quality Committee, said he plans a series of five oversight hearings. Any potential improvements to CEQA will go through this committee. He says he wants to help the manufacturing sector.
We also met with Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), who chairs the Committee on Public Safety, who discussed safety concerns with our team. Quirk also underscored the commitment among legislative leaders for the state to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals.
The legislative director of State Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) reported that the senator expects to continue to lead on water policy as chair of the Budget Subcommittee on Water and Environmental Issues. Wolk is interested in the implementation of Proposition 1 and the remaining $1 billion in Prop 1E funds. She has also authored legislation that would require sub-meters in new multifamily construction.
We had a lengthy conversation with Senator Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), who said she expects to focus on budget and policy related to the her work on the Criminal Justice Committee.
Safety net services
Newly-elected Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) was represented by both his chief of staff and legislative director, who discussed Thurmond's role as chair of Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services. This includes safety net services, which represent approximately 60 percent of the state budget. Thurmond is interested in raising Medi-Cal reimbursement rates and has a bill to fight truancy among K-3 students because kids in third grade who read below their grade level are far more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system. He is also receiving a lot of attention for his "Tobacco Free Kids Act," which would ban all forms of tobacco from being used at ballparks in the state, including on the field by major league players. We also met with the legislative director of newly elected Assemblymember Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon), who has a great attitude about being the sole Republican in the East Bay delegation. Her aide highlighted education and transportation issues and noted Baker's introduction of legislation to ban BART strikes.
The legislative director for Assemblymember Kansen Chu (D-San Jose) also met with us and outlined Chu's legislative agenda, which includes support for transportation and infrastructure investments. He, too, is interested in raising the Medi-Cal reimbursement rate.
I look forward to continuing policy and advocacy conversations with EBLC task force members and our other partners as we continue to hone the key strategic positions that we know will contribute most effectively to the region's quality of life.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS | |  Plan to join the Council at these excellent spring events
The East Bay Leadership Council encourages your attendance at these highly topical events for members and the public in coming months. Make your reservations early and come with questions!
Tuesday, March 31, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Redefining Mobility: Connected Vehicle/Autonomous Vehicle Summit, presented by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority and industry partners, at the Hilton Concord. Unveiling of the GoMentum Station CV/AV program. Learn how the station's collaborative partnership model and comprehensive research will incubate a new generation of technology to revolutionize transportation. (The Contra Costa Economic Partnership, the sister organization of the East Bay Leadership Council, is among the sponsors of this important East Bay event.) Register here.
Thursday, April 16, 7:30 to 10 a.m.: East Bay Leadership Series 2015, Part II, East Bay Economic Outlook with Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics, followed by a panel discussion about the the role of infrastructure and technology in meeting some of our greatest transportation challenges, at the Hilton Concord. Registration will open soon on the Council website.
Friday, May 8, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: 15th Annual Small Business Awards Luncheon, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Concord. Watch the Council website for more information.
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| FEBRUARY 12 RECEPTION RECAP | |  California Transportation Commission chief Will Kempton is looking for $10 billion to fund programs in next five years
Will Kempton, new executive director of the California Transportation Commission, received a warm East Bay Leadership Council welcome at a reception in his honor on February 12 at Scott's Seafood in Walnut Creek. Some 80 people, including an impressive representation of transportation agency executive managers, attended the event for the former head of Transportation California and the Orange County Transportation Authority. He is also a former director (2004 to 2009) of Caltrans.
Kempton said his number-one goal is to raise $10 billion over the next five years for state transportation programs while continuing to look for long-term funding solutions.
People believe their money is being ill spent, he said, and the biggest contributor to that idea is that truck-weight fees are going to pay debt rather than improve infrastructure. Discussion is underway to craft legislation to recapture and redirect these fees, he noted. Kempton said the gas tax is no longer serving the initial need. He is setting up a committee to implement a pilot program that will answer the question of whether a mileage-based user fee is workable.
Kempton observed that current efforts being made to address the transportation system are paying off. The governor talked in his inaugural address about the transportation infrastructure and how important it is to California.
The Council thanks event sponsors AAA of California, Nevada and Utah; Associated Right of Way Services, Inc.; Fehr & Peers; Gray-Bowen-Scott; ICF International; Shimmick Construction; Wendel Rosen Black & Dean, LLP and WRECO.
Event coverage by Janet Fazio |
| FEBRUARY 11 LUNCHEON RECAP | |  State Senate District 7 candidates spar on education, transportation and water at East Bay forum
In one of several candidates forums for State Senate District 7, EBLC joined with the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley on February 11 to present a lively debate among Democratic rivals, Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, former Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan and Orinda Mayor Steve Glazer.
About 125 people packed the Walnut Creek Marriott venue to hear from the three candidates, who are vying for the seat vacated by Mark DeSaulnier, elected to the US House of Representatives last November. EBLC President and CEO Kristin Connelly served as moderator for the forum, which brought to the forefront numerous issues of concern to district residents, including education, transportation and water.
School funding continues to be a hot button issue that all three agreed needs fixing, with Buchanan pointing out that more is spent on prisons in California than on higher education. Buchanan says she will put her school board experience to work so she can be a voice for children who can't vote or make political contributions. In addition to investing in K-12 schools, Buchanan wants the state to invest in colleges and universities so that every eligible child can attend. Bonilla would give teachers the financial and professional development support they need while modernizing the classrooms they work in. Glazer pointed to the inequities of local funding formulas and the need for school districts to be allowed to have a reserve fund as major education issues.
Funding for transportation
On the transportation front, Bonilla said she was proud that Contra Costa has been a self-help county, approving measures that have put money into the system. She supports Assembly Speaker Toni G. Atkins' proposal to increase transportation infrastructure funding to improve safety and efficiency on state highways, bridges and roads. Buchanan said the state needs to find a new way to raise funds to maintain roads to save taxes in the long run, and that issuing more bonds ultimately results in taxpayers paying twice as much.
Glazer went on record for his strong opposition to the governor's twin tunnels project, which calls for construction of two underground 35-mile-long, 40-foot-wide tunnels to divert the Sacramento River and maximize water exports from the Delta to the southwest San Joaquin Valley. Glazer was adamant that the tunnels would throw the ecosystem out of balance and called for protection of fish and wildlife as well as the people who rely on the water supply. Bonilla and Buchanan also voiced opposition to the governor's plan and called on agriculture interests to conserve water, using the wine industry as a model.
Ballots for the special election on March 17 have been mailed. If no one candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a run-off election will be held on May 19.
Read Dan Walters' Sacramento Bee column recapping the event.
Contra Costa Television has aired the forum on Comcast channel 27, Astound channel 32 and AT&T U-verse channel 99. For additional air dates, visit CCTV's program guide at www.contracostatv.org.
The Council thanks event sponsors IBEW Local #302 and John Muir Health.
Event coverage by Janet Fazio |
| JANUARY 30 LUNCHEON RECAP | |  Supervisors Scott Haggerty and John Gioia offer a positive State of the East Bay
The Council's State of the East Bay luncheon on January 30 was interrupted by applause only marginally less often than its clap-happy presidential counterpart, but there are still plenty of reasons to applaud the state of our region in 2015.
This year, EBLC brought together leaders from both Alameda and Contra Costa counties for the annual program, attended by nearly 140 people at The Bridges Golf Club in San Ramon. And while that may sound like business as usual, in fact the cross-county collaboration for the annual event was the first of its kind. This new collaboration emanated through the remarks of Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty and Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia.
Both supervisors have earned the respect of their constituents over the course of their long tenures on their respective turf, yet appear to understand that governing should never become a "turf war." "Economies don't end at the county line," said Gioia as he reflected on the importance of regional governance efforts dating back to Governor Pardee in the 1920s and his approach to water districting. Regional collaboration was critical then and continues to be today in bringing industry to our backyard.
Plan Bay Area
In a discussion about Plan Bay Area, a long-range integrated transportation and land-use/housing strategy through 2040 for the San Francisco Bay Area, Haggerty said he voted against the plan. "The focus should not just be on San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland. The suburbs were left out," he observed. Gioia said he is happy with the plan and that it is happening in high-priority areas.
In a conversation about business development, Haggerty said he supports a higher minimum wage, but believes that it works best when left to the state to "level the playing field." On the other side of the coin, he addressed the pressures that high taxes and fees place on businesses that want to operate in the East Bay. He cited a local business staring down $10 million in fees to operate in Livermore, while being lured to the fee-free business environment in Atlanta. He also offered a positive example of the Tesla electric car plant in Fremont in southern Alameda County, which has been a boon to the area's economy.
Gioia said he agrees on the importance of a better wage for employees and that he teed up a county-wide effort in Contra Costa.
Contra Costa Television has aired the forum on Comcast channel 27, Astound channel 32 and AT&T U-verse channel 99. For additional air dates, visit CCTV's program guide at www.contracostatv.org.
Event coverage by Mark Orcutt
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ADVOCACY
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Board supports Medi-Cal rates reinstatement, life-sustaining treatment registry and Lehigh Hanson/Lind Marine sand mining permitting
The East Bay Leadership Council Board of Directors took the following positions at the February 20 meeting.
- Supported the reinstatement of the 10-percent cut in funding of Medi-Cal rates by AB 97 in 2011, as recommended by the Healthcare Task Force.
- Supported SB 19, which would create a California Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) registry as an electronic record of a person's POLST orders, as recommended by the Healthcare Task Force.
- At the recommendation of the Environmental/ Manufacturing Task Force, supported the Lehigh Hanson/Lind Marine final permit request to allow sand mining in the San Francisco Bay and western Bay Delta Estuary with the expectation that any downflow issues will be addressed as part of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan permitting process.
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TASK FORCE BRIEFINGS
| | March and April meetings and speakers
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| | James Paxson, center, and Daniel Smith with Felicia Markus following her presentation to the Water Task Force in February |
New and prospective Council members are welcome to attend task force meetings. Please notify a task force co-chair prior to the meeting to confirm meeting topics, time and location, as details may change. To view task force agendas, policy papers and recent presentations, visit the Task Force pages on the Council website. Watch the website Announcements page for meeting updates.
Workforce Development/Education Task Force . . . Wednesday, March 4, 8:30 to 10 a.m. . . . Contra Costa Workforce Development Board, 300 Ellinwood Way, Bodega Room, Pleasant Hill. Julie Sinai, director of the North/East Bay Pathways Consortium, will discuss the multi-county consortium's work in building a regional community to increase successful transition of high school students into post-secondary and certificate programs aligned to their career interests. Also, Tina Dodson, workforce development manager, Diablo Valley College, is seeking input from the group on the college's Workforce and Economic Development Master Plan. The task's force's subsequent meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 1. Co-chairs: Joanne Durkee and Kathleen Robinson
Health Care Task Force . . . Thursday, March 5, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. . . . UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Outpatient facility, 2401 Shadelands Drive, Walnut Creek (RSVP requested). In February, the task force discussed legislative action and received updates on the Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo and Covered California. The task force's subsequent meeting will be Thursday, April 2, at Burr Pilger Mayer, 2001 North Main Street, Suite 360. Co-chair: Steve Van Wart
Environmental/Manufacturing Task Force . . . Friday, March 6, 8:15 to 9:30 a.m. . . . Brown and Caldwell, 201 N. Civic Drive, Suite 300, Walnut Creek. In February, met jointly with the Economic Development Task Force for a presentation from Bret Kugelmass, founder and CEO of Airphrame, a drone mapping company. Subsequent meeting is Friday, April 3. Co-chairs: Peter McGaw and George Smith
Land Use Task Force . . . Wednesday, March 11, 8 to 9 a.m. . . . Archer Norris, 2033 North Main Street, Suite 800, Walnut Creek. At the February meeting, members received an update on the Northern Waterfront revitalization initiative from Rich Seithel and Gary Craft. Also, Ali Endress of the city of Pittsburg described the city's current thinking on rezoning of industrial lands. Subsequent meeting is Wednesday, April 8. Co-chairs: Mike McGill and Ed Shaffer
Water Task Force . . . Tuesday, March 17, 8:15 to 10 a.m. . . . Save Mount Diablo, 1901 Olympic Boulevard, Suite 320, Walnut Creek (note location). Featuring Dr. Newsha Ajami, director of urban water policy at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and others. At the February meeting, the task force addressed critical water issues as viewed at the Water Board. This included a Spotlight on Innovation from the Central Costa County Sanitation District, followed by a presentation by Felicia Markus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board. Co-chairs: Ann Spaulding and Bob Whitley; Vice-chair: Gary Darling
Economic Development Task Force . . . Friday, March 24, 8 a.m. . . . Brandman University, 2950 Buskirk Avenue, Room 307, Walnut Creek. Met jointly with the Environmental/ Manufacturing Task Force in February. Co-chairs: Jodi Avina and Jeff Stemke
Small Business/Entrepreneur Task Force . . . Tuesday, March 31, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. . . .De La Housaye & Associates, 165 N. Main Street, Suite 260, Walnut Creek. In January, the task force held its quarterly meeting of Chamber of Commerce executives and legislative representatives. Dave Kelly discussed Small Business California. Co-chairs: Angela De La Housaye and Jenny Kohler |
NEWS FOR OUR MEMBERS
| |  Get involved in East Bay Gives!
All East Bay nonprofits will want to register to participate in East Bay Gives, the East Bay Community Foundation's second annual 24-hour giving day. Let your board and donors know! For more information, go to www.eastbaygives.org and register. Last year, East Bay Gives raised more than $200,000 for 140 nonprofit organizations! Donors will donate on May 5, 2015. East Bay Gives starts at midnight, and goes for 24 hours. Donors can go to www.eastbaygives.org to see which Alameda and Contra Costa County nonprofits are signed up. Questions? Email givelocal@eastbaycf.org or call 510.836.3223. |
NEW MEMBERS
| | Please welcome our new members!
Fehr & Peers
Judy Schaefer, Project Administrator
100 Pringle Avenue, Suite 600
Walnut Creek CA 94596
925.930.7100
www.fehrandpeers.com
Quincy Engineering
Pattie McNamee
2950 Buskirk Avenue, Suite 122
Walnut Creek CA 94597
925.939.7100
www.quincyeng.com
WRECO
Han-Bin Liang, President
925.941.0017, ext. 201
Jennifer Abrams
925.941.0017, ext. 208
Garrett Low
510.836.5188, ext. 308
Analette Ochoa
Analette_ochoa@wreco.com
925.941.0017, ext. 206
1243 Alpine Road, Suite 108
Walnut Creek CA 94596
925.941.0017
http://wreco.com
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ABOUT THE EAST BAY LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
The East Bay Leadership Council is a public policy advocacy organization that promotes the economic vitality and quality of life in the East Bay region. The Council engages on issues of critical importance to the business community and residents, balancing the needs of a diverse region through policy efforts that provide for local and regional economic development while retaining our quality of life.
Through its task forces, the Council develops and supports policy positions to further its mission and sponsors educational forums for its members and the community.
For more information, please visit our website at www.eastbayleadershipcouncil.com.
To comment on items in this newsletter, please contact Kristin Connelly at the East Bay Leadership Council.
This issue was edited for the East Bay Leadership Council by Molly A. Walker of Walker Communications.
© 2015 East Bay Leadership Council
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