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Jim Beall for Assembly
Dinner Speech
Thank you, Norm for that generous introduction. Mike,Rod and
Brent,thank you all for your kind words.

And I'd like especially to thank Susie, who is not only the Mistress of
Ceremonies tonight, but also the Chair of my campaign. Ever since I first
spoke to Susie about this race, she has been nothing but encouraging and
enthusiastic. She believes, as I do,that we have to make big changes in
Sacramento.

There are a lot of people here. I tried to get around to every table before I
came up to speak and didn't quite make it. So if you folks over there would
please wait afterward. I'll get over to you.

Running for office is something of a family affair. You put yourself on the
line everyday, and you always know that you can count on your family for
support. I'd like to introduce to you some of the members of my family who
are here: my wife Pat, my Mother, my Father...
My family has always been very important to me.

I grew up here in San Jose and was the oldest son in a family of ten children.
I learned early on that we all had to stick together and depend on one another
to make it.

We weren't what you would caU wealthy, but we were comfortable.

And then when I was fourteen, our family house burned down. My whole
world changed. Things I used to take for granted were no longer there.
Looking back on it, that single event as an impressionable teenager helped
shape my thinking as an adult.

A crisis like that has a way of making you remember what is important in
life. What you can do wiAout... and what you can't.
Right now California's financial house is burning down. Our economy is
hurting and the state budget shows it.

And while our financial house is burning, the governor and the legislature
are standing by fiddling and not listening.

I don't think there is anyone in this room who could say that they're proud of
what happened in Sacramento this summer.

63 days without a budget. lOU's and vouchers. A lot of finger pointing and
name calling.

And I for one think Democrats are as much at fault as the Republicans.
Sacramento is full of politicians looking out for their own futures. And no
one is looking out for the future of California. No one is listening to the
concerns you have.

That's wrong and we need to change it.
Before I first ran, my Mother told me ...
I've spent the last 13 years in local government making things work. And
I'm mnning for a seat in the Assembly because I believe Sacramento could
use less political partisanship and more practical problem-solving.

In city government, we don't have party labels to get in the way. A good
idea isn't a Democratic idea or a Republican idea. It's just a good idea.
And we know how to get things done.

Since I've been on the city council, we doubled the parks and recreation
facilities in my district.

We expanded the Cambrian Library by 50%.
For 9 years I was on the Guadelupe Corridor Light Rail Project with Rod 21 miles of track.

And right now,as Chairman of the Board of Measure A,I've been in charge
of bringing the transportation projects in on time and on budget. The
Measure A project is 1.1 biUion doUars. It consists of 14 miles of new Route
85 ... widening Highway 101 to 8 lanes..and making improvements on
Highway 237.

Caltrans told us it would take 14 years to do the work. We'll actually
complete it in 9 1/2 years..and come in under budget. How? By negotiating
smart deals with all of our contractos... by providing local private
companies... by requiring accountability...and by setting tight, realistic
production schedules and sticking to them. We saved over $100 million.
I'm proud of the work I've done in public office. I can drive around the area
and see concrete improvements that make life better for the people who live
here.

I believe that's the purpose of government.
And that's why I'd like to go to work for you in Sacramento. Right now our
economy is in serious trouble. Businesses are leaving the state. Many others
are laying off workers. Part of the problem is in Washington. But a big part
of it is right here. Our state government needs to get to work on our schools,
our health care system and our transportation network.

We need a blue print for education in this state. No t a band-aid that will get
us from one crisis to the next. A Master Plan for both kindergarten through
high school and for higher education.
It sounds almost too obvious. You'd think they have a plan.

But they don't. We're adding 200,000 kids a year to schools throughout this
state and there is no blueprint to show us where our schools should go.
At a minimum, we need more local control. We need to reduce the majority
needed to pass local school bonds from two-thirds to 50%. And we need to
provide incentives for local school districts to consolidate and eliminate
overhead.

I've spent the last several months meeting with teachers, administrators,
school board members and parents. The teachers and 29 school board
members are endorsing me.
When our house burned down, we too had to make a choice. Our family
choice was a no friUs home and quality education. That is what we need
today.

We need to resolve the health care crisis. Health care costs are spiralling out
of control. We spend twice as much as Japan or Germany for health
care..making it difficult for our Silicon Valley businesses to compete
internationally.
Nearly 4 million Californians have no insurance and millions more are
teetering on the edge.

This is nto a new problem. We did not just wake up one day and find
ourselves in a bind on health care. Voters have been very clear that they
wan a solution. So why isn't anything being done? Because Sacramento is
so full of money from insurance companies, doctors, and hospitals that the
governor and the legislature are afraid to find a solution to the problem.
I don't care what the special interest say. I am going to vote to reform the
system to make it affordable and accessible for everyone.
Finally we need a long range transportation plan to end gridlock on our
freeways.

I have become an expert at getting $ to build highways and transit. They are
both important but we need to be willing to try new innovative solutions to
deal wi& the transportation crisis.
We also have to make better connections between transportation and land
use planning, air quality management and overall eceonomic planning.
** *

Somewhere down the road, our state legislature has lost its way. They are
afraid to act. And when they do the governor is there to block them.
We cannot afford to sit around and watch as our financial house bums. We

need to get things done. If you send me to Sacramento,I will.

I would appreciate your help. Thank you very much.