Issue Position: Public Safety

Issue Position

Our children deserve to live in safe neighborhoods. Children who drop out of school drop into street gangs, and prisons are expensive alternatives to decent schools. While I am a supporter of tough sentence guidelines for violent criminals, I also believe in crime prevention and investing in our young people.

Youth violence prevention has been one of my top priorities for decades, beginning with my work as Executive Director of Partners for Peace in Salinas, a non-profit agency dedicated to violence prevention among teens. Due to my extensive background in this area, I was appointed as Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Youth Violence Prevention. As Chair, I have worked tirelessly statewide, to address recent trends in gang-related shootings and other violence. At the beginning of 2009, I brought together local and state law enforcement representatives and elected officials in Salinas to explore options and resources available to help suppress the violence. I remain committed to using every resource possible to restore safety to our streets.

As a Member of the State Assembly, I was honored to receive the Crime Fighter Award from Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, a bipartisan, non-profit, anti-crime organization and the California State Sheriffs' Association Legislator of the Year Award for 2009.

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