For decades California has had a single political party running the show in Sacramento; this had led to a steady decay in education, infrastructure, and public safety; a massive growth in the homeless population; outrageous cost for housing; and ineffective use of taxpayer dollars.
Two recent actions by our elected officials point out how bit by bit Democrats have been destroying our once “golden state.” Democrats pay taxes too; they should be embarrassed about how their money has been wasted by the people they elected.
There are several examples. The first, Senate Bill 54, repeals an existing state law that “provides that when there is reason to believe that a person arrested for a violation of specified controlled substance provisions may not be a citizen of the United States, the arresting agency shall notify the appropriate agency of the United States having charge of deportation matters.”
In other words, your elected representatives think that illegal aliens should be given a free pass to commit crimes and still be allowed to remain in the state. Thus, the state of California has determined that it will no longer comply with or assist with the enforcement of federal law. The result, based on many reports, is that once released for the initial crime they frequently commit other crimes including assault, robbery, theft, and even murder.
This is a direct and calculated threat to public safety and should not be tolerated by the electorate.
Next is Proposition 50, the Use of Legislative Congressional Redistricting Map Amendment. Contrary to the California Constitution, the king of our state, Gavin Newsom, contrived a plan to place this measure on the ballot to further strengthen the power of those politicians who have a strong commitment to the destruction of our inner cities and the state in general.
What King Newsom has done violates Section 8 of the California Constitution, which states “(b) An initiative measure may be proposed by presenting to the secretary of state a petition that sets forth the text of the proposed statute or amendment to the Constitution and is certified to have been signed by electors equal in number to 5 percent in the case of a statute, and 8 percent in the case of an amendment to the Constitution, of the votes for all candidates for governor at the last gubernatorial election.”
For all of you who may disagree that Democrats are destroying our state, look around or take note of how they spend your money. Billions spent to “solve the homeless problem” resulted in more homeless on the streets and no accountability to determine where all the money went.
Other issues include soaring housing costs due to new state regulations, which increased the cost of construction, and a deterioration of neighborhoods by changing zoning standards to allow houses to be placed within 5 feet of the property line and eliminating on-site parking requirements.
Media reports say that a couple looking for a home to buy would have to save for 10 years just to make a down payment, then earn a substantial income for 15 to 30 years to make monthly payments.
Concerning all the “problems” politicians identify during political campaigns, you must wonder why once elected they have no solutions for those problems. Their solution seems to be to either make the problem worse or just wait until the next election when they say they need more time (“elect me again”) to solve the same problems.
If we ever want to regain the title “the Golden State,” something needs to change, and it starts with new political leadership.
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 18 – Sep 25, 2025.