Last night, the Bay Area Chapter of CWLA (California Women’s Leadership Association) hosted Assembly Leader Mike Villines at their annual meeting in the posh Banker’s Club of San Francisco. As the sun set over the Bay, audience members were treated to a panoramic view of the most gorgeous city in the world (no bias on my part), and the Leader’s speech entitled “Straight Talk from the Capitol.” Last year, Assemblyman Villines authored the workplace flexibility bill, which would give non-union workers the same right to a four day, ten hour day work week that union members can currently negotiate. Several CWLA members, including yours truly, testified in committee alongside Cal Chamber, but not surprisingly, the Democratic legislators whose bread and butter comes from unions did not allow the bill onto the floor.
This was the Leader’s first Bay Area appearance, and from start to finish, he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. Just before he came onstage, the annual officer election took place for CWLA, and the Leader remarked, “That was the nicest election I’ve ever seen. Do you know how much money you just saved in opposition research and negative ads?” He had certainly done his homework before speaking for CWLA; he read all our “baseball cards” – the creative and innovative networking tool created by outgoing President, Judy Biviano Lloyd. One of Villines’ favorite quotes from the deck came from Carolyn Patrick, an Oklahoma native: “When the Okies moved to California, it raised the collective IQ of both states.” And while he had us on a roll, he commented on one of our favorite sons, Assemblyman Guy Houston, who hosts a basketball game every week in the Capitol gym, and plays so well that he keeps putting members in knee braces and on the “injured list,” so the Leader has encouraged members not to play with Houston before a big vote.
Remaining good natured, but getting serious, Villines got down to “straight talk.” He said the GOP needs more women leaders, and encouraged CWLA members to increase their involvement at every level of government. He gave encouragement to Judy Lloyd, running for the 15th Assembly District, and praised her many accomplishments. The Leader praised the strong women in his life, and gave them much credit for encouraging him to do the outstanding work he does.
Assemblyman Villines spoke of the prison crisis, and said he supported a bond measure to build critically needed prison space. He said that though he is always cautious about increasing any sort of state spending, he said the alternative of granting the early release of 15-16,000 prisoners motivates him to support a prison bond. He spoke on healthcare reform, and said we don’t need a 4% tax across the board in order to aid 963,000 chronically uninsured in California. Additionally, reducing the 53 mandates the state has on health insurance could reduce costs by 30-40%.
The Assembly Leader was straight-forward, candid and completely at ease as he took questions for nearly 30 minutes. I think this Central Valley legislator made a new home for himself in the Bay, and will be able to count on the support of Bay Area CWLA members. I hope other groups around the state will invite Assemblyman Villines to speak at their gatherings, as well. You won’t be disappointed…