U.S. Reps. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) and Eric Swalwell (D-Livermore) recently hosted a joint town hall session at Shannon Community Center in Dublin for an in-person discussion sharing their current political efforts and holding a Q&A with residents from their respective districts.
With an audience of nearly 300 people on July 31, Swalwell and DeSaulnier answered questions on issues, including transportation, education, climate change, the war in Ukraine and Social Security.
The joint town hall between the two representatives comes after the redistricting of their district boundaries by splitting west Dublin to Swalwell and east Dublin to DeSaulnier, instead of all in the same district.
Swalwell acknowledged hardships of everyday working Americans experiencing record-high inflation, supply chain issues and the cost of living going up but also news of record unemployment rates as jobs are being created and inflation starting to come down. He said his main priorities are addressing the increasing costs of prescription drugs, health care costs, and the costs of education and living.
“We are doing all we can with the votes we take, the legislation we invest in, to make sure we work hard. If you work hard, it adds up to you doing better for yourself and dreaming bigger,” Swalwell said.
DeSaulnier talked about how both houses passed investments for infrastructure for half a trillion dollars, along with the “biggest investment in the transition of fossil fuels to clean alternative fuels.”
“We in the Bay Area, in this corridor, the recipients of much of that because we have been ahead of the rest of the country in most of these things,” DeSaulnier said.
When asked about homelessness, Swalwell shared his story of helping a family member get off the streets and become rehabilitated. Both Swalwell and DeSaulnier acknowledged that homelessness has gone exponentially higher the past few years.
“First rule is no one is invisible, no person is invisible because of their station in life and we, I believe in government, have to make sure that our streets are safe for businesses in the community, that they are safe for pedestrians and consumers in the community. And that the people who have addiction, mental health or drug addiction are able to find the resources they need,” Swalwell said.
“That’s where I believe spending less on defense, spending more on targeted health care, mental health care and drug addiction go a long way,” Swalwell added.
Both representatives expressed pride and gratitude for the program they worked on to help individuals going through a mental health crisis.
“We have a number, 988 — instead of 911 — where you call and will receive a response from a professional about your mental health,” Swalwell said.
One question from the audience was how to ensure transportation that is “dependable, affordable, and accessible for the Tri-Valley?”
“It’s a struggle; we want to do Valley Link,” DeSaulnier said.
He compared mass transit commuters of London and New York to be much higher than the Bay Area and believes BART needs to do better for commuters. Both DeSaulnier and Swalwell stated they wrote letters to legislators expressing their opposition to increasing bridge tolls as it would affect the working class the most. The extra finances, if the toll increase is approved, would go to cover BART expenses amid dwindling ridership revenue during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Swalwell said he supports Valley Link, the proposed commuter light rail system to connect San Joaquin County and Livermore to the Dublin-Pleasanton BART Station, as its goal is to reduce cars on the road and reduce emissions.
“The goal is to have people spend less time in their cars and more time with their families,” the congressman said.
Regarding the topic of education on funding public schools instead of private schools, DeSaulnier argued that investing and supporting public education is most beneficial.
“If you invest and get good teachers and get good counselors, kids do better. We also have a tremendous community college system in California. And of course, the CSU and UC system,” he said.
The subject of Social Security was asked from the audience about whether changes to Social Security or Medicare will affect those in their 60s. DeSaulnier pointed to obstruction and other challenges in the House toward working for a compromise but it is manageable with wealthier people contributing more.
Swalwell and DeSaulnier ended the town hall by meeting people from the audience to answer questions and take photos.
