Assemblyman Dante Acosta and Senator Scott Wilk are tag teaming a town hall meeting at the end of the month in Santa Clarita to garner information and hear concerns from constituents.
This is the first of a series of town hall events that Acosta is holding in his district. He said he anticipates people will discuss public safety, transportation, the economy and homelessness.
“We want to have a civil and friendly discourse,” Acosta said. “We’re all neighbors, we all live in the same community, we go to church together and school together, we go to the same places and concerts in the park, so we want to make sure we’re bringing each other ideas and we’re having a good dialogue.”
The city council chambers have a capacity of 140 people, which Acosta said will allow everyone to interact. According to the city, there is also availability for an overflow room.
“I’d love to be able to think that I know everything and what everyone in the district thinks, but I just want to hear from people what’s happening in the region and the challenges they’re having and make sure they get all the help they can from the state,” he said.
Acosta said he does not want to push an agenda, but wants to be accessible to people in the district and give them the opportunity to hear from representatives about issues they care about.
Wilk said he is looking forward to the event and partnering with Acosta.
“Being able to partner with my local assembly people makes it a lot easier to accomplish that and I really appreciate the fact that the assemblymen offered on this,” Wilk said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Senator Wilk said the joint town hall “kills two birds with one stone” for constituents. He said Acosta had already set up the meeting and he is serving as his wing man.
“I really enjoy the interaction with constituents,” Wilk said. “I think it makes us better to hear from all parties.”
Wilk said he anticipates constituents’ questions will include the district’s lack of infrastructure in concern to water storage and roads, property crime and education.
“We’re a really strong community when it comes to education,” Wilk said. “Fifty three percent of our state budget is spent on education, so we’ll have a lot of questions on education.”
According to Wilk, having a joint town hall is more cost effective because assembly members have budgets for mail to be sent to constituents before events and senators do not.
“By tag teaming with them, it saves tax payers’ money,” he said. “Tag teaming makes it more cost efficient.”
The March 30 event will be held in the Santa Clarita City Council Chambers from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
RSVP by calling Acosta’s district office at (661) 286-1565.
Assemblyman Acosta said he plans to host more town halls and community coffee events soon.
Senator Wilk said both he and Senator Henry Stern hope to host a joint town hall in the near future, though Wilk said both of their schedules are hectic and there is no guarantee when it might take place.
Wilk will also be joining Assemblyman Tom Lackey of Antelope Valley and Jay Obernolte of Victor Valley’s town halls.
661-287-5525
