Democratic Congressional Candidate Katie Hill (25th district) held a town hall on Saturday where the community was invited to ask questions and express concerns about the current state of the country.
Around 75 people RSVP’d for the event that was held at Embassy Suites by Hilton in Valencia.
“This event is really in response to the fact that Steve Knight hasn’t held a town hall since he voted yes on the AHCA,” said Hill. “We’ve really felt his constituents have been particularly upset about that vote and felt it was a betrayal.”
“We’re asking people to say what they would want to say if Steve Knight were here…Hopefully it will open up a discussion and a dialogue.”
In fact, she says the lack of dialogue in Washington D.C. is a major issue. She thinks the 25th congressional district can set an example for the rest of the country by starting a discourse about the problems that affect communities around the country, one of which is healthcare.
“We’ve become further and further divided and we have stopped having conversations,” she said.
She also feels the current political system is not representative of the people it’s supposed to serve.
“I think our political system is broken,” she said. “You can only do so much without addressing the systemic problems…A lot of that stems from how we are being represented.”
“I feel like I can be a voice for the middle class, a voice for these communities.”
Hill believes she is a qualified candidate for Congress due to her past leadership experience in the non-profit sector. She is the executive director of People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), a 400-person, nearly $50 million a year organization that runs across the state of California. She has also helped to pass significant legislation such as Proposition HHH and the recent Measure H.
“I’ve seen government from the inside…I know what it takes to mobilize communities to get things done,” she said. “Those are the kind of qualifications that are frankly missing in Washington so often; how are we going to collaborate.”
Some SCV residents are already showing their support for Hill, such as 32-year-old Valencia resident Adrian Tenney. Tenney met Hill before she announced her candidacy and said she was impressed by her presence at different meetings and events, such as a voter registration meeting and a Muslim community forum in SCV.
“She was very engaged and not afraid to speak up,” said Tenney.
One of the more striking features regarding Hill is her age though. She is a millennial engaging in a race where the other candidates are older, as is the case with Steve Knight and Bryan Caforio, who are 50 years old and 34 years old respectively. Hill was 29 as of March 8, which is when she announced her candidacy.
