I am happy to see that Rep. Steve Knight will have a strong challenger in November’s election. Over his past two terms, Knight has been inaccessible and unavailable. He rarely makes public appearances to hear our needs and concerns, which has resulted in out-of-touch policies and programs that go against our best interests.
The two most obvious examples of this are his support for tax cuts to the wealthy and repeated efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
In December, he voted for a tax bill that gave billions of dollars to corporations at the expense of working class Californians. The bill will add nearly $1.5 trillion in debt and will likely be paid for by cuts to critical programs like Medicaid and Social Security. Knight promised the benefits of the tax bill will “trickle down” to working-class Americans, but it is clear that isn’t happening. Corporations are making record profits this year and giving the savings to shareholders while laying off workers and closing stores. Nearly 150 people lost their jobs in Simi Valley because of the Walmart closure, which coincidentally happened after they announced bonuses for their employees.
I am hopeful that Knight will be held accountable for his inability to stand up for his constituents.
Logan Smith
Valencia
