I’m glad our fighter is back.
I’ve known Steve Knight for close to two decades and it’s hard for me to summarize in a few sentences his lifelong record of service and accomplishments for our community. Steve Knight has taken an oath of office to our Constitution in the Army, during his service in the Los Angeles Police Department, and throughout his results-driven tenure on the Palmdale City Council, state Assembly and Senate, and U.S. Congress.
In the 115th Congress, Steve Knight was the fifth most effective member, in terms of legislation introduced and passed in an era identified with partisan gridlock, out of 435 members. A total of 18 constituent-driven bills introduced, with seven signed by the president.
You may ask yourself, how does one person in a body of 435 get this done? Steve Knight got it done with leadership. When you lead, you make people angry. Leadership is difficult, and when you make a decision you will make some folks happy and anger others.
Steve was a fierce advocate in Congress for the principles that make the Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and Simi Valley great places to live: fiscal responsibility, job creation and public safety. Steve’s Small Business Joint Venturing Act, signed into law in 2015, gave small businesses, which employ around half of our nation’s workers, a better chance to compete for federal contracts. Steve was a strong advocate of federal drought relief for California and was at the forefront of working to increase the number and presence of aerospace companies within the Antelope Valley. The reason why we have the B-21 in Palmdale is because of Steve Knight’s work in Sacramento prior to his service in Washington.
Steve’s list of superlatives is long, and I can write a book about it. Most important to me, though, is Steve’s work on behalf of veterans. No one has fought for veterans in Congress more than Steve Knight. Steve looked at problems and didn’t make promises of bringing in experts, who would study this, and do this, and fix that. Steve acted, and got to fixing issues with real solutions. Can anyone else in the race for California’s 25th Congressional District tell you about something they have actually done for our veterans?
Steve created solutions on the ground locally, that have been adopted nationally. The program where our veterans can go to clinics outside the VA originated in our district. This program, driven by Steve’s leadership, grew to be the Mission Act. Those are results for our veterans right out of deadlocked congressional committees. A novel solution that took knowing how Congress works, and turning it into a reality.
It is this knowledge we need for the special election to fill the remaining five months of Katie Hill’s term. A leader with a record of results who knows how to get the job done — and that is Steve Knight.
Doug Varner
Valencia
