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LWV Cupertino-Sunnyvale Legislative Interview

Every year, the League of Women Voters of California (LWVC) encourages local League members to interview their state legislators or staff. Legislative interviews are a powerful tool - increasing League visibility, gathering information, and raising awareness among California’s state representatives about our interest in policies they are considering. LWVC provides questions to ask the legislators.

League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale members, Pam Anderson, Roberta Hollimon and Nina Wong-Dobkin and LWV San Jose-Santa Clara member Roma Dawson, interviewed Assemblymember Evan Low, Assembly District 26. In answer to the question about open meetings, Assemblymember Low recognized that the challenge here is to balance access and the ‘outdated’ requirements for holding meetings in person; technology is a key component and can make virtual meetings more accessible for the public, as it reduces the time commitment to attend a meeting. However, the Assemblymember also feels that the elected officials should participate in-person, as it is a more effective way to work with peers.

Legislative Focus

Assemblyman Low was asked, “What kinds of legislation would you bring or support to mitigate health effects of climate change, particularly air pollution and extreme heat?” He emphasized that a key component of this type of legislation is understanding the barriers that prevent individuals from taking actions that are environmentally friendly. The Assemblymember commented that a key role of the state legislature is to provide incentives to local communities to put in place the infrastructure and support - use carrots, more than sticks.

Low was asked what approach he would support to help resolve the problem of housing underproduction. Assemblymember Low emphasized that a multi-pronged approach will be the only way to tackle our housing shortage. The income required to purchase a home is so high, that even people with good jobs cannot do so.  Meanwhile it is critical that our communities work for everyone – teachers, doctors, nurses, public safety officers, retail clerks, etc. Assemblymember Low did feel that reduction of CEQA should also be allowed, but only for infill development. Another issue is that more public education is needed about the impact of not increasing the housing supply.  People think more housing will only hurt their property values, but in the case of Cupertino, the lack of affordable housing has caused a decline in student enrollment, which resulted in school closures, which then hurt property values. Assemblymember Low feels that the state must set housing goals that push communities to increase housing and then use a combination of carrots and sticks to help communities approve and build that housing.

Key Priorities

In answer to what other issues he thinks the legislature must deal with in 2024 and his personal priorities, Assemblymember Low focused on 3 specific priorities: the need to improve civic engagement by supporting civic education, financial literacy, and home economics, support for ACA1, which allows communities to lower the threshold for approval on their local bond measures and parcel taxes, and support for ACA5, which will protect the legality of same-sex and inter-racial marriages.  This is a response to the Supreme Court’ repeal of Roe v. Wade.

Now that it has been four years since the declaration of the State of Emergency for COVID, Assemblymember Low was asked What steps is the legislature taking to learn from that experience and help prepare for future public health emergencies? He said one very significant challenge that surfaced during the pandemic was the decentralization of authority and flows of information. He was often learning of requirements at the exact same time as the public. The decentralization also resulted in inconsistent policies and requirements which also eroded public trust.