Congressman John Garamendi Hosts First Town Hall as a Congressman; 100+ Livermore Constituents Talk Economic Development, Job Creation, and Health Care

LIVERMORE, CA – Rep. John Garamendi, (D-Walnut Creek, California), yesterday hosted his first Town Hall as a Congressman in Livermore, focusing on bringing more jobs to Livermore and the Bay Area. A standing-room only crowd of more than 100 constituents attended the Thursday afternoon event.

"It’s about jobs, and that's what I really want to focus on here," Rep. Garamendi said. "We know that job creation is no accident; it requires a sustained commitment to research and education, particularly career technical education. When Livermore’s national labs, schools, private employers, and government agencies work together to repair our struggling economy, we can move our region forward and create the jobs we need."

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, which combined employ more than 10,000 people, are researching groundbreaking alternative energy approaches, including fusion power, which could revolutionize California’s energy and job markets.

Livermore’s Las Positas College, which then-Lieutenant Governor Garamendi visited twice as chair of the California Commission for Economic Development, hosts an innovative career technical (vocational) education program that works with area schools and businesses to train a green workforce in building weatherization, alternative energy construction, and conservation strategies. California currently has a 12.2 percent unemployment rate.

At the town hall, Rep. Garamendi also:

• Proudly defended his vote for the House health care bill, highlighting the negative impact to the country’s economy if Congress fails to act;
• Restated his belief that education is the key to job growth;
• Declared his opposition to increasing troop levels in Afghanistan; and
• Pledged to work with stakeholders to protect the Delta and stop the peripheral canal.

"What’s happening to the American economy? You take the American economy and look at how we are spending our money. We spend a vast amount on war. We also spend an even larger amount on health care," added Rep. Garamendi following a critical question from an opponent of comprehensive health care reform. "We now spend over 17 percent of all of our wealth on heath care. The result of that is the money we need for education, for transportation, for research, for economic development in manufacturing or sales or any of the other activities, is crowded out, pushed aside by the health care sector. ... This has to change. It simply cannot continue."

Lisa Vorderbrueggen of the Contra Costa Times and Randy Shandobil of KTVU 2 have more information on the event, including partial video (links direct to news websites).

Prior to the town hall, Rep. Garamendi met with local elected and transportation officials to discuss the transit issues impacting Livermore and the Bay Area. All parties agreed to continue promoting local and federal efforts to better integrate regional transit to help increase public transportation ridership, reduce congestion, reduce the region’s contribution to climate change, and create green jobs.

Rep. Garamendi will host four additional town halls in December in Antioch, El Cerrito, Fairfield, and Walnut Creek. More information on these events will provided at a later date.

Please visit https://www.garamendi.house.gov/ for more information.