Last week, special districts in Alameda County and across the state recognized Congressman Ro Khanna (CD-17) as their Legislator of the Year at an event held at the Washington Hospital Healthcare System featuring local special district leaders from throughout the region. At separate events earlier this year, CSDA also honored State Senator John Laird and former State Assemblymember Ken Cooley as Legislators of the Year.
The recognition is awarded annually by CSDA. Congressman Khana was honored by locally elected special district leaders, the President of the CSDA Board of Directors, Elaine Magner, the President of the Alameda County Special Districts Association (ACSDA) and Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District General Manager, Ryan Clausnitzer, and the CEO of the Washington Hospital Healthcare System (WHHS), Kimberly Hartz.
“Congressman Ro Khanna has been a real champion for special districts,” stated CSDA Board President Elaine Magner. “The Congressman and his staff have engaged in our locally-driven policy and fiscal issues with impacts that go beyond California. Furthermore, during the pandemic, Congressman Khanna provided support at a time when special districts and the communities we serve needed it the most. We owe him our thanks and appreciation for his leadership on behalf of special districts.”
Congressman Khanna with CSDA Board President Elaine Magner
At the Federal level, Congressman Khanna was one of 31 cosponsors of H.R. 535, the Special Districts Provide Essential Services Act (2021-2022). Rep. Khanna is also the first member in the House of Representatives to champion a formal request to the Library of Congress to produce a Congressional Research Service report on special districts. The report will help define how special districts fit within the federal mold of local government programs.
"I am honored to be named Legislator of the Year by the California Special Districts Association (CSDA)," said Congressman Ro Khanna. It has been a pleasure working with special district leaders to support the vital work they do to bring essential local services to our communities. Our region and our nation depend on special districts for our health and safety, our environmental stewardship, and our economic prosperity. Special districts are the backbone of many local services, and we cannot take them for granted. My staff and I look forward to continuing to support the work that special districts do in making our communities thrive.”
In January, special districts honored Senator Laird at an event held at the South Bay Community Center in Los Osos and recognized former Assemblymember Cooley at the Fulton-El Camino Recreation and Park District in Sacramento.
Since taking office, Senator Laird and his staff have frequently and meaningfully engaged with CSDA and with special districts throughout his Senate district. From in-person roundtables, to speaking at CSDA chapter meetings, to visiting numerous districts individually throughout Senate District 17, the Senator’s office has made extraordinary efforts to interact with special districts and understand their needs and concerns. In addition, during the pandemic, he was one of 46 signatories encouraging Governor Newsom to extend COVID-19 relief funding access to special districts, which was ultimately provided through a $100 million allocation in the 2021-22 State Budget. As Chair of the Senate Climate Working Group, the Senator invited CSDA to present positions and thoughts on climate change legislation and budget actions to the group of Senators.
In 2021, Senator Laird authored Senate Bill 418, urgency legislation to establish the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District, a special district tasked with providing public oversight of the Watsonville Community Hospital. A stalwart of the community for nearly a century, the hospital evolved through several ownership structures over the years, which included nearly continuous turnover in ownership for two decades. In December 2021, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital filed for bankruptcy. Shortly thereafter, in an effort to ensure the hospital’s continued operations, and with the support of numerous community organizations and local governments, Senator Laird introduced SB 418. The bill passed the Legislature unanimously, and on February 4, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the legislation into law. The hospital was officially transferred to public ownership on Aug. 31, 2022, just months after the introduction of SB 418.
"I am truly honored to be named Legislator of the Year by the California Special Districts Association (CSDA)," said Senator Laird (D-Santa Cruz). "Having worked with special districts throughout my entire career of public service in local government, the Assembly, the Governor's Cabinet, and now as a Senator, I know firsthand the value they bring to their local communities in essential services. In a district with numerous special districts, I have had the pleasure to work with many of them and partner with CSDA. I am particularly proud to author SB 418 to create the Pajaro Valley Health Care District that met an urgent need for an underserved community by saving the local hospital. I look forward to continuing to work with CSDA and my special districts."
Former Assemblymember Cooley a authored Assembly Bill 2819 in 2022, which would have established a continuously appropriated $1 billion account within the Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank), made available on a competitive grant basis to special districts or counties with a population of less than 300,000 individuals, for the purposes of financing rural infrastructure projects. He also s ecured $13 million in the 2022-2023 State Budget for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District to fund Phase 3 of the District’s Zinfandel Fire Responder Training Facility and worked with the Fulton-El Camino Recreation and Park District to secure over $4 million in the 2021-2022 State Budget to help build a new community center at the district’s Bohemia Park.
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