PHOTOS: Rich Gordon Talks High Speed Rail, State Budget

With a full year in office under his belt, Assembly member Rich Gordon of the 21st District held an open house in his Los Altos office for the public.

Los Altos Mayor Val Carpenter introduced Gordon, a former San Mateo County supervisor, minister in the United Methodist Church, and a resident of unincorporated section of Menlo Park.

Gordon talked about the legislation that he introduced and passed, as well as answered questions from constituents, who included city council members around his district. 

Gordon said he supported High Speed Rail, though the plans for how it would be paid for has been a concern for him. There was also a presentation about PFLAG—Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gays.

As a freshman legislator, there were a few things Gordon said he noticed is done a little differently in the state capital, compared to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, where he spent more than a dozen years.

Chairing the Budget Subcommittee on Resources and Transportation, he found  they were only presented proposed changes in budgets from year-to-year, not the budget requests themselves. "I said, 'That doesn't work for me,'" he said.

Gordon started asking agencies to come to the committee having answered a list of questions about their budgets over five years with details, such as the number of employees. The Budget Committee decided all the subcommittees should follow suit, he reported.

That freshmen legislators can chair subcommittees at all was a revelation, he said. It is the consequence of term limits capping the tenures of legislators, he added.

The 21st District includes Almaden Valley, Atherton, East Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Menlo Park, Monte Sereno, Redwood City, San Carlos and Woodside.

Gordon serves on the Assembly Committees for Local Government, Health, Budget, Joint Sunset Review and Revenue and Taxation.