Donnelly Opens Eyes, Ears at Chamber Forum

Did you know that , who represents in the state Assembly, is a member of the Tea Party? Or that he believes global warming is a myth? Or that he founded the largest Minuteman chapter in California?

Donnelly is also one of 14 children, was born in Atlanta, lived in Michigan, has five sons and says he believes marriage was ordained by God to be between a man and woman.

These are just a few of the things attendees of the recent Arcadia Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Forum heard about Donnelly from the man himself.

The free monthly forums, which are open to the public, take place on the first Thursday of every month at 8 a.m. Arcadia’s Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representative Michael D. Antonovich will be the guest speaker at the Nov. 3 forum.

Donnelly won the election to represent the 59th Assembly District in November. He doesn’t live near Arcadia, but in the San Bernardino mountains.

Donnelly made it clear to the two dozen or so people present at his forum—which included Arcadia Mayor Gary Kovacic and Chamber President Bob Hoffman—that he has come up to speed quickly on many political issues, such as state redevelopment funds.

Arcadia, along with many other cities, stands to lose millions of dollars in redevelopment funds. The City Council must soon decide whether to proceed with plans to pay a remittance, or, “ransom” to the state for the privilege of keeping a portion of those funds.

The concept of paying remittance to the state for redevelopment funds was just one of many issues that appeared to rankle Donnelly, who also champions removing most state restrictions on business growth.

Donnelly also rattled off a list of reasons why the Dream Act—which allows illegal immigrants to apply for state financial aid for college—is a mistake. He surprised many by saying that California no longer has truly public universities because the majority of so-called "public" university funding does not come from the state.

Donnelly's interest in state finance explains his appointments to various Assembly committees. He serves as vice-chair of the committees on Revenue and Taxation and Higher Education, and as a member of the Appropriations Committee, Rules Committee, and Joint Committee on Legislative Audit Committee.

Donnelly’s energy and passion quickly captured the attention of attendees as he decried what he called out of control government spending and said he would be initiating a state referendum in the next four or five days to combat this.

Whether you agree with Donnelly's politics or not, it’s encouraging to see someone who makes no bones about who he is and what he stands for, and who is clearly so committed to making significant changes to state government.

Read more by Scott Hettrick at ArcadiasBest.com.