Site search
sponsored by
News
ENLARGE
Rick Keene
After one year on the political sidelines, former California assemblyman Rick Keene is now vying to fill the 4th District State Senate seat.
Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, has termed out in the seat and will leave for a run at the lieutenant governor post in 2010.
The former mayor of Chico and 3rd District assemblyman said he was campaigning Friday in Nevada County for the Republican nomination in next year's primary election because he needs to.
“The election's in June, and with the absentees the way they are now, you have to be out early, especially in a 12-county district with 22,000 square miles from Donner Pass to Crescent City,” Keene said.
Many in California now vote by mail — formerly called an absentee ballot — and politicians have feared that those voters weren't hearing their messages early enough prior to the past few elections.
In addition, the traditionally Republican-leaning region has seen strong showing for Democrats in some races in recent elections.
Keene is running against former 2nd District assemblyman Doug LaMalfa of Richvale. James Reed of Fall River Mills has announced for the Democratic nomination, according to his Web site.
Both Keene and LaMalfa served from 2002 to 2008 and had to leave office due to term limits.
Keene is running on five issues he sees as key in Northeastern California, he said.
In education, voters should take a long look at charter schools, because parents control them better than Sacramento bureaucrats can, Keene said. Getting more parents involved in school decisions is paramount for better education, he added.
Keene also wants voters to rethink the notion that high schools should prepare every student for college.
“We've gotten rid of almost all our vocational programs, and it's caused a massive dropout problem,” Keene said. “We need to get back to vocational ed, maybe through junior colleges, too.”
Energy is also on Keene's priority list.
“We need to be self-sufficient as a state. We don't produce enough electricity,” Keene said.
“Good, clean technology is available; hydroelectric, solar and wind have made great developments. But we need to produce enough using conventional and alternative methods to meet the demand.”
Water is also on his list, including long-term storage, Keene said.
“Texas has a water plan for 50 years out, and they have an economic number for what happens if they don't,” Keene said. “We could be raising dams” at Shasta and Oroville lakes and building other small reservoirs.
“We can also build fish migration systems with them,” Keene said.
Fourth on the list is “sustainable forests” for a healthy economy in the Sierra Nevada and protection against fire, Keene said.
“Our forests are burning down, and we're importing 80 percent of our wood,” Keene said.
Thinning the forests to rid of it fire fuels is the way to stop a catastrophe, he added.
“The fires are burning so intensely that when they burn, we lose everything,” Keene said.
“Everyone knows the fuel load is way out there. You don't want your community endangered.”
The Senate hopeful also is campaigning on political reform.
Under Keene's plan, the legislature would meet only four months per year on a two-year basis. The first year would be to consider budgets and government efficiency studies and the second year for general legislation.
“Now, it's just bill-to-bill-to-bill,” Keene said. If the state legislature had Keene's setup, more meaningful bills would arise in less time, he said.
“If you couldn't push bills until the second year, (legislators) might hold hearings or find out what's happening in the state,” Keene said.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, has termed out in the seat and will leave for a run at the lieutenant governor post in 2010.
The former mayor of Chico and 3rd District assemblyman said he was campaigning Friday in Nevada County for the Republican nomination in next year's primary election because he needs to.
“The election's in June, and with the absentees the way they are now, you have to be out early, especially in a 12-county district with 22,000 square miles from Donner Pass to Crescent City,” Keene said.
Many in California now vote by mail — formerly called an absentee ballot — and politicians have feared that those voters weren't hearing their messages early enough prior to the past few elections.
In addition, the traditionally Republican-leaning region has seen strong showing for Democrats in some races in recent elections.
Keene is running against former 2nd District assemblyman Doug LaMalfa of Richvale. James Reed of Fall River Mills has announced for the Democratic nomination, according to his Web site.
Both Keene and LaMalfa served from 2002 to 2008 and had to leave office due to term limits.
Keene is running on five issues he sees as key in Northeastern California, he said.
In education, voters should take a long look at charter schools, because parents control them better than Sacramento bureaucrats can, Keene said. Getting more parents involved in school decisions is paramount for better education, he added.
Keene also wants voters to rethink the notion that high schools should prepare every student for college.
“We've gotten rid of almost all our vocational programs, and it's caused a massive dropout problem,” Keene said. “We need to get back to vocational ed, maybe through junior colleges, too.”
Energy is also on Keene's priority list.
“We need to be self-sufficient as a state. We don't produce enough electricity,” Keene said.
“Good, clean technology is available; hydroelectric, solar and wind have made great developments. But we need to produce enough using conventional and alternative methods to meet the demand.”
Water is also on his list, including long-term storage, Keene said.
“Texas has a water plan for 50 years out, and they have an economic number for what happens if they don't,” Keene said. “We could be raising dams” at Shasta and Oroville lakes and building other small reservoirs.
“We can also build fish migration systems with them,” Keene said.
Fourth on the list is “sustainable forests” for a healthy economy in the Sierra Nevada and protection against fire, Keene said.
“Our forests are burning down, and we're importing 80 percent of our wood,” Keene said.
Thinning the forests to rid of it fire fuels is the way to stop a catastrophe, he added.
“The fires are burning so intensely that when they burn, we lose everything,” Keene said.
“Everyone knows the fuel load is way out there. You don't want your community endangered.”
The Senate hopeful also is campaigning on political reform.
Under Keene's plan, the legislature would meet only four months per year on a two-year basis. The first year would be to consider budgets and government efficiency studies and the second year for general legislation.
“Now, it's just bill-to-bill-to-bill,” Keene said. If the state legislature had Keene's setup, more meaningful bills would arise in less time, he said.
“If you couldn't push bills until the second year, (legislators) might hold hearings or find out what's happening in the state,” Keene said.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
