Supervisor Don Knabe addressed the state of Los Angeles County and the Fourth District at a luncheon at the Long Beach Convention Center yesterday.
In his seventh annual address, hosted by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Supervisor Knabe spoke about the big challenges facing the County, in particular, the January 1, 2014 roll-out of the Affordable Care Act. He also provided an overview of his “bucket list” – the infrastructure, public/private partnership and safety net services projects he would like to see completed before his term ends in 2016.
Knabe announced significant infrastructure investments, including $25 million for sidewalk repairs and $45 million to upgrade county libraries in the fourth district. He discussed a plan to build two community health clinics and a junior golf academy, and repeated his commitment to direct transit connection to LAX and to keep it a priority at Metro and with transportation officials in Washington, DC. Knabe reinforced his commitment to eradicating child sex trafficking and showed the new, recently-launched Safe Surrender campaign. In a surprise announcement, Knabe revealed that the Long Beach Chamber was increasing its traditional event proceeds donation from $10,000 to $50,000 with the extra funds going to seed scholarships for Safe Surrender children and the victims of child sex trafficking.
Regarding the speech, Supervisor Knabe said, “While polls expose Americans’ on-going frustration with government gridlock, I think these poll numbers are beside the point. I think what people really want is invisible government. You are safe in your home; you put the garbage out and it is collected; you drive to work and the streets have no potholes and the lights work; your kids go to school and they learn; you come home and the playgrounds and parks are well maintained and safe – and if all of this is true, you don’t notice government. It’s invisible. And it works. And that is what our County government is trying to do.”
For those unable to attend the event, text and video of the speech are available at www.knabe.com.