By Garth Meyer
State Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi won reelection to his fifth term in the state legislature with a 58% to 42% win over challenger and former Hermosa Beach councilmember George Barks.
“I really appreciate the support from South Bay voters the five times I’ve been re-elected, (and now) for one more term before terming out,” he said.
Muratsuchi, a Democrat representing the 66th District, has written a list of bills in his time in the state legislature, introducing 194 in 10 years, with 60 of them signed into law.
“Pretty good batting average,” he said.
One of these, the “Freedom to Read Act” was signed by Governor Newsom Sept. 29. The assemblyman said he heard a report on NPR one day about the American Library Association’s “Banned Books Week,” which inspired the bill.
“I strongly believe our freedom to read is a cornerstone of our democracy,” Muratsuchi said. “The data shows that half of the book titles to be challenged are written by minorities and the LGBTQ community about their lived experience.”
“A loud, vocal minority,” he said of the challengers of these books.
“Nothing in the bill would allow pornography…” he said. “We should let professional librarians determine how and where these books are (offered), in an age-appropriate way. Those judgment calls should be left to the (librarians), not people with an anti-LGBTQ agenda.”
A provision in the bill makes it so every public library adopts a collection development policy, decided by the librarian.
AB2309 is a bill Muratsuchi introduced in February, working with the City of Manhattan Beach, to change state law to allow the city to prosecute its own state and misdemeanor crimes. The bill died for this two-year legislative session.
Since Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon lost Nov. 5, it is likely now moot.
Muratsuchi also introduced a bill about paying teachers more.
“I continue to champion keeping teacher salaries competitive; to earn like those with similar backgrounds – bachelor’s degrees, and for some, master’s degrees. We’re not paying teachers what they’re worth to society,” he said. “We’re seeing more and more situations where teachers can’t afford to live anywhere near where they teach.”
On another issue, the assemblyman spoke at an Oct. 30 ceremony in Redondo Beach to salute the city’s achievement of “Functional Zero” for homelessness. He told of what he learned from doing a ride-along with Lila Omurra, the city’s homeless housing navigator.
“Seeing the success of the Redondo Beach approach, I introduced a bill to take the homeless court model statewide,” Muratsuchi told Easy Reader. “It’s an example of how local government can work in addressing the homeless crisis.”
“The bill held because it had a price tag…..” Muratsuchi added.
He is also the lead author of Proposition 2, which was on the Nov. 5 ballot, the $10 billion for schools.
“Our schools desperately need to be repaired and modernized,” he said.
Is $10 billion enough?
“It’s not enough,” Muratsuchi said, noting that Proposition 2 follows a $15 billion effort in 2020 which narrowly failed; so proponents reduced the number.
“The need continues to be more urgent,” he said.
Muratsuchi’s interest in politics stemmed from when he was a student at UCLA in the early ‘80s, and he advocated for an official apology for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
He wanted to be a civil rights lawyer, but then saw that it was members of Congress who passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, signed by President Reagan. ER
Deepest gratitude to Al Muratsuchi for always doing what is right, moral, and ethical.
Best wishes for after his Assembly days are over.