Huffman Thanks Constituents For Support as he Heads to U.S. House

(Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, sent the following note Tuesday to constituents who subscribe to his email newsletters.)

Dear Friend,

Six years ago you granted me the extraordinary privilege to serve as your State Assemblymember. As you may know, my Assembly term will officially end on Dec 2nd, and in January, I will be sworn in as the Representative for the 2nd Congressional District, filling the vacancy created by Rep. Lynn Woolsey's retirement. With Thanksgiving upon us, I want to take one final opportunity to thank you for working with me and for your enduring civic engagement throughout my tenure in the State Assembly. 

The trust you placed in me as your representative is a solemn responsibility and I have strived to honor it by working hard to represent the entire district as opposed to one constituency or another; and by maintaining a focus on solving problems instead of being drawn into partisan bickering.  I have been overwhelmed by the support, collaboration, and encouragement I've received from people throughout this Assembly District and grateful for the broad range of passionate, intelligent and effective advocates living and working in this community.  Many of you rolled up your sleeves and worked with me and my staff on a variety of issues to make positive change.  I am proud of what we were able to accomplish together.

Collectively, we stopped the ill-conceived Cadillac Death Row at San Quentin saving California $1.6 billion in wasted dollars that can now be spent on schools and other higher priorities. Thank you for never giving up on that one, even when many people said it couldn’t be stopped.

Together, we fought to keep our state parks open, and thanks to the efforts of non-profit partners and our colleagues in the National Park Service as well California State Parks Foundation and Marin Community Foundation, our state parks will stay open this year, next year, and for years to come they will benefit from the creative solutions we put in place.  I will continue to work with you on this in my federal role.

Together, we proved false the premise that what’s good for the environment is bad for the economy. Since 2006 we recognized over 66 businesses with the Sustainable North Bay Award. I am grateful for this remarkable group of entrepreneurs whose vision and innovation are proving that business success and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.  

With your help, I authored and jointly authored almost 70 pieces of successful legislation – many of which represent major, precedent-setting reforms.  Some of our best bills came literally from you, through my constituent-focused “There Oughta Be a Law” contest. 

I also appreciated your thoughtful feedback on legislation that you asked me to support or oppose, as well as your input regarding the difficult budget challenges we faced over these past six years as we struggled to protect education funding and social safety net services during the worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression. I want you to know that I kept your views, suggestions and requests in mind when making many tough decisions over the years.

As an elected official I have been given a lot of the credit for the accomplishments of my office. I couldn't have done it without such an excellent staff.  Without their drive and steadfast determination, we would not have been able to accomplish so much in these six years.  I am truly grateful for their service to our great state.

As I move forward into the next chapter in my life, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your State Assemblymember. It has been an honor and I look forward to serving as your Congressmember. Please look for me after I am sworn into office in January, at www.house.gov. Finally, I wish for you and your loved ones a warm and relaxing Thanksgiving.