Being Present



As a husband, father, youth sports coach, and now candidate for State Assembly, being present in the moment is not an option; it’s a requirement of life.  

As a consumer attorney, being present means being active in the community, responsive to issues that affect our daily lives, and taking action to check abuses of power and responsibility.  Striving to be present for my family, my youth sports teams, consumers, my clients and my community requires discipline.  If elected to the State Assembly for our district, I will also be present for my constituents.  

Last year, the County of San Diego Registrar of Voters was not conducting the post-election audit of your ballots leaving doubt on the accuracy of the certified results in the County.  I sued the Registrar in court and won a judgment ordering the Registrar to fully audit our ballots to assure every vote is counted and accounted. 

This year, the Escondido City Council voted to award management of its public library to a private Maryland based company in violation of the law requiring management by a local board of trustees. I am in court now on behalf of the citizens of Escondido, suing the City Council to overturn its contract. I expect we will have a trial date soon. 

When the Fallbrook residents were angry about water rate increases, I showed up and spoke before the Public Utilities Board to fight against the rate increase. 

This is what it takes to be present.

Throughout the district, residents tell me they have no contact with their Assemblymember:  “Where’s Waldron?” 

Marie Waldron’s local district office in Escondido is locked with a sign saying “Constituents seen by appointment only.”  This is exactly the antithesis of being present. 

Not being available and engaged with your constituents while in public office must be unacceptable and we must speak with our votes. No district office, no town halls, no timely responses to phone calls or letters, and no substantive results for us in Sacramento. It’s time for a change. We deserve more than a 20-year career politician who doesn’t serve her constituents. 

Being present also requires being ready, willing and able to take on the fight for justice, to fight for a project important to our communities, to fight for a change in the law that will benefit the business and working family communities throughout the area, understanding that you can both stand tall for your principles and work with others to effect compromise and change that benefits your community. 

Fighting for healthcare for all Californians, for the strongest public schools in the state, for increasing much needed affordable housing, and for building a renewable energy grid that meets our energy needs and fights the damage to our climate simultaneously, are among the historic challenges we Californians face in the next decade. Being present is essential. 

 * * * 

Alan Geraci is a consumer attorney, father, youth sports coach and community leader running to represent the 75th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the communities of Escondido, Valley Center, San Marcos, Fallbrook and Temecula.

*Note: Opinions expressed by columnists and letter writers are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the newspaper.

3 responses to “Being Present”

  1. patricia borchmann says:

    Alan L. Geraci’s “Opinion” column defines the ‘new normal’, for what public service should be about in 2018, in modern America.
    Color me impressed.

  2. Madge Torres says:

    Alan Geraci lives the ideals he speaks of and more. Please make the effort to Vote on June 5. It is always difficult to unseat an incumbent. We need a to do our part by telling our friends and family about Alan Geraci for State Assembly. We will be so pleased if we Elect Alan Geraci to represent us all the way from Temecula to Valley Center. We can do this.

  3. Jeff egkan says:

    At a recent public meeting in fallbrook regarding the continuing attempts by the out-of-state developers behind Lilac Hills Ranch, Alan was the only state-level office candidate present. Needless to say I was impressed that Alan would spend 2 hours of his valueable time to appear and sit in a relatively small audience. He obviously knows that this is an incredibly important issue, maybe the most important, to his constituents. Of course Waldron wasn’t present. Being present and listening to constituents is priceless. That night Alan secured my vote as well as others with diverse political views

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