The "We Need More Jobs, Not More Lawsuits", continued into the Central Valley last week, starting off in Bakersfield with a meeting at Jocko's Electrical Supply. The owner and General Manager, Bruce Peterson, met with CALA and is a true activist. Peterson is very involved in the National Federation of Independent Business. He gets our message and he is willing to help us spread the word.

The afternoon was spent at the Lowe's on Rosedale Highway. We had a display and handed out flyers and our brochure for four hours. The one thing I have learned in this business is the best way to get your message across is to take it to the people. Most people get it and are willing to listen to you. Bakersfield has been hit hard in this economy as have Central Valley communities.

I finished off the day appearing on the Inga Barks Show, a prominent radio talk show that covers a lot of the Central Valley. The 30 minutes was a good discussion of the tour, lawsuit abuse and where the candidates stand on reform. I even took a couple of calls from listeners, including a call about ADA lawsuit abuse. It seems there is not town in California that is not experiencing them.

The second day I was off to the town of Taft, which is celebrating it's 100th Anniversary. It is really a fascinating town with a rich history.  I spoke to the Taft Chamber of Commerce. In the audience were the City Manager, the Police Chief and the Superintendent of Schools. Some of these small communities really do not fully understand how vast the litigation problem is in our state. The audience was very receptive and willing to be supporters of our effort. Then it was off to the Taft Independent newspaper and I was interviewed by Publisher Michael Long. After a good interview, Mike even decided to join us on our Statewide Advisory Council.

From Taft the day continued to Delano where I met with the city's Assistant Executive Director and stopped by the Delano Record. From there I went to Hanford and met with the President of its Chamber of Commerce. I also decided at the last minute to stop by the offices of two Assembly candidates in District 30. Pete Parra, who filled out our candidate survey, and Fran Florez, who did not. Florez has a campaign sign that says, "Water = Jobs." I asked her campaign staff whether she felt the same about legal reform. I think they will get back to me.

The tour continues in Fresno. The days are long, but worth it. People are struggling in this state and business as usual is not the answer. Things need to change. And as we saw from Tuesday's election results, they are.