Catching up with the Congressman-elect

Curious about how Congressman-elect McNerney is gearing up for his first full term in the House of Representatives?

Check out these two articles that recently appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and Tri-Valley Herald:

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San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, December 17, 2006

'Mr. Smith' home from Washington
Congressman-elect already looking toward next run in '08
By Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer

The words were like gold to Jerry McNerney, the Democratic congressman-elect from Pleasanton who beat a powerful GOP incumbent and is back in his district briefly before he takes the oath of office.

"I'm not old enough to vote for you,'' Ryan Rubin, a 17-year-old Foothill High School student, told McNerney at a fundraiser Friday night in Pleasanton, "but I'll be old enough to vote for you in two years."

McNerney, who won by six percentage points, wants to hold on to his margin. But Rubin's remarks, made in a short receiving-line conversation, also served as a reminder of the pressure he'll face as a U.S. representative.

Election comes around every two years, and right after you win one, you have to start running again. There already are stirrings of Republicans, whose party holds a voter registration advantage in the district, gearing up to take on McNerney in the next round...

Click here for the rest of the San Francisco Chronicle article...

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Tri-Valley Herald
Saturday, December 16, 2006

McNerney has high hopes for transit
Incoming congressman's $2.6B vision: BART extension to Tracy 
By Erik N. Nelson, Staff Writer

DUBLIN — Incoming Rep. Jerry McNerney hasn't even taken his seat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and he's already thinking big.

At a groundbreaking at Dublin City Hall on Friday for a $9 million traffic management project for the Tri-Valley, McNerney said he hoped to secure federal money for a BART extension down the middle of Interstate 580 — all the way to Tracy.

"BART to Livermore and Tracy — these are things that I'm very interested in," said McNerney, a Democrat who Nov. 7 wrested the 11th Congressional District from Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy. As a member of the committee, McNerney added, "I will have the opportunity to bring projects to our area."

McNerney, whose new district comprises much of San Joaquin County and includes the Interstate 680 corridor in Alameda County and part of Contra Costa County, said improving links such as I-580 and BART "fits into my plan to bring economic development to San Joaquin County."...

Click here for the rest of the Tri-Valley Herald article...

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What are your thoughts?

As you many of you know, Congressman-elect McNerney really enjoys reading your collective blog comments. So post your thoughts below and he will likely post a response very soon!

Happy Holidays!

Team McNerney

Comments

[Virgil Magud]

Good morning and Merry Christmas Congressman McNerney...
Gas prices were $1.42 per gallon when Bush took office.This is killing the middle-class commuter here in the valley. And what is up with Diesel, $0.50 more than gas and cheaper to refine? Would appreshate your help..
Happy New Year
Virgil Magud

[Chet Wood]

Bart to Livermore and Tracy would be fantastic. I hope you can get the ball rolling on this project.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

[Paula Thomason]

Yesterday evening on the CBS news there was a segment about the San Joaquin Valley's asthma problem. One in six children suffer from it. The coach of the football team had several players with asthma and he said that he always has to be prepared to adjust his practices. The schools have different colored flags to advise kids/families about air quality. Red indicates that the air is so unhealthy they need to stay inside. Surely bringing BART to Tracy will help alleviate some of the problem.
I'm thrilled that there will be someone such as Jerry McNerney in Washington who realizes that business doesn't have to suffer in order to make the environment safer. I think he has the right priorities and is intelligent enough to find ways that help both the environment and business.

[George Reid]

Congressman McNerney:
Congratulations on your election and thank you for providing the mechanism for feedback from your constituents.
Regarding the proposed BART extension to Tracy, I think it is a great start and should be combined with a bullet train to Southern California. I understand that in Australia they are making extensive use of tunneling to avoid problems of congested urban areas, that should be considered for the SF Bay area also. Let's end the Iraq War/Occupation and use those funds ($2.5 billion per week and approaching a $1 trillion commitment) to make infrastructure improvements in the US, create local job opportunities, and increase "homeland" security and police protection for Americans.
Thank you.

George Reid, Pleasanton

[David Fletcher]

Now that the political tide is beginning to turn, please take the opportunity to speak out regarding the cuurent adminsitration's disregard for the value of science and technology. From global warming deniers to creationists to faith healers, irrational forces have gained ground during the past 6 years.

Please restore the Office of Science and Technology, and castigate the President for ignoring his own Science advisor.

To quote just a single example, the American Society of Civil Engineers has given the nations infrastructure a grade of D-. So instead of hemorrhaging public funds in a futile war, let's devote our collective energy to reversing our infrastructur's decline.

[Carol Sherrill]

Dear Mr. McNerney,
As one who worked to defeat Pombo and elect you, I am gratified to see the vision enacted with real projects proposed for the district. I think your supporters will be there in the next run, if you continue to perform with this vigor.
Carol Sherrill

[Sky Rashby]

Congrats and Happy Holidays! Thank goodness we have someone who will bring us energy solutions instead of pork barrel economics. Yay Jerry!

[Jeff in Pleasanton]

Jerry, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas. Then starting on January 3 it's time to take back our country! The first thing I am looking forward to is the passage, one by one, of the House ethics reform measures in the first few days of Congess, putting all members of the House on record, and to your championing of them. Go get 'em!

[harry osell]

bart to tracy would be amazing i have seen the traffic and it is awful to the bay in the am as an aside encourageing houseing development in the foothills rather than tracy or stockton would allow more land to continue in farming ...each county in the valley does more than a billion dollars a year in production not to mention looking forward to fuel supplies needed to transport food to the cities..which means paving over farm land would mean crops would have to be transported from south america or central america and paying the future fuel costs to do so...a shorter truck ride from teh valley to sf or la from the calif central valley would provide a supply of food for a lot less money

[Gary Wysocky]

Congressman:

I'm happy to see you back alternatives to the automobile. Its one of the many reasons that drew me to volunteer for you. I'm a bicycle advocate in my native Sonoma County because I feel strongly the the humble bicycle is one of the quicker, and economical solutions to global warming. Please continue to push for mass transit, and to make mass transit compatable with bikes. It won't be easy to stand up to the likes of Cong Dingell, but I wish you well.

[Mary Beth Karlin]

Happy Holidays, Congressman McNerny. Our dear high-school friend, Eber, sends me your newsletters. With great respect and brimming pride, I offer my help toward your 2008 RE-election in any way it is needed. Thank you for giving your life to the American people. We desperately need people of character like yourself leading our nation. Any chance of getting together before you leave for Washington? I could gather colleagues and friends here in Marin County who are behind you 100%.

[Dave Kisor]

You as an Engineer should be able to grok this. The reason we're forced to run petroleum powered vehicles is because of that miserable industry. they killed steam power and it's time to bring it back. A small APU (auxiliary power unit) similar to the ones found on multi engine aircraft but smaller could be used for the initial heating, but with a good closed system they could run for hours.
http://ghlin2.greenhills.net/~apatter/steam.html
http://www.stanleysteamers.com/modern_steam.htm

[Richard Linville]

Bart to Tracy is a laudatory goal deserver and needed by east bay and many San Joaquin County taxpayers beyond Tracy’s city limits. However I believe if you were to ask most of your constituents the primary infrastructure goal of the federal government in 2007 should be reconstruction of New Orleans and the gulf coast.

Please consider using your blog or creating some other online forum for 11th District voters to express their concerns and ideas. Most of us are not able to attend meetings.

[Peggy Deras]

I, for one, am disappointed that you were given the Transportaion Committee berth when you would be so much more valuable on one that took advantage of your expertise on energy to the benefit of our energy-guzzling nation.
I guess that's expecting too much for a first term Congressman and of the leadership of the Democratic Party.
Oh well.
I AM happy you're there, and all the work was definitely worth it.
Go GET'EM Jerry!

[Ralph Anderson]

As soon as I learned that you were opposing Congresman Pombo I immediately dispatched money to your campaign from here in Colorado. I hope that you help repair recent damage done to the Forest Service, the National Park service and the Bureau of Land Management. Get in touch with my Congessman Mark Udall who is leader in the defense of the environment.

[Brian McFadden]

BART to livermore is an excellent idea. Encouraging greater use of public transportation is a vital element of sustainaility. It will probably require re-examination of the bus system in the area, though. You want people to be able to get to BART easily, without driving.

Ironically, the high Republican registration in this district could actually be an advantage in the case of acquiring Federal funding for the 11th District. (Tom Delay used to put Congressmen who won narrow victories on the approprations committee so they could "bring home the bacon" in their district & increase their chance of reelection.) You could lobby for the funding by saying "Look, this is not going to be an easy district to hold on to, with a R registration advantage. I need to give my constituents something they can point to s they'll see a clear reason to keep me in this seat." Just a thought.

Having Nancy as your Bay Area district neighbor should help too :)

[Eric Meece]

As someone who helped in your campaign, I just want to emphasize my hope that you will vote to cut off funds for the War in Iraq ASAP and urge your colleagues to do so. We stopped the Vietnam War that way in 1974, finally. George Bush is not going to stop his war. Why are we deferring to this man? Cutting funds off is the only way to stop this illegal, deadly war based on lies, a war that should never have begun in the first place. It is not "supporting the troops" to leave them in the middle of a civil war as sitting ducks. Bring them home! No issue is more important right now.

[Jon Theisen]

Merry Christmas Jerry. Please remember how passionate you were during the campaign about the US in Iraq. Please, please urge the President to listen to the Iraq Study Group and lets bring our boys home. That is the only true solution. We will fight the terrorist on the countrys terms and not on special interests.

[Stephen Rosenblum]

Congressman McNerney:
I support extending BART to Tracy, but I believe that extending it to San Jose from the terminal near San Francisco Airport is of much greater importance to the residents of this region. Caltrain is a bandaid. It is poorly connected to San Francisco's transportation system as well as to the eastern parts of the Bay area. BART should become the greater Bay Area's regional rail system, and it will only be judged successful as it serves ALL of its population centers. Best of luck in office. I look forward to seeing you re-elected in two years.

[John Morearty, Ria deGroot]

As we drive from Stockton to the Dublin BART, Ria always says, oh if only the BART would come to the Valley.
Fat chance, I always say.
But now! from pie in the sky to wheels on the ground!
Ria and John, bicyclists in Fat City.

[Jim Churchill]

I think that long-term one of the most important jobs facing the Congress is restoring habeus corpus to the judicial system. This country got its start in part because of revulsion against the Star Chamber of the British monarchy; it isn't right to establish for this country to replicate the same system now.

[Alan Manewitz]

Iraq and bringing our troops home must take priority in the next Congress. Congress has limited control over immediate policy but Jerry can focus on three initatives. First, continue to fund the troops currently in IRAQ (their safety comes first). Second, do not fund increased troop levels in IRAQ. Third, be the voice of peace and reason. Speak out about need to transition to diplomacy in the region and the need to remove the primary barrier to diplomacy, US troops on the ground in IRAQ. Energy independence and reduced energy costs are two concepts not at odds with each other and not at odds with leaving IRAQ. Removing the war risk premium now in the world oil markets will reduce costs. Common sense energy alternatives are Jerry's specialty. Bart extension are also important and need to be built. However, if we try to fund Bart without reducing the cost of IRAQ, the next congress will be just as bad as the previous congress. To say the republican congress spent money like drunken sailors is to slander drunken sailors. A trillon dollar surplus doesn't become a multi trillion dollar deficit without corruption, greed and stupidity. We can do better in Congress. The adults are now in charge.

[David Tam]

I am heartened by your commitment to developing an alternative-energy industry in San Joaquin County. Generally, develop new jobs in low-income areas for low-income residents.

However, I am skeptical that hopes for finding federal funds for $2.6 billion BART extension from Dublin/Pleasanton to Tracy is realistic, and I do not consider it to be as important as developing more jobs for existing low-income residents. The still-unfunded Santa Clara County commitment to extend BART from Fremont to San Jose for about $6 billion reflects those concerns on the part of many San JOse-area voters, who would pay a regressive sales tax to finance it. Many transit advocates consider BART a very costly and inefficient means of congestion relief.

I trust that as a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, you will be mindful of the need for federal funding for increased express bus services throughout the East Bay, and of the potential for High Speed Rail through the Altamont Pass to serve local commuter as well as statewide need for alternatives to fuel-inefficient private automobiles and commuter air travel.

[Richard Fellows]

Merry Christmas!

[Jerry McNerney]

I just finished reading your blog posts. I've been busy, but I always look forward to reading your comments.

I definitely want to see BART go to Tracy, but I know there are many significant hurdles and it may be a long process to realize this vision. If we focus on Livermore first, we can hopefully bring BART to the ACE train and take a big step forward in helping thousands of commuters from San Joaquin County.

Our future can be great, especially if local residents demonstrate a commitment to making it happen. It may not be easy, but we can do it. I look forward to leading the charge and representing the people of our beautiful district.

Thanks for giving me your confidence and for helping me stand up and demand change. You have made all of this possible.

2007 is going to be an interesting and exciting year!

Jerry