Lake Elsinore's Assemblywoman Takes Questions In Temescal Valley

About 30 residents from the Temescal Valley filled Senor Tom’s restaurant at Tom’s Farms Friday morning to attend Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez’s monthly coffee meeting.

“It’s important for me to have these one on one conversations with you,” Melendez told the group. “I don’t like giving speeches and I don’t like listening to them, so I hope you came with questions.”

A large portion of the group represented residents opposed to the proposed annexation of the area into the City of Corona, which Melendez made clear is a local issue, not a state issue. Though the assemblywoman promised “to take another look at the situation.”

In July, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors agreed with residents opposed to the annexation. The board voted 4-0  to send Corona city leaders a letter expressing opposition to incorporating nearly 16 square miles of Temescal Valley into Corona city limits, The Press-Enterprise reported.

Janlee Watson, a member of the anti-annexation group and resident of Temescal Valley, said the meeting with Melendez met her expectations and wished more elected officials took time to listen to voters. “This was a wonderful meeting,” Watson said. “Melissa is smart to maintain communication with her constituents.”

Melendez had opened the hour-long meeting with a briefing of recent bills and laws passed in Sacramento, including a discussion on AB 1266, the transgender bathroom bill (which she didn’t support), and the myriad gun laws coming through the legislature (which she doesn’t support).

“If you can fire it,” she said, “they (the Democrats) want to ban it.  I believe in the Constitution and supporting the 2nd Amendment.”

Melendez represents the 67th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar and a portion of Hemet. It also includes the Riverside County unincorporated areas of Temescal Valley, Lakeland Village, Lake Mathews, Good Hope, Nuevo, and Winchester.

Since her days on the Lake Elsinore City Council, Melendez's office claims the assemblywoman has had more contact with those she represents than any other elected official in the area through her monthly coffee meetings. Her next meeting with constituents is scheduled for late-September in Lake Elsinore. --Contributed content