School and City Officials Endorse Lin for Assembly, Talk Economy and Education

, announced the endorsement of several San Marino school and civic leaders at a press conference Friday and addressed issues like education and the economy.

“It is everyone’s civic duty to come out and vote,” said Board of Education President Nam Jack, who was the schools representative present. “One of the most important things to do is learn about the candidates.”

The 49th State Assembly District is currently represented by Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) and includes San Gabriel Valley cities like San Marino and Arcadia.

Eng will be termed out this year and endorses Lin’s Democratic opponent Ed Chau.

Lin’s campaign announced prior to the event that all members of the San Marino City Council and SMUSD Board of Education were endorsing Lin.

All City Council members except Vice Mayor Richard Ward were present Friday, following that morning’s adjourned regular council meeting.

Several former San Marino Mayors also voiced their support in front of City Hall Friday, including Rosemary (Rary) Simmons, Eugene Dryden and Lynn Reitnouer, who was joined by his wife Winslow, a Steering Committee Co-Chair.

School Board VP Endorsement

SMUSD Board of Education Vice President C. Joseph Chang was not present Friday, but is listed as endorsing both Lin for State Assembly and Lin’s Democratic opponent Ed Chau.


The Issues

Here is some of what Lin and others had to say Friday about vital issues and Lin’s candidacy:

ECONOMY

Jobs

“The special interest group is people who need jobs in California,” said Lin.

Lin said his three priorities are jobs, jobs and jobs.

Business

“San Marino, like all other cities, is also affected by the downtrend [in the economy],” said Lin.

The vacancy rate is higher than before due to regulations—sometimes parking requirements or otherwise, said Lin, who helped construct a parking lot in the Mission District when he was mayor.

“Sometimes over-regulation hurts business,” said Lin. “Find the reason why people are moving away and what regulations are killing them. It doesn’t matter how many businesses come here if you cannot keep them.”

EDUCATION

“To fight against crime … the best way is a good education,” said Lin, who wants to improve vocational training. “The best welfare system is a job.”

SMUSD Board of Education President Nam Jack

“I am endorsing Matthew Lin for many reasons," said Jack. "Matthew is a great leader with a proven track record. He is a leader in the community, a leader in the city, a leader in business, and a leader and partner in education. Without education everyone suffers.”



Sun told Patch he’s known Lin for over 30 years, since Lin was a medical student at Tapei Medical University.

“Hopefully whoever is elected continues on the Stoneman bill,” said Sun, referencing a bill that current 49th District Assemblyman Mike Eng is working on that would add an extra $1 million to the $

The bill would allow the City of San Marino to buy the Stoneman school property it is currently leasing and the profits to go to



TRAFFIC

“We are looking at more local issues here but the state needs to look regionally,” said Sun about how an Assembly representative can affect San Marino.

“We have Los Robles traffic. Hopefully [Lin] can coordinate everybody … us and Alhambra.”



What issues are most important to you when deciding who to vote for in the State Assembly election? Share your thoughts in the comments.