session #2 synopsis

The second session of the WUD Dairy Leaders program took place on June 12^th in Sacramento, Ca. The purpose of this session was to gain an understanding of the California state legislation process while also meeting politicians that have contributed to the California dairy industry.

Upon meeting in Sacramento we were greeted by Western United’s lobbyist, Mr. Gary Conover at the Broiler Room. Gary was our tour guide throughout our stay in Sacramento and proved to be very knowledgeable with what he does. While eating dinner at the Broiler Room, Gary explained the basics of the Legislative process with the help of Jim Collin, the chief consultant for Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani.

The following day we started the day off with a tour of the Capital building. This was a very interesting tour as we learned the history of our state capital and got to view the senate and assembly rooms. After our tour concluded we met up with Mr. Conover where we sat in on a Committee hearing for Senate Labor and Industrial Relations. This was a great experience as we got to see how a Committee hearing is run while listening to two conflicting parties.

After gaining an understanding of how a Committee operates we spent the remainder of the day with Mr. Conover who took us to meet key politicians that generally ally with the dairy industry. This was a great experience as we were able to visit with these politicians in their offices. By the end of the day we had met with Assemblywomen Connie Conway, Senator Anthony Cannella, Assemblyman David Valadao, Assemblywomen Fiona Ma, Senator Leland Yee, Senator Tom Berryhill, and his brother Assemblyman Bill Berryhill. Meeting with these politicians allowed us to gain an understanding of what life as a Politian is about while also becoming more familiar with the faces that represent us.

On the final day of our trip we were introduced on the Senate and Assembly floor at the start of the session. This was a great honor to be introduced on the floor amongst all of our state Senators and Assemblymen. Overall this was a great trip that gave me insight as to what goes on in Sacramento and the whole legislative process. Mr. Conover was invaluable on this trip as we would have been lost without him.  He did a great job informing our group with all he could and was a huge help through our time in Sacramento.

Session 2 Synopsis

      The second session was really a great eye opener into the legislative process in California.  This was a much needed review for me–it's been since high school that I really went over the legislative process.  I was looking forward to learning a great deal throughout this session and also getting to meet with new people and spending time with my fellow classmates.

      The first night, we met for dinner with Gary Conover, a lobbyist for Western United Dairymen, and Jim Collins, a consultant.  We met at the Broiler Room where we enjoyed a nice dinner where Gary and Jim gave us a good intro to the legislative process in California.  Gary passed out papers to us expanding on what we talked about.  I had a hard time fully understanding all of what we talked about but throughout the week, everything sank in well.

     The second day started out with a tour of the State Capitol.  We went into the upper levels of both the Senate and Assembly buildings and also got a great tour of the outer gardens.  The history was very interesting to me and certainly made me appreciate the Capitol building.  After our tour, we sat in on a Senate meeting in the Labor and Industrial Relations division.  They were reviewing bills and moving or closing them.  The bills were introduced, given defense and offense, and then voted upon.  We watched a few bills go through and then were off to meet with different Assembly and Senate members.  We met with many Assemblymen and women, as well as Senators.  I enjoyed meeting and talking with all of them.  I was especially impressed with David Valadao (R - Assembly) and Fiona Ma (D - Assembly).  David is a dairyman from Hanford area and was a very comfortable guy to be around.  Easy going and told it like it is.  He did not come off as a politician, but as a man who genuinely cares about where the state is headed.  Fiona was very impressive to me also, in that she took time to learn about agriculture and where her food comes from by visiting many places.  She handed us a three sided document full of places she had visited; dairies, vineyards, water districts, wineries, olive orchards, cotton, row crops and citrus, just to name a few.  I was very impressed by her drive to learn about the industry.

      Finally, on the third day we were introduced on both the floors.  Senator Cannella introduced us on the floor of the Senate and Assemblyman Valadao introduced us on the floor of the Assembly.  This concluded our week in Sacramento.  Overall I really enjoyed this session.  It was nice to meet and talk with members and also learn about the legislative process as well as the history behind it all in California.  I really appreciated Gary Conover giving us the inside scoop and showing us the Capitol, introducing us, and teaching us; I really enjoyed everything.  I will be looking forward to the next session in August!

Session 2, Day 2

After joining my fellow Dairy Leaders early Wednesday morning, we met Mr. Gary Conover for breakfast and discussed the day ahead of us.  First item on the agenda for the day was a tour of the State Capitol.  Kathy, our tour guide for the morning, was very knowledgeable about the various buildings, rooms and also the history of our state and its legislature.  Despite the fact that the pace of the tour was almost a jog (which in heels is not at all pleasant), it was a great start to the Dairy Leaders adventures at the State Capitol and also, a great way to really develop an appreciation for the State of California and all that it encompasses.  Following the tour, we met back with Mr. Gary Conover and attended the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee.  This was interesting experience.  The pace at which each issue was presented and then decided upon and the way the people, both for and opposing the issue at hand, either presented their side or supported one or the other was incredibly quick and straight to the point.  If this was all a person knew about how business in the Capitol was conducted, they could easily come to the conclusion that it is an efficient body of government.  Lucky for the Dairy Leaders, we were able to observe the running of business in the Capitol outside of this room and quickly discover the chaos that occurs within.  During our visit there were demonstrations and protests occurring with thousands of participants in attendance.  Hundreds of them were swarming the interior of the Capitol; an interesting experience to say the least, especially when you are dressed in a manner that one might assume you to be an attorney or politician. 

Following a short break we began an afternoon of meeting with various Senators and Assemblypersons, all who have been supportive of Western United Dairymen and their agenda within the Capitol.  First up to meet for the Dairy Leaders was the lovely and very dynamic Assemblywoman Connie Conway.  Assemblywoman Conway, the Assembly Minority Leader, explained to us how she became involved in politics and also expressed her no nonsense methods of doing business in Sacramento.  She told us about her dealings with those on the other side of the aisle and also about her upcoming meeting with the California Air Resource Board.  Our meeting with her was very exciting and left quite an impression.  The Dairy Leaders then met with Senator Anthony Cannella, the Chair of the Senate Ag Committee, before making our way to the Assembly Agriculture Committee hearing, which lasted at most five minutes due to it being budget week.  Assemblyman David Valadao was our next meeting.  Assemblyman Valadao was a unique meeting due to his ties to the dairy industry.  His family has two dairies in the Hanford area and prior to becoming a politician, he was very involved in the running and success of these two dairies.  During our meeting he discussed the various roadblocks he has experienced in Sacramento and also his plans to be in Washington, D.C. if successful in the November elections.  Assemblyman Valadao discussed his family with us and how he makes being in Sacramento work with a wife and three young children still living on the dairy in Hanford.  Next up for the Dairy Leaders was Democrat of San Francisco, Fiona Ma, Assembly Speaker Pro Temp.  She was anything, but a disappointment. During our meeting she discussed her beginnings in the Capitol and how after numerous farm visits, an open mind and a desire to continue learning about agriculture in the State of California, she votes in a manner more so aligned with Assembly Republicans.  Assemblywoman Ma is definitely proof that knowledge is power and that the more a person becomes educated about what we as agriculturist do, the greater the chances are that they will understand why certain practices and protocols are in place and develop a respect for the industry.  Senator Tom Berryhill was our next meeting on the afternoon agenda who had words of hope and faith about a bright future laying ahead for California, followed by Senator Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco.  Assemblyman Bill Berryhill shared with us his ideas to ensure the future success of agriculture in California through various water projects involving the Delta.  He also took the time to explain the issues that he has come up against and how his ideas differ from those presented by the Governor. The afternoon at the Capitol ended in Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani’s office, meeting with her staff.  Assemblywoman Galgiani, Chair of the Assembly Ag Committee, was able to meet with us briefly following the adjourning of the committee earlier in the day.

This day spent at the Capitol, with the opportunity to meet and converse with various Assemblypersons and Senators was definitely a different experience than what was expected.  The people we met with were very serious about their jobs and all had a common goal of putting California back on track for all the generations to come.  They were passionate about their jobs, and passionate about developing leaders to step into their roles once they have termed out.  

Session 2, Day 3  

On our last day, we met Mr. Gary Conover for breakfast once again before heading off to the Capitol.  This time rather than meeting with members of the Assembly and Senate we were introduced by Senator Anthony Cannella on the Senate Floor and then headed over to the Assembly Floor to be introduced by Assemblyman David Valadao.  After Assemblyman Valadao introduced us, we were able to sit through the remainder of the session and then step outside with the Assemblyman for a few moments and talk about an array of topics from high speed rail to the prison and jail systems in California to the protestors we had witnessed one day prior.  After a couple more photos on the Assembly Floor, we were on our way home and session 2 for the Class XI Dairy Leaders was complete.

A special thanks to Mr. Gary Conover, who made our session in the Capitol an all encompassing experience.  We were able to see firsthand the value of networking and building solid relationships with people and the places that these two things can take you if done well.  Thank you as well to the Assemblypersons and Senators that took the time out their schedules (during BUDGET week) to meet with us and talk about a number of different issues impacting not only our industry, but California as well.  You all definitely have lit a fire under the Dairy Leaders Class XI.

Lauren Reid

Fred Rau Dairy, Inc.

The State Capitol

Session two was a look at the State Legislation and political process. I found it very interesting how it worked. After unpacking my bags I walked to The Broiler where we were going to meet Gary Conover, a lobbyist for Western United Dairymen. As a group we visited with him and a political veteran Jim Collin, and learned about the lobbyists role and Mr. Collin’s role as the Committee Consultant. Gary gave us a review of what was planned for the next day and the different bills that we would be able to watch in action.
Early the next morning we started in the Capital, with a tour of the buildings. I had never been inside so it was amazing to see how nice it was. Kathy Potopaulos gave the tour. I learned that the Capital was constructed when Abraham Lincoln was President. Indeed, it was a very old building. We walked to the assembly room where there are 80 assembly men or women. There needs to be a simple majority to pass a bill.  Next we walked to the Senate where there are 40 Senators. Inside the Senate room, the voting is non-electronic which was interesting. A bill can start in either house and a session always starts with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. From there we walked to the State Park outside. We viewed many different plants and trees that had been given as gifts to the State from Foreign Governments. There are a total of 2,000 different plants and trees there. I really enjoyed seeing the non native plants that the world had to offer. While outside we also witnessed a large group of protestors, this group was bigger than normal, protesting for the budget completion.
Our first introduction was to Senator Anthony Cannella, who is the Chair of the Senate Ag Committee. We talked for a short minute, for we could meet with him again the following day. Assembly woman, Connie Conway, was intriguing to talk to. Her son has a large dairy in Tulare, so she was very informative about all of the latest dairy issues. Next we visited with David Valadao from Hanford, who has two dairies in Tipton. David has big plans for his future; he was looking to get elected to Congress in Washington, D.C. to represent dairies and our interests on a bigger scale. Assembly woman Fiona Ma was next; she is a Democrat from San Francisco with an open mind and common sense towards the Agriculture of California. The Berryhill brothers were up next. They both realized both houses need to eliminate the Bipartisanship and agree that everyone needs to work together to tackle the tough issues. Bill Berryhill being a farmer understands the need to get our water resources on track. He proposed a plan to build a pipeline to move water from the Delta to a reservoir in Las Vegueros for storage. I agree that is an issue that needs to be looked at before we have major problems. In Summary this trip was very interesting and beneficial for all of us! 

David deWit, California Dairy Farmer