does new garnier micellarlife out ofwater rose. with rose water and micelles that work like a magnet to gently cleanse and remove makeup and now, even hydrates skin. damian trujillo: hello, and welcome to, it's cleansing, reinvented. "comunidad del valle." new water rose. i'm damian trujillo, we have a very powerful show today. by garnier, naturally. the california secretary of state and assemblyman ash kalra, brzezinsktom steyer...k at this. berman: tom steyer... all in our studio on your "comunidad del valle." o'donnell: surging in nevada. scarborough: this is working for tom steyer. ♪ o'donnell: surging in south carolina. smerconish: i don't think it's just resources. mitchell: surging in two new polls out of nevada and south carolina. wallace: polling at double digits. damian: we begin today with king: up eleven points from october. the california secretary of state, alex padilla. that is dramatic. he's been a busy man over the last few weeks. steyer: i'm saying we have a broken government. he's here on our show, welcome back to the studio. that's what's going on in washington, dc. alex padilla: yes, it's good to see you damian. damian: well, we talk about how busy you are. it's been bought by corporations, i mean, the primaries are early this year, and my question to the american people is so you've been busy up and down the state. who do you think is going to change that? alex: it is full, election season has been i'm tom steyer and i approve this message. for some time now. you know, the day that the people in iowa went to caucus, "comunidad del valle." everybody was watching the news. you kind of reiterated it, you heard alex padilla, that was the first day that people can go into their county elections office and vote early in california. the secretary of state mention it, but the importance of latinos going out to vote and everybody going out to vote. plus, the 15 million vote by mail ballots that have been ash: it's critically important. arriving in mailboxes, so we're in full swing. i think oftentimes, we feel that we don't have the power.

but of course, tuesday, march 3 is officially and that is sometimes i believe intentionally that message our primary election day. damian: so, because in the past, is put out there, that no election day was the big day for people like yourself, what you do, it doesn't make that much of a difference. and now you're saying it's a month before, the day of, we're trying to flip that narrative, and a month after. i' they are really taking strids we're trying to flip to take back their power. one is with more options of how to vote, not just vote by mail or on election day, but early voting. and i really hope that as election day arrives, right, santa clara county is joining the list of counties implementing the voters choice act. i mean, people already have their ballots. and as secretary padilla mentioned, so, voters in santa clara county will have the option of voting you know, we have vote centers. i had a bill to prioritize vote centers on college campuses, anywhere they choose over the course of 11 days, trying to get the young people engaged. including election day. but we have vote centers throughout our community, you could wait till the last day, vote early, and i really hope the latinos are heard and that they show up vote on the weekend, or vote by mail. and of course, the month after the election, that's how long it takes us to finish counting and because it does matter, it does matter in their representation. verifying ballots, conducting post-election audits,ion audit, and those, they're actually in a fight for things that matter before we announce the final official results. to their families.o this ne, so it's a--it's a big task for the biggest state in the nation. 2020. what's in the hopper for the rest of 2020 in sacramento? damian: who makes these changes? is it your office or is it the individual registrars ash: you know, there are a lot ss that we're focusing on. in the counties that say, "we want to do-- you know, being here in silicon valley, we want to vote this way this year"? obviously we have a lot of wealth, alex: well, the voters choice act but we also have the most stark income inequality in the nation. has been an option for counties.

in 2018, there's 5 counties that made the transition. so, i'm focusing on issues that really try to uplift families and workers, really trying to make it easier for workers to be and we had records statewide turnout in 2018. the five counties that implemented able to have retaliation claims. the voters choice act all had even higher turnout. there's a lot of retaliations-- retaliation against workers, so, we know it's easier for the county, but it's better particularly immigrants.givs for voters too because of the additional options. who build housing, they must pay prevailing wage. this year, there's 15 counties doing it this way, against, most people on those job sites are latino. and that covers more than half the voters in the state. they deserve a living wage that they can actually feed so, we make it easier to register, their families with. easier to cast your ballot, keep things safe and secure, and we also have environmental bills as well to protect, you know, against tropical deforestation, kind of leading the nation in strengthening our democracy. which affects indigenous communities throughout damian: because i got my ballot in the mail. and instead of going to my usual polling place, the world, to try to show that we're all connected, and the actions that we take part of impact others you can go to any number of places that are certified by as much as they impact us. the registrar, i guess, and drop off your ballot or vote there. damian: and you're a chair of a labor committee? ash: that's right. alex: right, that's one of the questions that we've been getting under this new elections model. so, i'm the chair of the state assembly labor and employment committee. again, san mateo county, santa clara county and so, definitely focusing on a lot of issues in the bay area are the two counties that are doing this. to empower our workers. for voters there, yeah, the pog it sometimes feels really difficult for workers to get going to for years and years may or may not be there. a voice, whether they're in the restaurant industry, hotel workers, even teachers and nurses. but if you stop and look at what the additional options are, you want to make sure that we're doing everything we can you know, before you only had that one location, to empower the workers when we're creating so much wealth.

that was your polling place, election day only. and yet the wealth is not going to those that are doing now, you can go to any of the hundreds of locations the labor. in the county convenient to you over the course of 11 days, and we want to--we want to change that and empower the workers in the state of california. damian: the assembly is run by democrats. not just one day if you didn't vote by mail to begin with, which is growing in popularity. the state senate is run by democrats. so, we're accommodating more user-friendliness, the governor is a democrat. most statewide elected officials are democrats. if you will, for elections. damian: when we talk about we usually get 26% voter turnout how important is it to--for you to hear a diverse voice, maybe hear from the assemblyman, assemblywoman from fresno on non-presidential elections, that's got to be depressing for somebody like you who's out there trying to pump up voters, or the central valley who are not democrats? make sure that whoever they vote for or whatever they vote ash: yeah, and i get along well, and i'm always willing to work with our republican colleagues. for that they just go out there and vote. alex: i constantly reference my high school the reality is that even within the democratic party, government teacher, right? just kind of recalling the lessons, including, there are a lot of different stripes and flavors there. you know, our democracy works best when so, it's not like we're all monolithic, right? as many eligible people participating, right? depending on where we represent and what our values are, what our, you know, ideology is. if there's 1% making the decisions for everybody,l d. and so, i would say that with california's-- so, how can we move towards everybody participating? so, making it easier to register on paper, online, with california having democrats in this majority position, we have the biggest surplus our state has ever seen, automatic registration at dmv, the success of the biggest investment in education that the state our pre-registration program, and now same-day registration has ever seen. we're providing healthcare to more people than we ever have, at every polling place, every vote center in california,

including our immigrant community, that makes the registration part easier and giving voters expanding coverage to undocumented immigrants up more options of when, where, and how to vote. you know, i think it's paying off. and so, i bring that up because there are certain values in 2014, when i was elected secretary of state, dismal turnout. the democratic party has that i'm proud to say california 2016, much better, it was a presidential election year. pushes forward, on the environment, on you know, even 2018 was great. fighting back against the trump administration it was near presidential numbers. on their attacksn and now 2020, i'm predicting not just record registration, if the republicans want to join in us holding those but record turnout, so let's keep building on this california values, i'm more than happy to work with them, going forward. damian: the latino numbers, how do they look? but we have to remember that especially right now, alex: latino numbers on the registration side are way up. california holds a very special role in the world, we know that the population numbers go up, registration numbers are going up, not just in this country, in showing what america is and i expect to see that when it comes to participation as well. and can be about. damian: you're called the spend, spend party, the democrats are. like if we're not paying attention, if we're not motivated right now, how are you able to have a surplus then? i don't know what it's going to take. ash: well, we--well, look, if we didn't have a surplus, damian: right. now, what happened in iowa? they would say, "well, you're being irresponsible. were you shaking your head like the rest of us and what-- you don't have a surplus." we know the economy is going down. how can you assure us that the same thing won't happen here in california? the response, the fiscally responsible thing to do is have a surplus because that's what a family does, right? alex: yeah, i was shaking my head. no disrespect to iowa, but because they knew the calls were going to start, you know, how do we make sure that what happened and so, yet in california, we have a surplus getting ready in iowa doesn't happen here? so, i think there's a few important things to remember. for the next downturn while the federal government is

number one, what happened in iowa was a caucus, spending trillions and trillions and has a deficit closing in not an election, two very different processes. on a trillion dollars. second, a caucus in iowa is run by a political party, right? and so, they're the fiscally irresponsible pay, elections in california are overseen by elections in our roads, in our healthcare, in our education,n dollars. administrators at the county level and overseen by the state. third, what happened in iowa was there was a breakdown in an app and ensure that at the same time while we're doing that,o. that they developed for reporting of results. damian: does anything worry you about where we're headed at this point? we don't use apps in california, not to cast ballots, ash: well, housing, housing is a huge issue here. not to count ballots, not to report results. we have to do more. rehe urgency is here. and the other thing i think to remember is that the iowa that wn do have solutions, we have locations for housing, democratic party has been reminding people we're going back to the paper record of the results of each caucus site for you know, the homeless, transitional housing, the same logic that we require paper ballots in california. let's accept it into our neighborhoods. the unhoused neighbors are our neighbors. damian: you need a paper trail. and you know, would we rather have them by a creek or alex: paper ballots and a voter verified paper trail. damian: all right. well, if you want more information, again, under an overpass, or in secure, supportive housing, the election day is on march 3 all across the state. there is the phone number and web address where we can get them the help they need in a loving way? for the secretary of state's office in sacramento. and so, we can bring the resources, we can have certain entitlements to build housing. we need our neighbors and our community to rally around us

to make sure that we see it happen. damian: all right, well, thank you for briefing our viewers on what's happening in sacramento. we'll be back with the honorable alex padilla, stay with us. putting term limits on congress, about assemblyman ash kalra, again representing washington insiders went crazy. the 27th assembly district in california. they said term limits are bad, and there's the web address for more information. that they'll break government. what's next for you? we have about 15 seconds. what a joke! ash: what's next? congress is working fine for politicians and corporations, reelection in the state assembly on the ballot in march as well. but it's not doing anything for real people i look forward to continuing to represent the city in san jose, on climate, health care or gun safety. the city in whicgrmian also pick up a copy of "el observador" newspaper the only way we get new ideas is electing new people, and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. thank you for watching, we'll see you again next week. including a president willing to shake-up washington. buenos dias. i'm tom steyer and i approve this message. it's timcan it helpltimate sleep nukeep me asleep?he sleep number 360 smart bed. absolutely, it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. the secretary of state of california. save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. what can you tell us about the russians? i'm sure they're trying to tap into what we're doing here. plus 0% interest for 36 months. ends monday. alex: you know, i put it in this context.

when i was first running for secretary 6 years ago, 99% of the questions i got was, "how can you get more people registered to vote?" and we're doing plenty of that. "how can you get more people to vote?" and we're doing plenty of that. but it wasn't until the 2016 election cycle that these questions about cyber security or foreign interference in our elections have really been under the spotlight. damian: you started from ground zero then when it comes to topics like that. alex: right, so thankfully, you know, there's policies that have been in place in california that have served us well since even before, you know, the russians in 2016. the voting systems that we use in california to vote have to be tested and certified first. and we have the high security standards of any state in the nation when it comes to our voting systems. we prohibit internet connectivity. so, the machines that we use to maybe mark a ballot, or cast a ballot, or count ballots ca to the internet, so we make it impossible to systematically hack or rig the elections. i'm sara gore, and this is open house. this week, we're inside a unique art deco influenced property in west soho. we require paper ballots, we talked about that in th and we visit westport, connecticut to check out and even then, after every election, this impressive estate with unobstructed views of the long

island sound from virtually every room. every county has to conduct a post-election audit we explore a sleek, modern aesthetic in this greenwich so, that has served us well for many, many years. village townhome. plus, we check out this architectural gem and the alpine paradise of aspen. making sure that all the systems in california everywhere, but first, we rock out in this los not just here in the bay area,r feliz home designed as an homage to an english country estate. more secure pieces of equipment. cyber security training going on every day, it feels like you're staying at a bed and breakfast in the english countryside partnerships now not just between the county and the without ever getting on a plane. state, but you know, i never thought i'd have a department [theme music] of homeland security and the fbi on my speed dial, but that's, you know, the age that we're living in when it comes to elections. damian: so, they're trying, i'm sure. today, i'm coming to you from this spectacular townhome alex: they're trying on a daily basis. and the more we learn about the types of efforts and the more we secure against their efforts, they just continue both in frequency and sophistication. so, it takes all of us to be vigilant. i feel pretty confident on our election's infrastructurdebut ty about more is the bad information, not just but especially on social media, right?

'cause all it takes is, you know, one fake, you know, to question the integrity of the process, right?, but they should have the confidence that,unt " so, we encourage people if you have any questions, any concerns about elections, you know, don't just read anything you see online. ask your county elections department or your secretary of state's office. damian: and i always tell-- i always tell people check the source. if you're tweeting something, find out what the source is of that information you're tweeting because that can lead to a lot of damaging-- alex: right, and we've tried to simplify it this year. we have a lot of tools from register to vote, verifying your registration status, how to vote for president. it's a presidential primary, early voting opportunities. we have all those tools now at one place at vote.ca.gov. damian: and your advice is probably vote early and get it over with so that you're not stressing out on march 3. you know, if you want to wait till the last minute, you can, that's your prerogative. but if you want to minimize your chances of having to wait

in line, yes, vote early. you can have--you can vote early, you can vote by mail,o. damian: all right, let me get a little personal with you if you don't mind. you had the option to run for congress down in southern california. you decided to stick with what you're doing. tell us, must've been a tough decision. tell us about that decision and why you love what you're doing now. alex: yeah, there was an opportunity to run for congress. you know, went through what does it mean for the family, like any good decision that i make in life. you know, politically would've been good, or you know, what would've been better. one of the biggest factors in my decision, to be honest, was this election cycle, right? we've talked a lot about the threats to the integrity of our election. or regardless of what you think of the current occupant of the white house, this could be the most consequential and so, i just sort of envisioned where am i going to be this september, october, going into november election day? am i going to be campaigning? 'cause you know, can achieve another political office. or do i need to keep my eye on the ball to making sure the elections are run smoothly and securely?

so, i've decided to stay and fulfill this job for this cycle, and hope that other opportunities will present themselves in the future. damian: when you put your head down on your pillow at the end of the night, how satisfied do you feel that you're doing the work of the people? and it's important work that needs to be done. alex: yeah, i'm blessed. you know, i've been in public service now for a little bit more than 20 years. i've served on the los angeles city council, i've served in the state legislature, and now as secretary of state. about sleep well at night 'causethe sleeping giant, and it's waking up, and we're talking about latino-- the latino voting bloc. what do you se alex: so, i see a co t first by numbers, and then by, you know, by motivation, by animo. by the numbers, all the policies that we put in place to make it easy to register, easier to vote, that's benefiting all californians,

but clearly it's disproportionately helping people who have been eligible but unregistered. or registered, but eh, they don't vote every time. they voted only every once in a while. and unfortunately, latinos have lagged in both registration and participation rates. so, the more we increase registration and turnout rates, i think the more inclusive our democracy, our electorate is of latino voices and other important voices. but i think we're also living in a very unique time.a, and we had this proposition 187 on the ballot. through an anti-latino, anti-immigrant time period. you don't hear that coming at least locally or from the state capital in california anymore. but to think here we are in the year 2020 still hearing this rhetoric, but now at a national political level. realize from 2016 that elections don't just have results,and to

they have consequences, you know, i don't know what it'll take to wake us up. but i do see that attention, that energy everywhere that i go in the state. so, let's just translate that to the primary, the general, and in between to the 2020 census. damian: all right, thank you for the work that you do. alex padilla, secretary of state. more information on elections, there is the main web address for the secretary of state's office and the phone number at that office in sacramento. up next on "comunidad del valle," the honorable ash kalra, stay with us.

with the honorable ash kalra representing the 27th assembly district on the show before, ash.hink yon i don't know what-- you've been avoiding us or i don't know what-- ash kalra: i enjoy watching it, just been waiting to get on. damian: so, i mean, i've known you since talk about your ascension, and did you ever imagine that you'd be wearing that pin on your-- ash: i absolutely did not imagine i'd be an elected official, let alone a state assembly member. and the proof i give to people when i say i didn't plan on

being elected official is i was public defender for 11 years. that's not exactly a common path. but it really helped me to get grounded in my community and my neighborhoods, where when i was able to run for city council, i think that resonated. and now, here i am in the state assembly continuing to do the work of the community in which i grew up. damian: i want to see a softball game between prosecutors and public defenders. i don't know if i'll ever see that, but talk about why yho and be ash: we actually used to have, i mean, a softball league. damian: is that right? ash: they're probably still doing it, but it's-- damian: who would win? ash: we go back and forth, we go back and forth. but you know, i went to law school, i grew up here in san jose. went to oak grove high school, south san jose. went on to de anza, uc santa barbara, law school at georgetown. and by the time i graduated law school, i said, "i want to do service in my community, the community in which traditionally disempowero bringe especially remember this is the late 90s. we're talking about really a tough on crime, war on drugs, three strikes.

we at that time, california had become the incarceration capital of the world. and i felt that it was wrong, i felt that what we were doing in neighborhoods, particularly african-american, latino neighborhoods, we were targeting them. and instead of actually healing our community to create true public safety, we were locking people up. and so, i wanted to represent those and really stand behind them, represent the constitution, and say, "you have just as right as anyone else to haveat and it was very difficult times to do that. still not easy, but it's gotten better. or do you find that the same lues that you had then, damian: and now are you able to do the same thing, you're implementing them now? ash: i'm so happy i think to feel that i still represent my community and do my public service with the same values. now, it's hard, and it gets harder when you're trying to implement things statewide, but we've done statewide legislation that has really focused on rehabilitation and reforming our criminal justice system so that we keep young latinos, african-americans from going down that path. instead of a school to prison pipeline, we have a school to jobs, or school to college pipeline

that we're focusing on. and so, i still can bring those values of why i became a public defender to the work i do now representing san jose in the legislature. damian: that's a good vision. you have police officers and those who are crime fighters on the other side who would say, you know, a lot of these youth, they know they're not going to get in trouble, they're not going to serve any time, so they're not afraid to offend and reoffend. is it a balancing act, or how do you address something like that? ash: well, it's a balancing act, but it can't just be, "oh, we're just going to focus on one aspect of it, the incarceration aspect." we have to focus on the school, on the preschool, on after school. we have to focus on rehabilitation programs, on counseling, having mental health professionals in our schools. so, instead of using our criminal justice system to deal with different aspects of theou behavioral issues as public health issues, as education issues, not as criminal justice issues. damian: good point. so, i see your posts on social media. and i'll text you once and a while and say,

"is this your fourth event of the day?" you'll say, "no, it's my sixth." i mean, you're everywhere. talk about why you need to be at this neighborhood meeting, in that neighborhood meeting, and then across town and across the valley and across the state. ash: i think it's so important to represent the community, to be with the community. and there's definitely a risk, especially the higher up you go on politics, of getting caught up in the bright lights. when you go on to the floor of the state capital, you showed some images of that, i mean, it's glamorous. you know, you can really get caught up in that. i try to spend my time in the community, with my community here, throughout the sta working class folks, learning about the issues that they're actually dealing with so that i stay grounded and can actually put forth legislation that helps lift up the entire community. damian: but that is an awesome feeling, though, isn't it walking those halls and those floors there. ash: it is. i mean, every day. just last week, i posted an instagram video of being on the floor. and it's an awesome feeling, but it's also an awesome responsibility, and we have especially here in san joseth,

with the diversity we have with latino community, the vietnamese community, being in the community events, but listening to concerns at the ground level, it really gives me a lot of empowerment when i go back to the state assembly and represent the people, not the moneyed interests. damien: we have about one minute in this segment, but you said you were in iowa for the caucuses, and you saw something about latinos that inspired you over there. ash: that's right. i went to one particular caucus site, it was about 185 people. i'd say about 178, 179 of them were latino. and they were there, young. you had families with their toddlers and babies. you had elderly people in their wheelchairs waiting. they weren't going anywhere until their voice was heard. and i really got inspiration on that, and i hope that the people here in california, especially latino community that all too often gets ignored, is ready to show up, and vote, and be counted, and be present. damian: latinos in iowa.

ash: there are latinos in iowa. damian: all right, well, it's assemblyman ash kalra, he represents the 27th assembly district. there is his web address. we'll be back with the honorable ash kalra, stay with us. ♪ i'm truly amazed at the effect thathank you, bob!ple.