Assembly District 26 Candidates: Patrick Ahrens, Tim Gorsulowsky

Assembly candidates Gorsulowsky & Ahrens talk about the issues facing District 26 residents like data centers and state regulations.

The Weekly wanted to give voters insight into each state assembly candidate’s position on issues we believe matter most to the community.

Consequently, we asked the two candidates for the State Assembly District 26 seat, Patrick Ahrens and Tim Gorsulowsky, four questions, giving them the flexibility to answer as many as they wanted. We limited their responses to 750 words (allowing a bit of flexibility for how disparate word processors count words). Their responses appear verbatim.

Ahrens: It is the honor of my life to represent our community in the State Assembly. As your Assemblymember, I have worked with my legislative colleagues to ensure new laws passed are putting people first. This year, I supported bills that were signed into law establishing stringent regulations on data centers.

We must ensure if data centers are being built, they are not built at the expense of Californians or harming the surrounding communities permitting them to be built. I voted in favor of comprehensive legislation (AB 2383, SB 886, SB 1168) that was signed into law this year ensuring data centers pay for the whole cost of the electricity they use including transmission and distribution infrastructure upgrade costs. I also supported new laws to ensure data centers fully disclose information to local governments and regulators and undergo full environmental (SB 887) and land use (AB 1577) reviews, as well as plan with local governments and agencies to mitigate their water usage (AB 2469, AB 2619).

These new laws regulating data centers will help ensure if they are built that local community needs and wants are put first, and Californians aren’t footing electricity costs for data centers.

Some say California’s housing laws — including the Density Bonus Law, the Housing Element Law, and the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 — are so complex they discourage small landlords from renting their units, as argued at the Aug. 26 Santa Clara Planning Commission meeting. Is this a valid concern? Should the legislature revisit these laws, and how?

Gorsulowsky: Most of the “housing crisis” is due to the huge influx of illegal (undocumented) people coming into a Sanctuary State. We have overbuilt condensed housing that has led to an impossible traffic situation. There was never any research on how many people can live in a city block. The one-party rule is mostly concerned with voting numbers, not the consequences of destroying neighborhoods. The current laws regulating building needs to be reversed in order to be successful.

Ahrens: Not all California communities are the same, and what works in San Francisco or San Diego may not work in Santa Clara. Everyone should have a place to call home, and I am proud to be working to ensure new housing is built to meet demand for affordable homes. I have met with Santa Clara’s leaders as well as numerous constituents and organizations to discuss our housing affordability crisis, and I have worked on legislation to ensure we are responsibly building new housing and protecting people who need a place to live.

Some state regulations shift costs onto residents — for example, landscaping restrictions or tire standards critics say raise costs. Should the legislature address this, and how?

Ahrens: Since taking my first vote in the State Assembly last year, I always consider how a bill may impact the finances of residents – particularly whether costs may rise because of a policy given that most people cannot afford higher costs right now. The legislature should always be mindful of how laws we pass impact the finances of regular Californians.

The rising cost of living is the top concern of people I speak with, and this year I worked with my colleagues to provide financial relief through power utility bill credits in the months of August and September. I’ve introduced legislation to expand tax credits for working Californians (AB 398) and families (AB 1690) so people can keep more of the money they’ve earned. I also fought to increase the Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) to support seniors in nursing homes because our PNA is nearly the lowest in the country.

What I hear most right now is how residents are suffering from record-high gas and food prices. U.S. diesel fuel prices reached a record-high recently, and that is driving up the costs of everything people need to live including food. These costs are breaking records across the country because of President Donald Trump’s chosen war with Iran and other disastrous decisions including tariff wars with other countries. We desperately need stability out of our federal government and the world’s leaders to bring down fuel and food costs, but that will only happen if we get change and accountability in Washington D.C.

Gorsulowsky: NO, this is becoming a point of a socialist/communist rule without allowing people to live in a free enterprise. I truly believe this is the plan with the current State Administration. They are not concerned with the wellbeing of the public.

What issues would you vote on differently from your predecessor? The same?

Gorsulowsky: To start with; I would actually show up and vote on every bill. The current Assemblyman is either not on-site or does not vote. I don’t see anything he has actually introduced to help our State or Santa Clara County. I love the County and the people, and I would take this process very seriously to the point of explaining the consequences of the current bills introduced in the Legislature. The current Legislature is not addressing the real issues, like the free use of DRUGS on the Streets. This is the main issue we have with the so-called “homeless crisis”.

Ahrens: I am proud of my work in the Assembly over the past two years with 13 bills signed into law and my work on the Assembly’s Budget Committee allocating billions of dollars to help regular people live a little easier. My work is protecting healthcare access for all, supporting vulnerable kids and families, improving student success, preventing homelessness and hunger, and trying to make life a little easier and affordable for people, families, seniors, and all Californians. Like my predecessor, I am also proud to continue to advance policies to bolster our innovation economy, support small businesses, and create good-paying jobs in our communities.

Editor’s note: Assemblyman Ahrens submitted his answers late.