Governor Gavin Newsom signed his first pieces of legislation into law on Wednesday, and he chose to sign them at a school where the water contains a carcinogen and kids can’t even use the drinking fountains.
Newsom opened his visit in a history classroom, introducing the bills to a room full of students at Riverview Elementary School in the Fresno County City of Parlier.
“Yes,” they shouted, raising their hands excitedly.
The laws pull $131 million out of the general fund for several projects, including emergency preparedness, as well as bottled water and other urgent needs for communities with unsafe drinking water.
“I cannot sleep well, and I know that’s a rote cliché thing,” he said, “but honestly, I don’t deserve to be your governor if I can’t figure out a way to get that done.” Newsom also heard from school administrators.
Head secretary Nelia Villasenor said parents come by all the time to drop off essentials their kids forgot: Lunchboxes, gym clothes, and most importantly, bottles of clean water.
“I’m feeling optimistic about it,” she said of his visit.
He’s “actually getting things done right now and not waiting till the end of the fiscal year.
Put another way, he said, by following through with this part of the project, he’s ensuring the Valley keeps its fair share of federal funding.
“That money will never come back to the Valley.