California must get back to the core responsibilities of government, eliminate waste and shed unneeded property holdings in order to address its growing budget shortfall, 12th District State Senator Jeff Denham said in a recent interview with Mattos Newspapers.

The state’s budget crisis is at the forefront of concerns as California heads into a new year, but water issues also loom large as as critical factor in the state’s future.

Denham stressed that the state cannot rely on “accounting gimmicks” to right its financial status.

Business as usual, he suggested, is not going to resolve the budget issues.

“It is an opportunity to redefine government and get back to our core efficiencies,” he said of the budget challenge facing the state. “Our top goals are educating the kids and keeping the public safe.”

Denham said that safeguarding education funding will be one of his priorities through the upcoming budget process.

“My mission right now is to find enough waste out there (to cut), and to work with both parties to come up with a budget that does not cut education,” he stated. Denham said he has never voted in support of a funding cut in education, and that he is not changing that stance. “I always have a fundamental belief that we should spend more money on education, not less,” he commented.

He suggested he also wants to steer any cuts away from local government, which Denham said are facing their own challenges from declining sales tax revenues and a slow economy. “I would hope that a lot of dollars would not be taken from local government as they have been in the past,” he commented.

When it comes to waste, he believes the state has ample room for improvement.

Specifically, he said, the state needs to look at selling off properties it does not need or cannot efficiently operate.

That has been one of Denham’s priorities since taking office.

“We have to push to have greater sales. We need to sell off surplus properties. There are going to be some properties that are not defined as surplus, but we have to take a look at their efficiency,” he said, citing San Quentin Prison as one example which is inordinately expensive to operate.

Denham said he does not believe the Governor’s proposal to cut 10 percent across the board is a feasible solution to the state’s budget crisis.

“I can’t cut 5 percent or 10 percent across the board. I have some areas I could cut more than others. I think we have to cut some areas drastically,” he stated.

If dollars are the state’s largest concern, water is not far behind – particularly in the Central Valley, where farmers in many water districts are bracing for severe cutbacks in supply due to restrictions on pumping water through the delta.

Additional storage and conveyance around the delta are essential elements of any long-term solution to the state’s water woes, Denham said.

“It is at a critical time right now. We are going to have a water shortage like we have never seen before. We are already seeing water districts cut back quite a bit,” he pointed out.

Denham added that he supports a balanced approach to addressing water issues, but stressed that conservation alone will not solve the crisis.

He believes there is a growing awareness among state lawmakers that the issue is one that must be addressed.

“The future of our state depends on it,” Denham said of the importance of finding solutions to store and deliver adequate water supplies.

Denham said he is also following progress on the controversial West Park project and how it may impact his Senate district.

He said he will fight to deliver the Central Valley’s fair share of goods movement and transportation dollars, and that there is a need to generate more jobs in the area – but that projects must also offer a balance with the region’s long-standing agricultural base.