Assemblyman Bilal “Bill” Essayli hasn’t been afraid to stand up for his principles in his first term in the state Legislature representing Riverside County’s 63rd Assembly District.
Essayli has been a stalwart critic of government overreach and progressive pipe dreams.
As a general rule, if there’s been legislation to increase the size and scope of government, one can rely on Essayli to stand up to it.
As a former assistant United States attorney, Essayli is also generally a law-and-order guy as you might expect. But he sometimes surprises from what you’d expect, with his support for legislation decriminalizing psychedelic drugs being one example. As an editorial board that values personal autonomy, we also supported that bill, which was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
On other core issues, Essayli understands that the key to the housing shortage in California is, fundamentally, for government to mostly get out of the way of homebuilders. “We have a government-created housing crisis as a result of onerous taxes, red tape, and CEQA lawsuits,” he told us in an endorsement survey.
On education, he recognizes the importance of school choice, of empowering parents and students, as the key to improving education in California. “School choice is the strongest tool to empower parents to make sure their child is getting the best education available,” he told us. “I support school choice, vouchers, and parental rights to improve our K-12 education outcomes in California.”
Essayli, in brief, is a sharp legislator and needed voice in Sacramento.
He does have two opponents on the ballot against him this time: Orlando Munguia and educator Chris Shoults. Of the two, Shoults appears to be the most reasonable alternative.
However, we have reservations about Shoults based on some of his policy stances. For one, he thinks Proposition 13’s taxpayer protections should be on the table for reform, specifically on the commercial side. Reform in this context means raising taxes, with Shoults specifically identifying a split roll as an option.
Shoults also fails to recognize the high-speed rail project for the boondoggle that it is, describing it as “likely not a project we just up and walk away from.”
Will all due respect, yes, yes it is. State lawmakers must be able to discern good ideas from nonsensical ones. Consider Essayli’s blunt and correct view of the project: “We should immediately halt all funding for the High Speed Rail project. Voters will never see what they were promised with Prop 1A in 2008, and we have much more pressing public needs than a train to nowhere that nobody wants.”
Re-elect Bill Essayli.
