On this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae gets to know Rep. Cottie Petrie-Norris in a candid, sit-down discussion.
The assemblywoman was elected in 2018 and represents the 74th Assembly District, which encompasses the coastal Orange County communities of Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods and Laguna Beach.
Petrie-Norris is a California native, who was born and raised in San Diego. She said her experiences growing up shaped her into the legislator she is today.
“And in some ways, I do feel like I kind of got to live that California dream,” she said. “And that’s why it’s so, so important for me that now that I find myself as a California legislator, that we are enacting policies that create those opportunities for kids growing up all across the state today. And that we continue to make that California dream a California reality.”
Before entering the legislature, Petrie-Norris worked for a number of years as a businesswoman in finance and technology. According to the assemblywoman, her time in the private sector prepared her for her next great venture: public office. The biggest lessons she brought from her experiences in business to her new position in public service are bringing attention to accountability and oversight.
Petrie-Norris has been the chair of the Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, which was formed to ensure the legislature performs their duties efficiently and effectively.
“I chaired the assembly’s accountability and administrative review committee,” Petrie-Norris said. “And from Day One, I was really struck by the fact that in the legislature, we can spend a lot of time writing new laws, having press conferences. We don’t spend enough time looking at implementation. Evaluating what’s working. What’s not. Are those dollars doing what they’re supposed to do? And if not, what do we need to do differently? And so that has really become one of my organizing principles, as I’ve approached this job,” she said.
Since being elected, the assemblywoman has dedicated her time to focusing on the most pressing issues in her district, which include public education reform, homelessness, mental health, small business relief, gun reform and environmentalism. The assemblywoman has written and supported a number of bills that target environmental conservation and climate change preparation.
The 74th District consists of mostly coastal cities that are already feeling the effects of climate change in their communities. Petrie-Norris said that the state of California needs to take more definitive action when it comes to climate change before it becomes too late.
“We’ve got to get really serious about safeguarding California from the inevitable impacts of the climate crisis. And that is nowhere more true than right here on our coast,” she said. “And sea level rise is kind of like a slow moving tsunami. So, we don’t wake up tomorrow and see that as a crisis. But we know that sea levels are expected to rise by up to 7 feet by the end of this century. And the reality of that for California’s coastal communities is that puts millions of people and billions of dollars at risk."
Watch the rest of Rep. Cottie Petrie-Norris' conversation by clicking the arrow above.
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