LAKEPORT, Calif. – Hundreds of community members turned out Saturday evening to have dinner and get an update on the happenings in Washington, DC from Congressman Mike Thompson.
Thompson hosted his 23rd annual ravioli feed and silent auction in the Phil Lewis Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport.
Brad Onorato, Thompson's district representative, said 350 tickets were sold for the dinner, which also featured Lake County wines – which Thompson called “second to none” – poured by the wineries that produced them, as well as a dessert auction.
There also was the yearly e-waste collection, which over the years has taken in more than one million pounds of used and obsolete electronics, according to Thompson. Four refurbished computers were offered to nonprofits who came with a written request.
Noting that it was a “high honor” for him to represent Lake County in the US House of Representatives, Thompson shared some of the highs, lows and frustrations.
“We should be able to get a lot more things done than we are getting done right now,” he said, addressing the partisan gridlock in Congress.
He added, “It's important that we all come together and get some things done for our country.”
Thompson said that he believed job creation was the No. 1 issue of importance, explaining his concerns for the middle class, which he said is taking a hit.
Corporate chief executive officers' pay has grown 40 percent, while the average working person is making less today than they did in 1999, Thompson said. Such economic realities, he said, are a disaster for the middle class.
“The middle class keeps the country going – the working man and working woman,” Thompson said.
Other priorities Thompson outlined included improving the country's infrastructure, investing in renewable energy and education, and he discussed the recent addition to the California Coastal National Monument of the Point Arena-Stornetta area in Mendocino County.
He also spoke of the immediate need to protect water bodies like Clear Lake from invasive species.
Clear Lake is the No. 1 at-risk water body in the United States for the quagga mussel, Thompson said.
A Vietnam veteran, Thompson said the nation's veterans also need help for physical and mental health issues.
In addition, he spoke of the recent passage of legislation he authored to require the Department of Defense to purchase US flags made here in the United States.
Thompson, who chairs the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, referenced a recent study that shows that background checks every day prevent felons, domestic violence abusers and fugitives from purchasing firearms.
Yet, he said his proposed legislation to expand the existing background check system to cover all commercial firearm sales – including those happening at gun shows, over the Internet or in classified ads – has 189 co-authors among both major parties, but it can't get a vote in the House.
Thompson told the crowd that he was committed to returning to Washington, DC and continuing to work on Lake County's behalf.
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