LAKEPORT, Calif. – Congressman Mike Thompson hosted his annual ravioli feed fundraiser on Saturday, offering community members the chance to hear the latest from the Fifth District’s representative in the House.
Hundreds of people gathered for the 22nd annual dinner – which included local wines and a silent auction – held in the Phil Lewis Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
Thompson was joined by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada, Lakeport Mayor Tom Engstrom and Councilman Martin Scheel, Clearlake Mayor Jeri Spittler, Supervisor Anthony Farrington, Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira and Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook in serving up the dinner.
After the meal was served, county Supervisor Anthony Farrington introduced Thompson, crediting him for his accessibility to his constituents.
Each year the event also includes electronic recycling. Since they started the e-waste collection, Thompson said they’ve collected 1,172,000 pounds of electronics, keeping them from the waste stream.
Thompson said he fished in a tournament on Clear Lake over the weekend. “We live in a little piece of heaven here,” said Thompson, adding that he’s glad a lot of people still don’t know about it.
He said Lake County is blessed not just with great natural beauty, but great people.
Thompson touched on a number of topics in his brief talk, including the fact that, for some county residents, Thompson’s name wasn’t on their ballot last fall due to redistricting. The northern half of the county is now represented by Third District Congressman John Garamendi.
He said Garamendi is hardworking, has a good heart and soul, and cares about the issues.
Even though part of Lake County is no longer in his district, “You can’t represent half a county,” said Thompson, explaining that he would be working for all of Lake County.
The country was still struggling economically, and he said it would be a long haul. Thompson said the United States needed to be focused and balanced, and that solutions were neither to be found only in cutting services or only in raising taxes.
“It’s got to be a balanced approach” that’s focused on people and the economy, and getting people back to work, he said. Bumper sticker slogans and sound bites won’t solve the country’s issues.
In other comments at the Saturday event, Thompson criticized Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget, which he said gave the wealthy larger tax breaks while raising taxes on the middle class by about $2,000 a year.
He made it clear he was against any targeting of Social Security, Medicare or veterans benefits, which bring in $207 million, $185 million and $37 million, respectively, to Lake County each year.
Investments are needed to grow the economy, and Thompson said the nation needs to get smart about its energy investments. He said the United States spends $200,000 a minute purchasing energy from foreign countries, some of them unfriendly to Americans.
He pledged to continue supporting geothermal royalty payments to Lake County, as those payments bring in about $800,000 annually.
Thompson then moved to the topic of gun violence, an issue he’s been appointed to study as chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He received the appointment last December, following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.
He said 33 people a day die of gun violence. That number does not include suicides.
“It is a national epidemic,” he said.
There has been a focus on banning assault weapons, but Thompson cautioned that there are not the votes in Congress to put such a ban in effect.
He suggested the top priority was background checks as a part of gun sales, which are required in California. “That’s not the case across the country.”
Forty percent of the guns sold in the United States don’t include a background check for the prospective owner, Thompson said.
During one recent year background checks stopped 1.7 million people with criminal and other issues from purchasing guns. “It’s the first line of defense,” said Thompson.
“I’m feeling pretty confident that we’re going to get a background check bill,” said Thompson, who added that he intended to introduce one in the House, with a corresponding bill anticipated in the Senate.
California has the strictest gun laws in the United States, but 600,000 guns were still sold in the state last year, he said. The state also has the lowest percentage of gun ownership.
One challenge includes “straw” buyers who purchase guns for others, Thompson said. That was the case with a felon who shot four firefighters, killing two of them, after setting his New York home on fire in December.
Thompson said there needs to be increased penalties for straw purchasing and for gun trafficking.
Thompson, a hunter and veteran who is being described as a “gun guy,” believes there can be sensible gun laws to make communities safer while, at the same time, not violating the Second Amendment.
He also thanked the many volunteers, including Interact and 4-H, for their continued work at the dinner.
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