Dear Mr. Governor

California Governor Gavin Newsom is in the process of signing or rejecting bills that have passed the state legislature and made it to his desk. They cover a range of issues from the gig economy to school discipline to rent control. In collaboration with some of our media partners from Sacramento to Long Beach, we asked young people to address the governor directly about issues they care about in their communities.

Here’s what they had to say.

LEO LOERA, FRESNO

“Educational funding is a big issue in my community. I come from a small rural town and school district and we’ve always struggled with providing proper textbooks, resources, and courses. I want to know how you’re going to update curriculum so that my younger siblings and cousins can become well-equipped leaders in society.”

GABRIELLE RIVAS, REEDLEY

“Homelessness is a big issue in my community. Homeless seem to get moved from place to place without any solution to find them shelter. I want you to appoint individuals across the state who support homeless rather than drive them out of every community.”

ELI MEZA, SACRAMENTO

“I’ve seen you speak against many U.S. policies that hurt trans and LGBTQ identifying people. I expect you to keep your promise to keep us safe.”

JULIA SIDLEY, SACRAMENTO

“I’ve been following closely and I have really high hopes for your plans for juvenile justice and how you plan to change it from a punitive system to a restorative one. I think it’s really important to change the way we look at this problem and I’d say I am cautiously optimistic.”

YANELY GREGORIO, SALINAS

“The biggest issue in my community is the housing prices. Many families are struggling to pay the rent and I would like you to address this issue by first accepting that it’s an issue and implementing more low-income houses.”

ALIX VASQUEZ, LONG BEACH

“Not being able to have the opportunity to apply to DACA anymore leaves people with less options. School can be a struggle because not having a social security number means that you won’t be considered the same as people that have one. I would like to see you interact with our communities so you could see the struggles that our community has to face each day and provide those with the solution so immigrants could find a job and pursue their dream to attend college.” 

Thanks to our partners in the California Youth Media Network for collaborating on this project: The kNOw, Access Local TV,  Monterey County Youth Media, and Voicewaves. Follow more stories from the California Youth Media Network on Twitter.