Reviving California:
For ourselves, the nation and the world

IF NOT NOW, WHEN?
IF NOT US, WHO?

Follow Reviving California on Facebook & Twitter!

Visit www.facebook.com/revivingca and hit the "like" button on Facebook & ww.twitter.com/revivingca and "follow" on Twitter to receive regular updates.

Reviving California is a project of the Common Good Collaborative, powered by American Leadership Forum – Silicon Valley, in partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Goals:

To bring diverse groups of people into a common dialogue and collaboration through nurtured community partnerships
To be an actively engaged Silicon Valley community that remains a strong voice for the common good
To join forces in engaging the community on the issue of California reform
To inform organizations proposing reform about Silicon Valley ideas and collective input in a “bottoms-up” approach

Outcomes:

An informed and engaged Silicon Valley community
Getting to YES on reform

2012 LUNCHEON SERIES

Thursday, January 5, 12 noon, Bella Mia Restaurant, San Jose
Additional dates/times/locations TBA

2011 EVENTS & RESOURCES

Reviving California Community Summit III

Reviving California partnered with ALF - Great Valley, the Southern California Leadership Network, California Forward and SKYPE to present its third Community Summit in an exciting new format on October 6, 2011.

The event took place simultaneously in three regions linked by SKYPE to enable interactive dialogue between participants. The conversation focused on the fiscal state of California, specifically, the budget and the impact of potential "trigger" cuts.

Here is video of CA State Treasurer Bill Lockyer's opening address:

Featuring:

BILL LOCKYER, California State Treasurer
CINDY BONIOR, President and Chief Executive Director,
Fremont Chamber of Commerce
JOYCE COOKSEY-JAMES, Pastor, Impact Bible Ministry &
CEO, Joy House Learning Center
BOB FOSTER, Mayor of Long Beach
KIMBERLY FREEMAN, Southern California Leadership Network
Board Chair
ANTONIA HERNÁNDEZ, California Community Foundation
President & CEO
FRED KEELEY, Santa Cruz County Treasurer
JOE MATHEWS, New America Foundation Irvine Senior Fellow
MAC TAYLOR, California State Legislative Analyst

PRESS RELEASE 9.22.11

ALF-Silicon Valley:

The Tech Museum
New Venture Hall
201 South Market Street
San Jose, CA 95113

ALF-Great Valley:

Marie Damrell Gallo Community Room
201 Needham Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Southern California Leadership Network:

Crawford Family Forum at KPCC
474 South Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91105

Realignment Roundtables

Reviving California sponsored two Realignment Roundtable discussions this spring. The first one looked at Silicon Valley as a whole; the second focused on Santa Clara County.

The goals of the Realignment Roundtables were to:

Obtain input on a set of draft proposals developed with input from California Forward's Local Government Task Force, a Sacramento-based Stakeholder process, and more than 60 dialogues held with Californians statewide.
Begin laying out how such a policy might work for San Mateo & Santa Clara counties.

Stay tuned for video from the June 24th Realignment Roundtable II at Community Hall in Cupertino.

View video clip (10:01) with San Mateo County Manager David Boesch from first Realignment Roundtable on May 25 in San Jose.

"What's Next, California?" Deliberative Poll

Reviving California partnered with California Forward on a statewide "What's Next, California?" Deliberative Poll in late June in Torrance, CA.

"What's Next, California?" was an unprecedented attempt to bring the people into the process in a new way—one that is representative and thoughtful.A scientific random sample of the entire state will be transported to a single place for a weekend of face-to-face discussions, in small groups and in dialogue with competing experts. In California's first statewide “Deliberative Poll,” the people will be supported by factual information and will consider the critical arguments on both sides of issues, then will articulate their priorities for fixing the state.

Online participation will build up to the event & carry through the summer, at http://nextca.org/, on Facebook, and on Twitter @NextCAorg, hashtag #NextCA.

Click here for YouTube video of CA Forward's Zabrae Valentine discussing the poll.

Reviving California Business Journal Roundtable

On April 21, Reviving California initiative hosted a roundtable with the Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal at CreaTV in San Jose to engage the Silicon Valley community in the ongoing work of state fiscal and governance reform.

Conversation starters include:

Bob Brownstein, Policy Director, Working Partnerships USA, ALF Class XII Senior Fellow
Pete Constant, San Jose City Councilmember, ALF Class XXII Senior Fellow
Carl Guardino, President & CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, ALF Class XII Senior Fellow
Fred Keeley, Santa Cruz Treasurer & former California State Assemblymember

The conversation was moderated by Business Journal Editor Moryt Milo. CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO!

For updated news items, visit www.facebook.com/revivingca

Field Poll Results #2368
Voters express views on dealing with the state's huge budget deficit.
March 16, 2011
The Field Poll

Californians must risk working together or perish
San Francisco Chronicle opinion (2.2.11) co-written by ALF Senior Fellows Carl Guardino & Jim Cunneen

After the Boston Tea Party: The Lessons from Valley Forge
Huffington Post (2.1.11) blog by ALF Senior Fellow Bob Brownstein

Few Californians Understand the State’s Tax System. Fact.
New York Times (1.29.11)

State of the Union Address Brings Dialogue to Milpitas
Milpitas Patch (1.26.11) of Reviving California State of the Union Event: Civility Begins at Home

Public Policy Institute of California January 2011 statewide survey

November 2010 Ballot Measure Roundup

DIGITAL Town Halls discussing fiscal/governance reform & Props. 22, 25 & 26

MATRIX TOOL of November 2010 Ballot Measure Endorsements

REVIEW the nine propositions approved for the November ballot

ANALYSIS by California Budget Project of November ballot measures

Reviving California hosted Community Summit II on October 2, 2010 at De Anza College. Presented by American Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, co-sponsors included De Anza College, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Silicon Valley Leadership Group & United Way Silicon Valley.

The Summit featured journalist Joe Mathews, Irvine Senior Fellow at the New American Foundation and co-author of “California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It”, moderating a fishbowl group of topic experts including Bob Brownstein, Bruce McPherson, Maria Ochoa and Zabrae Valentine.

The day included small group discussions on the November ballot measures related to fiscal and governance reform, and the opportunity for participants to be interviewed as part of California Forward’s “Speak Up California” video series that will be used to determine next steps for reform following the November election. Click here for video

October 2, 2010 Community Summit II Report

Reviving California hosted its first Community Summit on May 1, 2010 at San José State University's El Paseo de Cesar E. Chavez / 7th Street Pla for 200+ regional leaders, community members and students. Presented by American Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, co-sponsors included San José State University, the Bill Lane Center for the Amercian West at Stanford University, De Anza College and the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Click the links below for detailed information

Budget Plan Comparison from California Budget Project
August 11, 2010

May 1, 2010 Community Summit report

May 1, 2010 Community Summit photos

Matrix of JUNE 2010 ballot measure endorsements

NEWS YOU CAN USE

For updated news items, visit www.facebook.com/revivingca

Field Poll Results #2359
Californians hold very negative view of the Congress
September 30, 2010
The Field Poll

California Budget Project Analysis of May 2010 Budget Revision

Field Poll Results #2342
State Ballot Propositions
July 9, 2010
The Field Poll

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government
May 2010
Public Policy Institute of California

Field Poll Results #2335
March 24, 2010
The Field Poll

Field Poll Results #239
March 2, 2010
The Field Poll

RELATED LINKS:

California Choices

California Forward

Next 10

Smart Voter

Video of ALF Senior Fellow Greg Larson describing Reviving California at a June 2010 Common Good Collaborative Forum.

Background

California has been laboring under the weight of governance and fiscal policies that inhibit change and progress. Californians have lost faith in our political leaders. And, yet, possibilities abound to reassess our values as a state, to craft a future that responds to the hopes and dreams of all Californians.

This is an exceptional moment in history and an opportunity for Silicon Valley to take a leadership role in reforming California. Silicon Valley has the resources, visionaries, and political clout to help move a reform agenda that will serve the common good. There has never before been greater awareness of the problems combined with the feeling of urgency that the public is experiencing today.

On November 6-7, 2009, immediately following the historic U.S. presidential election, ALF Senior Fellows celebrated 20 years of American Leadership Forum in Silicon Valley by participating in a special anniversary forum, "Reclaiming the California Dream," at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove.

This forum was a time to look deeply at the leadership challenges facing California, as well as a time for Senior Fellows and guests to come together and renew themselves in a historic setting with individuals who share concerns.

Click here to read the report from the Asilomar Conference.

Anu Natarajan Announced as Reviving California Program Manager

September 24, 2009: ALF and Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network announce the appointment of Anu Natarajan as program manager for Reviving California. Natarajan, who serves as the vice mayor of Fremont, CA, will be responsible for developing partnerships and activities that adhere to the principles of dialogue, collaborative leadership and diversity.

Press release

Reviving California Dialogues
June 2009 - January 2010

Part I of three-part video presentation by Jean Ross, founding Executive Director of the California Budget Project, at the January 2010 Reviving California Dialogue. Complete presentation available on YouTube.com.

View video of Thad Kousser, Associate Professor of Political Science at University of California, San Diego who is spending the 2009-2010 year working on constitutional reform as a visiting fellow at Stanford's Bill Lane Center for the American West and the Hoover Institution at the December 10, 2009 Realizing the California Dream Dialogue.

View video of Don Benninghoven, retired executive director of the League of California Cities (LCC), from ALF's November 13, 2009 Realizing the California Dream Dialogue.

View video of Blair Bobier, Deputy Director of the Political Reform program at the New America Foundation, from ALF's October 8, 2009 Realizing the California Dream Dialogue.

Town Hall Meeting

On September 23, 2009, more than 125 students, elected officials, business people, community activists, government workers and nonprofit leaders came together for a Town Hall Meeting at the San Jose City Hall Rotunda to learn about the current state of reforms, hear how budget cutbacks are affecting local individuals, discuss implications of the November 2010 elections and pledge to take personal action on reform.

Participants included ALF Senior Fellows Rick Callender, past president of the San José/Silicon Valley NAACP, Nora Campos, San José City Councilmember, Jim Cunneen, California Strategies Partner, Joe Simitian, California State Senator, Larry Stone, Santa Clara County Assessor and community members in a non-traditional format where community participants were the featured speakers.

Sponsors included: John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network; AACI (Asian Americans for Community Involvement); Generations Engage Silicon Valley; San José/Silicon Valley NAACP; PACT (People Acting in Community Together); San Jose State University and SVCN (Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits).

Also in September 2009, ALF CEO Chris Block was featured with Senior Fellows Russ Hancock, President and CEO of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, and Carl Guardino, CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, together with Jim Wunderman, CEO of Bay Area Council, and Fred Silva,senior fiscal policy adviser for California Forward in a cover story & video on California state reform. It was the first time the five participants sat down together to discuss the subject.

The Big Fix: A Roundtable
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
September 18, 2009

Read "State of Emergency" article in Metro (9.23.09)

Video of Keith Fox's personal story at September 2009 Town Hall Meeting

Monthly Working Sessions

Click here to review the Vision, Values, Principles & Reforms document we are drafting with the help of Senior Fellows, regional leaders and community members to help galvanize Silicon Valley to get involved in reforming California.

Notes from August 13th working session
Notes from July 9th working session

Click one of the next three videos below to view a situational analysis by Jim Mayer, Executive Director of California Forward, on YouTube in separate, eight-minute segments.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Perspective by Bob Brownstein, Policy Director for Working Partnerships USA, 9.10.09 (7:00)

Overview by Fred Keeley, Santa Cruz County Treasurer and former California Assemblymember, 8.13.09 (7:02)

Video commentary from Debbie Mytels, Associate Director, Acterra

Video commentary from San Jose State University Political Science major Mitchell Colbert