Happy New Year!

Dear Friends and Family:

My first month in office has certainly lived-up to its name-extraordinary session.

For the past 30 days, beyond the normal start-up activities of getting organized, hiring staff, and crafting our legislative platform, there have been numerous Democratic Caucus conference calls, meetings, and late-night Assembly Floor Sessions to grapple with California's biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Talkin’ Turkey on Thanksgiving Day 2008

In a few days, I’ll be leaving Yolo County after ten years, and moving on to the 8th A.D. seat we’ve all worked so hard to win these past two years. What I call “the longest job interview of my life” is now drawing to a close.

As we enter this traditional time of thanksgiving and winter holidays, we take pause to consider all of our blessings—as a nation, as a community, within our families and within ourselves. Even in these very difficult times, I do have hope that by working together, we will make it through.

October's Bright BLUE Weather

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. September's heat loosens its grip, making way for crisp October mornings. Nature's paintbrush colors the trees in bright yellows, vibrant oranges and fiery reds, framed by brilliant blue skies. These "landscape pictures" always please my eyes.

What a Week! Thank You!

Dear Friends and Family:

First, my apologies for being late with this edition of Mariko's Missive. As of midnight on Tuesday, June 3, our campaign voice mailboxes were full and over the course of this past week, we've received email in the hundreds. I want to thank each and every caller and emailer - we have tried to acknowledge each one of your contacts personally and hope we've not missed a single one.