New California Assembly Republican Leader explains party pushes in the new year | California Politics 360
Aselliman Heath Flora, thank you so much for making time for us today. Uh, it’s great to see you, Ashley. Welcome, uh, I, I wanna start with the state of the state address and the Republican response. I know we saw focused on education and potentially *** new way of doing things, but what was your reaction with some of what the governor had to say? You know I thought it was interesting you know like very interesting, quite frankly, I think there was *** lot that he said, um, some of it is *** little bit uh concerning, you know, I think we didn’t quite address, you know, the budget issues, um, I know we have budget today. But when we talk about homelessness, when we talk about education, we have all these grandiose ideas. We didn’t really get into the meat and potatoes of how we’re gonna actually implement all of those things, you know, we talk *** lot about these great ideas, but then when it actually comes to implementation, it becomes *** different story, and sometimes I feel we fall short of that, you know, it’s, it’s hard to implement things. I mean, California is *** very complex state, you know, we have from, you know, the Oregon border, the Mexico border, and everything in between, and all those regions are different. So the governor is and does have *** hard job, but I think we have to be very, very cautious about how we talk about things and kind of the expectations that we give to our constituents. You were, um, the budget vice chairman in the assembly, and I, I, I wonder what your reaction was to the governor’s top line presentation on Friday. I mean, he didn’t give the presentation as director of finance did, but what was your main takeaway? And we got some problems, you know, and, and again it’s um. If we’re not honest with the numbers, if we’re not honest with the problems, it’s going to be really hard to find *** solution, and I think that’s just my biggest takeaway. It’s hard to believe the numbers that they threw out. It just simply is. And even in *** scenario where the state, what he’s proposing is to grow the size of the state budget by about $30 billion and we didn’t see *** plan to address these big structural deficits in the years to come. Joe Stefenshaw said that he’s not, he’s, he’s not waiting for the next governor to figure that out. That’s not what he’s doing. He’s just gonna wait until May. Your reaction to that? I’m just not sure why we’re waiting until May. I mean, I think if we have *** plan, we should tell people what the plan is. If we don’t have *** plan, then we’re kind of building *** plane while we’re flying it, and I think that’s where we get ourselves in trouble. You know, I’m all about growing the state budget. I think you grow the state budget by making our state. Business friendly, you know, there’s *** lot of businesses that are leaving. There’s *** lot of things that we can do to cut bureaucratic red tape and allow businesses to thrive that are not just Silicon Valley, and that was one of the things that was very interesting in the state of the state was he said *** lot about Silicon Valley and you know he mentioned Central Valley g, but you know the ag community feels very left out. They feel very, um, taken advantage of. They feel really kind of cast aside. And so I think we have to start broadening our horizons on who we view as important and what businesses we tend to prop up. Is that something that could be done in the budget, or how could that be done? I think through the budget or legislation. I think it could go either way. I think. When it comes to ag, uh, there’s just so many red, you know, red tape when it comes to pesticide uses and how we farm, you know, the cost of fuel, the cost of diesel, you know, which is also something interesting that he didn’t mention yesterday in the state of the state was the fuel price and what the plan is there. Meanwhile, Valero and all these refineries are leaving the state. So there was *** few holes that I thought we could have probably closed. You mentioned Valero, and actually while I have you on that topic, Valero, the governor did say this week that they’re in talks with Valero and that while the refinery might not completely shut down, it will sit idly and the company will still provide fuel. Do you have any insight on that? What do you make of that? Uh, that’s not what I’m hearing. Uh, again, I don’t know *** lot of the details, but uh. Conversations that we’ve had with folks yesterday, that is not what I’m hearing. Can you shed any light on your conversation? No, honestly, I mean, again, I, I just, it goes back to just sometimes there’s just information is not always shared, you know, um, I won’t say in like *** truthful way, but sometimes there’s facts and details that are left out and, uh, the folks I’m talking to within the oil industry. They’re still expecting *** shutdown, and so I don’t know anything, you know what the governor’s talking about there. Is oil one of the biggest things that we can expect Republicans to push further on this year, even though there was *** little action taken to allow more drilling, more permitting in Kern? I think you’re going to see certain Republicans, you know, based on their districts, certainly run legislation to deal with that to help, you know, reduce the cost of fuel, uh, but I think, you know, cost of living is really going to be *** lot of what we focus on. You know, the governor doesn’t really love the word affordability just because I think, and I do agree it is overused, but cost of living in the state we have to address. You know, the Central Valley is just getting hammered and it’s time that we can really have an honest conversation about how much it costs to live in the state of California. What else are Republicans going to push for this year? I think it’s just going back to the crime, public safety, um, homelessness. I think you’re gonna see *** lot of us on accountability, you know, the state audit ran that, you know, the report. And there’s *** lot in there that needs to be addressed, you know, from EDD to Cow Works or Cal Fresh and all of those things, you know, there’s *** massive amount of money that’s being misappropriated, and I think we really want to look into that, and it’s not just *** Republican thing either. Some of my Democratic colleagues think that’s smart as well, so I look forward to working with them on it. So in terms of figuring out what, as you’ve said, is misappropriated, what does that look like specifically? Are you going to dig into things yourselves? You’re gonna try to have hearings? What is that? I mean it’s, we have to have hearings, you know, with the Democrats’ permission. I think yes, we are gonna look into things ourselves, but you know the state auditors, you know, they did it and right, and we’ve been digging into that audit report and really figuring out again, *** lot of this stuff is not just like necessarily fraud. But when you have people that go on these roles and they are part of these programs, but we never go back and clean those roles off and we’re continuing to just pay, we need to look at that because there’s *** lot of money that’s just being misappropriate and when we have *** deficit like we do, those dollars could be spent in, you know, more useful ways. Have you had Conversations with the Speaker. I mean, now that you’re *** minority leader, have you two talked about any of this, any possibility that Democrats and Republicans can work on some of this oversight? Yeah, we have. Um, I’ve met with the staff earlier this week actually about this very topic, you know, and I think Republicans, we’re going to start pushing out this narrative of protecting the promise. You know, we as elected officials make *** lot of promises to Californians and we’ve passed *** lot of legislation, some of it good, some of it bad. But I really do think we have to go back and see what legislation’s on the books and make sure that we’re protecting the promises that we made to our constituents. So that was *** conversation that we had with the speakers protecting the promise. What is your overall message to Californians in your role as the new Republican minority leader with this upcoming year of lawmaking and trying to figure out taxpayer dollars? I just think it’s um from us on the Republican side, I mean it’s just gonna be brutally honest on what’s going on in Sacramento and all we can do is just get that information out to our constituents. *** lot of times you know we get the privilege and the honor to serve as elected officials under this beautiful white building, and it is, it’s *** privilege, and I think we have to get that message out to the constituents. Sometimes we as electeds we become very incillary. And we just keep everything aside, and I think we have to stop with that. So I think you’re gonna see *** lot more messaging come out of the Republican Party to our constituents across the state, making sure everybody understands what is going on because politicians need to be held accountable. I mean it’s just the reality of it and not in ***, you know, negative way necessarily, but it’s, it’s time that we get back to that. Was one actually other question, um. The governor this week gave his state of the state, didn’t provide the budget presentation though for the first time. I mean, outside of emergency circumstances, it’s, I mean, he has had Joe step in for him, but, um, or Director Stefan Shaw, I should say. But The possibility of the governor running for president. Does that make this year potentially challenging even more so for Republicans? Um, it could. I think it’s probably more challenging honestly for my Democratic colleagues. I mean Republicans, we kind of know where we’re headed, right? And uh sometimes the governor is very sporadic on where he’s moving, what he wants to do, right, and I think it’s going to be challenging just to try to figure out the direction that he wants to go. And so I think Republicans, we’re very fixed on how we’re going to handle this year as far as, you know, protecting the budget as best we can, making sure we continue to work on crime and homelessness and you know the state dollars go where they need to go. That’s kind of our lane. And the Dems might have *** little bit more of *** more of *** challenge kind of identifying that lane as well. Alright, Suleiman Heathlo, I really appreciate you. Thank you. Appreciate your time. Thank you.
New California Assembly Republican Leader explains party pushes in the new year | California Politics 360
Updated: 8:25 AM PST Jan 11, 2026
Heath Flora is stepping into a new role this year as the California Assembly’s Republican leader.Flora, an Assemblyman from Ripon, will lead the super minority of Republican lawmakers in the legislature’s lower house. “From us on the Republican side, it’s going to be brutally honest with what’s going on in Sacramento,” Flora said. “Politicians need to be held accountable.” This upcoming year, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers will need to figure out how to use taxpayer dollars in a year that state officials have acknowledged is filled with risks and uncertainty. Following the governor’s optimistic financial update, Flora said, “I think we’ve got some problems.” “If we’re not honest with the numbers, if we’re not honest with the problems, it’s going to be hard to find a solution. It’s hard to believe the numbers he threw out,” Flora said.Artificial intelligence has fueled the state’s better-than-expected revenues, and the governor highlighted the industry in his State of the State speech and proposed budget. Flora says more appreciation should be expressed for the agriculture sector of the state’s economy. “When it comes to ag, there’s so much red tape,” Flora said, pointing to the regulations the industry faces, coupled with rising fuel costs. On the topic of fuel costs, Flora flagged concerns about another oil refinery shutting down in California. Newsom’s office said this week that Valero’s refinery in Benicia will continue producing oil through April 2026 and said his administration and the company are in talks to find ways for continued operations at the refinery. “That’s not what I’m hearing,” Flora said, stopping short of sharing any more information. “Folks, I’m talking to in the oil industry; they’re still expecting it to shut down.” Flora said Republicans will push for accountability from Democrats when it comes to the cost of fuel, public safety, and homelessness.When asked if Newsom’s possible run for president could make his final year in office more difficult for Republicans, Flora said it could.”I honestly think it’s more challenging for my Democratic colleagues,” Flora said.Watch the full interview with Flora in the video player above. KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.
Heath Flora is stepping into a new role this year as the California Assembly’s Republican leader.
Flora, an Assemblyman from Ripon, will lead the super minority of Republican lawmakers in the legislature’s lower house.
“From us on the Republican side, it’s going to be brutally honest with what’s going on in Sacramento,” Flora said. “Politicians need to be held accountable.”
This upcoming year, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers will need to figure out how to use taxpayer dollars in a year that state officials have acknowledged is filled with risks and uncertainty.
Following the governor’s optimistic financial update, Flora said, “I think we’ve got some problems.”
“If we’re not honest with the numbers, if we’re not honest with the problems, it’s going to be hard to find a solution. It’s hard to believe the numbers he threw out,” Flora said.
Artificial intelligence has fueled the state’s better-than-expected revenues, and the governor highlighted the industry in his State of the State speech and proposed budget. Flora says more appreciation should be expressed for the agriculture sector of the state’s economy.
“When it comes to ag, there’s so much red tape,” Flora said, pointing to the regulations the industry faces, coupled with rising fuel costs.
On the topic of fuel costs, Flora flagged concerns about another oil refinery shutting down in California. Newsom’s office said this week that Valero’s refinery in Benicia will continue producing oil through April 2026 and said his administration and the company are in talks to find ways for continued operations at the refinery.
“That’s not what I’m hearing,” Flora said, stopping short of sharing any more information. “Folks, I’m talking to in the oil industry; they’re still expecting it to shut down.”
Flora said Republicans will push for accountability from Democrats when it comes to the cost of fuel, public safety, and homelessness.
When asked if Newsom’s possible run for president could make his final year in office more difficult for Republicans, Flora said it could.
“I honestly think it’s more challenging for my Democratic colleagues,” Flora said.
Watch the full interview with Flora in the video player above.
KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.