January 4, 2007

Jim Beall takes on a new role: assemblyman

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

James T. Beall, who has spent his adult years in service to the city of San Jose and the county of Santa Clara, has now taken on a new role as an assemblyman for the state’s 24th district. In that capacity he serves the northernmost part of Alma-den Valley. Senator Abel Maldonado serves the southernmost area of Almaden (District 15).

Sworn in as assemblyman and named chair of the Human Services Committee on Dec.4, Beall brings a long history of public service that started when he was in college at San Jose State. At age 19, Beall was involved in the university’s student housing program. Shortly thereafter, then Mayor Norman Mineta decided to initiate goal forums to develop recommendations for long-range goals for the city’s quality of life, its downtown facilities and various other public requirements.

James T. Beall has now taken on a new role as an assemblyman for the state’s 24th district.

The committee Mineta envisioned included young people as ex-officio members. Beall earlier had met a man named Mike Honda, who at that time was an ombudsman working at San Jose State. The two politicians tapped Beall to be the ex-officio member of the housing planning commission.

At age 24, he was appointed to be a planning commissioner for San Jose, which fit well into his majors of political science and urban studies. He also attended graduate school, studying urban planning. By the time he was 27, he was named chair of the commission.

In 1980, Beall decided to launch his career toward a different course and ran for the newly created District 9 council seat. “I was elected to the City Council in 1980 for a two-year term. I spent 14 years on the council, and I think I accomplished some big things.”

Parks double
For example, when Beall joined the council, District 9 had neither parks nor recreation facilities. “We were in last place for the city,” he said. By the time he left the council, the district’s parks had doubled and it was now a city leader in parks and recreation centers.

“There were no senior centers or meeting centers. We now have Camden Community Center and Kirk Community Centers as well as Hogue and Branham Parks.”

The Camden Center has really grown, he added, and it was a real fight to keep it from getting sold. The center is on the grounds of the old Camden High School, on Union Avenue near Camden. The fight to save it has provided space for San Jose and nearby residents to play sports, have meetings and events and work out in its complete gym. The center was remodeled several years ago and now is bigger and better than it used to be.

Transportation
The cities of Campbell, San Jose, Saratoga and Cupertino had been expecting Highway 85 since the 1960s when the state first said it planned to build the highway. Nothing had been done by 1985, but when Beall became active in the project, he helped get funding and preserve the right of way.

“Santa Clara is the first county to get voters to fund a ½-cent sales tax,” he told the Times. He managed to preserve the right-of-way funding that would provide the money to purchase the properties and then went about getting the sales tax on the ballot.

When the highway was first planned in the 60s, it was to be an elevated highway. During the planning stages, financial concerns led the state to decide to not develop ramps from Highway 17/880 to 85, dumping traffic onto surface streets.

After more than 270 neighborhood meetings, Beall worked out a plan with neighboring cities ensuring that the freeway would be designed—for the most part—at or below ground level. That provision allowed the highway to be built on time and under budget.

“We saved over $110 million,” Beall said. “It took us 91/2 years to complete even though CalTrans forecast it would take 17 years. We even received an award from the California Transportation Association for completing the project on time and under budget.”

Supervisor
In 1994, Beall ran for and won election to the fourth district supervisor seat of Santa Clara County. He had two opponents in the primary but won that June. He was re-elected in 1998 and 2002 without any opposition.

“I’ve never had any opposition in my re-election campaigns,” he said.

As a supervisor, he accomplished two transportation measures—getting the light rail through Campbell and the Vasona Corridor to Los Gatos and trekking to Sacramento to ensure funding for the completion of Highway 87 from 280 to 101 by the airport. While they are still widening 87, that roadway also was done on time and under budget.

Health care
But as he grew into his role as a supervisor, it became apparent that he worked wonders in the field of health. His first goal was to protect the county’s children through the Children’s Health Initiative. At that time, about 70,000 children throughout the county had no medical insurance. It was his plan to change that and he has.

Through a two-pronged attack, Beall, as chair of the Santa Clara County family health plan, was able to get money through the county’s tobacco lawsuit and to raise money through the private sector to ensure that all area children have health insurance.

“Now 95 percent of Santa Clara County children are covered and can receive care. We are the first county in the country to provide this benefit. As for the 5 percent, these are children that have gotten lost in the system or moved away. We continue to try to find them through churches, schools and outreach programs,” he said.

“My next goal [as an assemblyman] is to cover all adults in the area from independent contractors to small businesses to those out of work. We’ll work it on a sliding scale proposition,” he said of one of his first goals as an assemblyman. “One of my first goals in the legislature is to create an affordable, non-bureaucratic program providing health care for all of California’s citizens.”

Beall also wants to carry on with his ideas to fund mental health care. “It’s an illness that needs to be corrected and cured. I think that society’s failure to deal with, to ignore and to stigmatize people with this disease is hurting our country morally and fiscally. People use drugs and alcohol to stave off such problems, but it doesn’t help. The way we eat and live today causes health problems,” and there are ways to change these problems.

For one thing, he says it’s important not to wait until people get sick, but to provide stress prevention early on. He hopes to be able to offer diagnosis and intervention early, to provide prevention programs for teens including drinking and driving programs. “Alcohol and drug treatment programs are great, but most people can’t afford them,” he said.

“This is really important. I want to intervene early so it doesn’t become a problem. We should take advantage of programs from churches, community centers and other groups to solve the problems early. While I totally believe in the legal separation of church and state, I think religious communities should be involved in solving behavioral problems. We need to take advantage of all the solutions,” Beall said.

He claims that this approach will allow local and state governments to save money. Why not develop programs that lower emergency expenditures, he asks. If the state could solve mental, alcohol and drug problems with well-trained personnel, perhaps the recidivism rate from California jails and prisons would drop.

His other goals include continuing his work with foster children, especially older children. Once these kids turn 18, they are without any support, he said. A lot become criminals or homeless. During his tenure on the board of supervisors, he has been working to ensure these foster children receive housing, education, job training and life-skills training so they have a skill and even a job or are able to attend college when they are no longer in the foster program.

Background
Jim Beall was born and raised in the San Jose area. His parents’ first home was on Branham Lane. They moved in the early 60s when his father heard that Highway 85 was going to be built right in front of their home. They still live in the Pioneer/Branham area, he said, although their home is much quieter with all 10 children gone.

His parents are retired, although his mother worked as a teacher’s aide last year at Olinder School. He attended local schools and Bellarmine College Prep for high school. Beall worked summers and sometimes during the school year to pay his way through the private prep school and also through college.

“Through my parents, I learned a value system, respect, compassion and empathy for others and how NOT to waste money. I worked in the fields of the Central Valley in the summers picking fruits and vegetables and for Mervyns and Kmart selling clothes and paying my way through school.

His wife of 24 years, Pat, has been teaching reading readiness to students at DeAnza College, although she plans to retire when he begins work in Sacramento. They have been married for 24 years and Beall has two stepsons from her first marriage. Mark is a single father, parent of 3-year old Jack, and lives in Las Vegas. His other son Greg is disabled and lives with the couple. The two spend as much time as possible with Greg.

The Bealls plan to live in Sacramento on weekdays and in San Jose over the weekends.

Assemblyman Beall opens two offices
Beall has two offices where his District 24 constituents can reach him, the State Capital Building, room 5016, Sacramento, Calif. 95814, phone (916) 319-2024 or e-mail him at assemblymember.beall@assembly.ca.gov. Or contact Cris Forsyth at Cris.Forsyth@asm.ca.gov.

His local office address is 100 Paseo de San Antonio, Suite 300, San Jose, Calif. 95113. It can be reached by calling (408) 269-6500 or contacting Sunshine Borelli, district director, at Sunshine.Borelli@asm.ca.gov.

The new assembly member plans to hold an open house at his new district office, 100 Paseo de San Antonio, Suite 300, San Jose on Friday, Jan. 19 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.