Protestors Rally at Assemblyman's Office

This story was updated Thursday at 7:45 a.m. 

A dozen protestors rallied near Assemblymember Brian Nestande's (R-Palm Desert) local office, calling for the state to stop further budget cuts to social services.

The protestors, which had members of Occupy Coachella Valley, California Partnership and other activist groups, focused on what they claimed was a quote from Nestande in a June 15th email calling for more budget cuts.

A pre-rally press release from California Partnership said that "This email said that the nearly $8 billion dollars of cuts to core health and human service programs that serve the neediest and most vulnerable in our state were not enough. Instead, he called for even further systemic and structural cuts that would essentiallydismantle the infrastructure of the public safety net. Furthermore, this email directly targetsseniors, people with disabilities, poor children and families by saying that the devastating cuts toprograms that serve them should be cut even more."

With a sign asking the Assemblyman to 'Take a Pledge to Stop Supporting Killer Cuts', the sign quotes the email in part: "Less than $1.1 billion of the items characterized as "cuts" are true permanent spending reductions."

A review of the June 15th email shows the quote regarding the $1.1 billion of cuts is correct, but only as a review of the Democrat's spending plan, which Nestande voted against before it ultimately passed the Legislature. The email did not call for further cuts to any social programs.

Menbers of the group read letters from those directly affected by the budget cuts, including a blind AIDS patient in Rancho Mirage, or shared personal stories.

Teacher Gabrielle Jackson told of students in her class being unable to focus because "the only time they had food was at school", or not paying attention because they were forced to move from a family member's over crowded apartment.

"If he [Assemblyman Nestande] has education as an priority, he needs to show it," Jackson said.  "If these cuts in social programs aren't enough, how much is?"

The group hopes to meet with the Assemblyman at a future date to discuss cuts to social service budgets.