Senator George Runner
Serving the 17th District which incorporates portions of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties.

SACRAMENTO – Sen. George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) today joined an estimated 10,000 Californians in a Tea Party protest on the west steps of the state capitol.

“We’re here today to protest high taxation imposed by Liberal Democrats, and government’s burdensome regulations on water and energy,” Runner said. “The bottom line is California taxpayers and business owners are sick to death of government intrusion. It’s ruining their livelihoods and quality of life, and they’re not going to take it anymore.”

Runner served as a key speaker at the event, along with Republican Congressmen Tom McClintock, Northern California radio jocks Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty; Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers’ Association and Peter Foy, Ventura County Supervisor and the California chairman of Americans For Prosperity. Sacramento radio host Eric Hogue served as emcee.

Of the thousands of protesters, many were farmers and small business owners who have been particularly hit hard by the devastation of Central Valley farmlands in an effort to protect a 2-inch long minnow. The rally also attracted many truckers who are facing devastating financial consequences from the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (also known as Assembly Bill 32).

Runner asked the protestors to hold their legislators accountable for their actions in Sacramento.

“Make the phone calls; write the letters,” Runner said. “I find that they (legislators) say one thing in their districts and do another thing in Sacramento.”