SACRAMENTO - It's Tuesday, April 8, and Jim Provenza is

speaking to state legislators about support in Los Angeles

County for two Assembly bills.

Surrounded this morning by beige walls, antique light fixtures, tall wooden doors and the hum of the conversations from the hallway and within the state Capitol hearing room, he and others representing the L.A. County district attorney sit in front of a horseshoe-shaped dais, American and California flags, and the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

The two bills, AB2409 and AB2410, are authored by Assemblyman Pedro Nava. They pertain to sexually violent predators and their victims.

For about 15 years, Provenza has represented L.A. County at the Capitol. Today, he also hopes to serve a much smaller and very different county - Yolo.

Despite the two counties' differences, the L.A. County job has prepared him for a seat on the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, he says from his downtown Sacramento desk.

The office is on the fourth floor of an old building, overlooking the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and displaying volumes of legal codes, a calendar with a photo of the L.A. courthouse in the 1930s and a gigantic framed picture of New York City that was a gift from his son and daughter.

If Provenza was elected as 4th District supervisor for Yolo County, he would be helped, he said, by his L.A. County experience, even though the counties are different. He has learned how to find funding in difficult times, he said, and how to work on tough issues that are important to the people he serves.

He learned, while working on heavily contested bills on environmental enforcement and worker safety, how to work relentlessly, sometimes enduring all-night legislative debates.

The same abilities would apply in Yolo County, he said.

'It takes a tremendous amount of energy, patience, the ability to be cooperative, the ability to work with other people, in order to get things done.'

Provenza is running for the county board seat held by Supervisor Mariko Yamada. His rivals are candidates John Ferrera and Cathy Kennedy. Election day is June 3.

If elected, Provenza's priorities on the county board will be the budget, the general plan, open government, and open space and farmland.

He would push Yolo County to argue for a greater share of state revenue and to unite with other small counties, such as in a rural caucus.

Teaming up may give small counties a stronger voice. And, he said, the state owes Yolo County money as it is, and the county needs to make sure it gets it.

When it comes to Yolo County farming, officials need to look ahead and plan for the future, he said. What will Yolo County's farmers grow in the future? he asked. Where will they grow it? What resources will they need? What is the best way to keep farming economically viable, and what is the right economic development for Yolo County?

'I'm really excited about working on that,' he said of the future of farming, 'because that's one of the things that makes our county unique.'

He would look at the county's services. With the population aging, officials need to make sure they have the budget for services.

People need help, he said, with transportation, long-term care, legal advice and help understanding for what services they are eligible. He would like to see volunteer legal services at senior centers.

In the area of open government, he said he would like county officials to do their jobs in public whenever possible. Legal strategies and personnel matters must be decided in closed session, he said, but even some more general legal discussions can happen in public.

The more done in public, he said, the more residents are informed.

He also wants to make sure the disenfranchised are encouraged to participate. That means reaching out to Spanish speakers, mobile home dwellers or others who traditionally are less involved or have less time.

'They might not be at the table (in local politics) because ... both husband and wife work 60 hours a week to put food on the table.'

In all, he wants to make Yolo County a model - to choose to protect the environment and farming, build for the future and work with developers to support projects that benefit people the most, then show others that those goals can be achieved while protecting the environment and including all residents in the process.

He has talked with developers, environmentalists and slow-growth advocates, he said, and they have more in common than people think. It's just a matter, he said, of how to get to that goal, and he would try to bridge gaps, get people to listen to each other, and keep them focusing on the long term.

Across his work, he said his philosophy is one of justice.

He has worked in his career for crime victims, civil rights and environmental justice. And on the county board, he would ask in each decision, are all citizens being treated fairly?

- Reach Beth Curda at bcurda@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8045. Comment on this story at www.davisenterprise.com