I have to admit that I really liked interviewing George Barks. Now in his 80s, the eclectic politics gentleman, who first served in public office in the 1970s as a city councilman for Hermosa Beach, California gave an excellent accounting of himself. From fiscal policy to public infrastructure priorities, Mr. Barks has clearly been thinking about affairs of state impacting all Californians. He’s a pragmatic man who looks at every issue on its merits and takes positions with little regard to the conventional alliances of political parties.
His “No More Pie in the Sky” philosophy was recently covered in a South Bay EasyReader article , where he shared his view on the state’s policies in housing for communities like the LA South Bay. He believes that climate change is real and supports initiatives like desalination to solve water storage problems in the desert-parched state. He believes there will be a transition to electric cars but disagrees with Sacramento that the transition can happen by 2035. He sees future energy needs and takes the pragmatic position that all forms of energy production, including fossil and nuclear sources, should be on the table for California.
His frustration with supermajority politics that dominates state government motivates him to want to jump into the fray and work on building more diverse coalitions for the future of the State of California. This video is worth the watch, and maybe even a share.
Refreshing for a politician in today’s age, George details how to contact him the old-school way at the end of the video.