Hartmann seeks second term on Senior Legislature
by Bret Bradigan

If you're a senior citizen and want to be sure that your voice is heard, May 7 should loom large on your calendar.
That's the election date for the California Senior Legislature, an advisory group of retirees which proposes and lobbies for its own slate of senior-related legislation for the state Assembly and Senate.
Local balloting sites are at Help of Ojai and the Oak View Community Center. You must be 60 years of age or older to be eligible to vote.
Ojai has been directly represented for the past two years by long-time educator and volunteer Larry Hartmann, who is seeking his second term as an assemblyman to the California Senior Legislature.
Hartmann is running for the Senior Assembly from Public Service Agency No. 18, which coincides with Ventura County. There are three open seats for the senior legislature - two Assembly posts and one Senate post.
Senior legislators meet in October to whittle down "dozens, even hundreds" of legislative bills and proposals for bills to their top 10. These senior legislators then lobby these bills to the state Assembly or Senate for, hopefully, passage into law.
The Senior Legislature also features the Joint Rules Committee "for people who want to get intricately involved" with shepherding these senior proposals through the process into law.
Hartmann said it has taken him two years to efficiently navigate the halls of power in Sacramento, especially since several strange incidents - the truck crashing into the state Capitol being one, and heightened security since Sept. 11 - have disrupted the normal patterns of business.
"There's a lot to learn" he said. "It's not something you can just walk right into and function."
Hartmann served as a "floor jockey" this year, to aid the passage of a bill he co-sponsored to reduce the property tax rates for senior citizens. He is also heavily involved with transportation issues.
Perhaps best known as the principal of Mira Monte School for many years, Hartmann is the new president of Help of Ojai, and teaches the popular 55 Alive driving program for senior citizens from the American Association of Retired Persons.
"I've got a good background in community," he said, with a host of volunteer positions, including with Search and Rescue and as United Way organizer. He also used to cut hair at St. Joseph's Health and Retirement Center.
Hartmann listed his experience in experience in business, real estate and farming, as important attributes he brings to the Senior Legislature. But his focus recently has been on senior citizen issues, he said, "because I am one."

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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