CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript Interview with Eloise Gomez Reyes

Interview

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Democratic state assembly member Elle Louis Gomez Reyes is joining us right now from San Bernardino, California.

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Good to see you.

ELOISE GOMEZ REYES (D), CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So your state has been among the states hit hardest by the virus. But there is some perhaps should we call it encouraging news that we're now learning that Saturday's hospital patient numbers were at their lowest since April? What do you credit to that?

REYES: I think it's the leadership, the governor and so many others who have asked us to stay home, to wear a mask, to stay six feet away from each other. There's so many things and I think the fact that the people are actually doing it is making a difference. We all want to see the economy to reopen. But we also want it to be safe.

WHITFIELD: You know, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the measures being taken against COVID actually may have an impact on the flu season. Listen.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We still should be getting our flu shots, for sure, the way we always do, but it is entirely possible that despite the fear that we were going to have a double whammy, namely flu season super imposed upon a continuation of COVID-19, that may not be the case.

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WHITFIELD: Flu shots, mask wearing, all making an impact. Why does this, you know, perhaps give you a sense of hope for the fall?

REYES: Well, we want to be able to -- we want to be able to reopen the economy. So it gives me great hope to know that there's more than to be done to keep us moving forward, quite frankly.

WHITFIELD: Now let's talk about the other thing, you know, that is hitting your state very hard. You know, we're talking about these wildfires unfolding across the West. The California Department of Forestry and fire protection said today that, I'm quoting now, containment continues to increase, the 27 wildfires in California. So where do things stand right now? How is this impacting everyday life for so many?

REYES: Well, I'll tell you, here the El Dorado Fire in my community is about 59 percent contained. Yesterday we suffered a loss of one of our firefighters. This is something serious. We have to deal with this with climate change and so many other things that are happening here in globally. It's not just in our area but it's happening globally, and so we have to do more but a part of that is providing more firefighters. We have more and more wildfires, but we need those men and women to help fight the fires.

WHITFIELD: And to assist the firefighters, you actually sponsored a bill that allows inmate firefighters on the front lines to become, you know, professional firefighters after they are released from prison. Explain how that would work and why you support this.

REYES: I think that sometime California and other states have been rethinking criminal justice for quite some time. We want ways to improve the outcomes for those who make mistakes, serve their time and have reentered society, and when we view the commitment and determination of those inmate firefighters that turned their lives around, that's what motivated me to create a pathway to help them get on the right track and to use the skills that they learned to get back to the community.

It took a lot of work with lots of the stakeholders, both the firefighter union and those in criminal justice reform to try to come up with the best way that we can deal with this situation. AB 2127 provides that for individuals that have successfully completed their duties as an inmate firefighter that they can apply for an expungement. It's an expedited expungement of the criminal record and if it's granted by the court, it would allow them to pursue employment as a firefighter or in any other profession that requires California license because now they won't have to disclose that felony conviction when they apply for the license.

And we have about 200 separate licenses through the state of California but one of those very important one is the EMT license that up to now has not been available to many of those who have those skills that they acquired in the California conservation camp, the fire camp for the county, as well.

WHITFIELD: Let me ask you, too, about President Trump, you know, blaming bad forest management for a lot of this and of course we're talking about you have this forestry as both state and federal land but 60 percent of it, right, is federally managed, so what do you see ahead, you know, as lessons learned from this moment?

REYES: There is so much we have to do but I'm glad you made that point. It surprised me when the president would say something about the management of our forests when the majority of the forest land here in California is federal, so it is a federal requirement that they maintain them but I will tell you that here the state has been doing a much better job.

[13:55:04]

I know we've had a number of hearings with our utilities, PG&E and Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric to have them work on their areas as well. But it's going to take lots of work and I think the fire crews, both the inmate fight crews and others who will pursue this particular profession, it's their work that's going to help us to clear the land, to harden the land. We have to work as neighbors not only for our own land but for those -- the land of the others, as well.

WHITFIELD: We'll leave it there for now. Of course, we're wishing everybody out there the best in just an onslaught of tough times.

Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes, thank you so much.

REYES: Thank you so much.

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