PD Editorial: Bill Dodd delivers for North Bay voters

California is confronting epic threats — a raging pandemic, a historic economic collapse, wildfires, blackouts, climate change.

In this unprecedented moment, the state needs experienced, solutions-oriented legislators like state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa.

It’s true that the just concluded session in Sacramento left a lot to be desired, but Dodd was among the legislators pressing hard to get things done.

“There always has been a lot competition between the houses,” he told the editorial board, “a lot of game-playing, which I just don’t have time for.”

That’s clear from what Dodd delivered during his first state Senate term. He authored laws to streamline insurance claims after disasters and eliminate the practice of deducting land value from settlements when fire victims decide not to rebuild.

Dodd legislation also ensured that critical facilities such as hospitals and fire stations aren’t crippled by public safety power outages, and he chaired a special committee that drafted legislation to create incentives for PG&E and other utilities to step up fire prevention efforts — and to hold them accountable.

He raised safety standards for racehorses after a shocking series of deaths at California tracks, and he pushed through legislation to allow low-income Californians to get in-home health care without first spending 90 days in a skilled nursing facility. That will save money and, given the high level of COVID-19 infections in nursing homes, it might save lives.

Dodd, a former Republican, is a genuine centrist who puts results first. Voters in the 3rd State Senate District should reward him with a second term.

Indeed, he was unopposed at the filing deadline in the spring. But three people filed as write-in candidate, and Carlos Santamaria, a Napa Republican, picked up 2,100 write-in votes in the March primary. (Dodd got 212,000 votes.)

Santamaria’s name will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, but he doesn’t appear to be running more than a token campaign, with a bare-bones website and a Facebook page. He ran against Rep. Mike Thompson four years ago and didn’t actively campaign that time either.

Santamaria didn’t respond to multiple invitations to meet with the editorial board.

Dodd is no stranger in his district, which stretches from Sonoma County to Sacramento County. Unable to maintain his usual schedule of public appearances due to the pandemic, he has been convening virtual town hall meetings to stay in touch.

Dodd has a deep reservoir of experience as a Napa County business owner and an elected official. He served 14 years on the Napa County Board of Supervisors and represented North Bay interests on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. He was elected to the state Assembly in 2014 and moved up to the state Senate four years ago.

California still has major post-fire needs, including better prevention programs and an overhaul of the homeowners insurance system. The coronavirus pandemic has yet to be tamed, but it already has turned the state’s finances upside down, and lawmakers have a long list of unfinished business, including housing and police reforms.

Lawmakers have given voters plenty of reasons to be skeptical, but voters know they can expect results from Bill Dodd. The Press Democrat recommends him in the 3rd State Senate District.

You can send a letter to the editor at letters@pressdemocrat.com.