The staff churn in Speaker pro Tem Nora Campos’ office is the talk of Sacramento, raising questions about the assemblymember’s ability to advocate for constituents who’ve been shortchanged by ineffective leadership.

Nora Campos took a considerable step up in stature Wednesday when State Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) unveiled his list of new appointments for leadership and committee chair positions. Campos (D-San Jose), who just completed her freshman term in the Assembly after serving two terms on the San Jose City Council, was appointed speaker pro tempore.

Last week in SJI I wrote about the criticality of strong leadership from our candidates running for governor to fix California’s public schools. It will not be the leaders that make the difference, but each of us who are willing to speak out and put our money where our mouth is. The assembly Democrats have a proposal that supports our children and schools, but it will not pass unless we become engaged in the debate right now.