I have been touched and humbled by the outpouring of support. My abstention on the four bond issues has hopefully served to highlight the legitimate needs of the San Joaquin Valley.

All too often, people from other parts of California view the Valley as just a place to drive through on their way to somewhere else. What they don’t see are all the proud and hard-working people who live, work and raise our families in the Valley.

We are an important and growing part of California. We make significant contributions to the economy and social fabric of the state, and it is only fair that we ask state government to help us address the problems facing our Valley.

After recent discussions with the Speaker of the Assembly, Fabian Núñez, I am convinced he understands who we are as a people, and what it is we need in order to survive and prosper. Our task now is to educate and convince legislators from outside the Valley to support our cause.

While difficult, I hope we will continue a bipartisan effort to get bond funds for additional water storage. Such storage is essential to help us attract jobs and diversify our economy, deal with population growth and provide clean drinking water for current and future residents.

In addition, a decision or settlement of a pending federal lawsuit regarding restoration of the San Joaquin River will mean the loss of a significant amount of water that our cities, farmers and businesses depend on just to meet current needs.

We must explore all available options, including groundwater banking and conservation, but at the end of the day, we must develop new surface water storage capacity.

Although I abstained from voting for the bonds because surface water storage was left out, there are many items in the bonds that will help the Valley. The education bond, for example, will provide hundreds of millions of dollars for new construction and modernization of public schools and community colleges, including funds for vocational education.

Housing, as we all know, is getting out of reach for most families, and the housing bond will provide incentives to build thousands of homes for families of modest means.

The Flood Control and Levee bond will be available for storm water flood-control projects, including ground-water recharge. Levee repairs will ensure the ability to deliver water for agricultural activities on the west side of the Valley.

Finally, the transportation bond will improve Highway 99 (although not as much as initially expected), provide funds for public transit, repair city and county streets and roads, and replace older, high-polluting school buses.

In short, the bonds contain many items that will benefit the San Joaquin Valley.

Our message that we need additional surface water storage for the Valley has been heard in Sacramento. In the meantime, much work still remains to be done. We still need more good-paying jobs; we need to clean our air; and we need to improve our public schools.

With your help and with the support of my colleagues in the Legislature, we can and will solve the problems facing our Valley. I am proud to represent the Valley in the Assembly and ask for your patience, prayers and continued support.

Juan Arambula, a Fresno Democrat, represents the 31st District in the California Assembly.