Consumers and advocates for the Inland Empire Community Forum, a coalition of regional social service organizations, gathered this week outside several state legislative offices and urged their representatives to stand firm against Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's deepest proposed cuts to services that help the area's neediest residents.

Among those stops was the 62nd District Office of Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter in Rialto. Julie Williams, system change advocate for San Bernardino-based Rolling Start, a nonprofit organization for people with disabilities, said that Carter and other area legislators have been supportive of their advocacy efforts in the past. "Our purpose was to remind them not to cut critical services" needed by people with disabilities, Williams said.

Assembly Member Carter said, "I appreciate their continued support of our efforts to try to reach a budget compromise and their willingness to participate in the process by making their voices heard."

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Visit State Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter's web site