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Local GOP leaders expect change, cooperation

Donald Trump’s win, coupled with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, have Washington, D.C., seeing red.

“Now you have (to) expect that this new White House is not going to speak the same language,” said Dr. David Anderson, a political analyst.

According to Anderson, a red Washington could affect the Central Coast in a few different ways, the biggest of which could be immigration…

“Because there was an expectation with a Clinton victory there would be some kind of immigration reform,” Anderson said.

Trump plans to get rid of the Illegal Immigration Act and is sticking to his plan of building a wall on the border with Mexico.

Paul Bruno, with the Monterey County Republican Party, said migrant farm workers are crucial to the Central Coast and hopes the party will address immigration early on in Trump’s presidency.

“That will give us opportunities to solve some of our farm worker issues,” Bruno said.

Trump’s plan to erase and replace Obamacare is also a big deal.

“Hopefully they will be able to figure out a way to contain the skyrocketing costs and get rid of some of the uncertainty,” Bruno said.

Despite varying views on the Affordable Care Act, Bruno said he is looking forward to working with newly elected Democratic Congressman Jimmy Panetta as he represents the Central Coast in Washington -and that’s something local Democrats are happy to hear.

“We have a congressmen who is now retiring and a new Congressman who has been doing amazing things for this area,” said Vinz Koller with the Monterey County Democratic Party.

Democrats saw big wins in the county, including the passage of Measure X, the re-election of Bill Monning to State Senate and Kamala Harris to the U.S. Senate, but Koller still has concerns about which Trump we will see in the White House.

“If it’s the campaign Trump were in big trouble,” Koller said. “If it’s a different Trump then maybe it’s not as troublesome.”

However, in some cases where Republicans favor state’s rights, Democrats may keep control.

“If that’s the case, then Californians maybe should relax a bit and say California will still be able to control much about policy and the way things are done in California,” Anderson said.

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