BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Congressman David Valadao held a virtual townhall Wednesday evening with constituents of California’s 22nd congressional district, so they could share concerns and get some answers.

Valadao — a Republican from Hanford — represents California 22nd District, which includes the Kern County cities of McFarland, Arvin, Delano and parts of east and southeast Bakersfield and houses a majority Latino population.

The congressman recently overtook opponent Democrat Rudy Salas in the 2022 elections.

On the call, his district residents discussed everything from crime and homelessness in the Central Valley to the looming government shutdown.

The congressman briefly addressed the potential shutdown, saying it’s something he’d prefer to avoid. He added that lawmakers are working to get past how partisan the matter has become.

“The House has passed, my Appropriations Committee has passed ten of the 12 bills out of committee,” said Representative David Valadao (R-CA 22nd District). “We moved one off the House floor. The Senate has moved all 12 Appropriations bills out of committee. Hopefully by the end of the month, we get to some point where we’re actually passing legislation, negotiating with the Senate and White House and getting bills signed into law.”

The congressman predicted, though, “this next month will be a pretty tough month.”

Following the town hall, 17 News briefly spoke with a spokesperson for Rep. Valadao.

When asked whether the congressman would support the Speaker regardless of his decision, the spokesperson said Valadao supports bills as they come before him and that the congressman knows McCarthy has a hard job.

Valadao also pointed out he doesn’t yet know whether he’d vote in favor of an impeachment of President Joe Biden, should the current inquiry progress to a formal vote.

He said he is, however, certain he doesn’t want the subject to divide the country more than it currently is.

Another prime topic — not just in the Central Valley but nationwide — according to the congressman, crime.

Valadao blamed California law for making prosecution increasingly difficult and said the law must be toughened. He said at the federal level, the leaders of Capitol Hill can ensure they are “Helping our law enforcement have the tools that they need so they can do the best they possibly can to capture criminals.”

Per the congressman, that includes supporting law enforcement in underserved areas like McFarland and Wasco, as well as sheriff’s departments in rural, unincorporated parts of town.

Valadao also touched on homelessness in the Valley and said rather than “passing the problem onto the neighbor” via methods like busing people from city to city, the state must get to the core of the homelessness epidemic.

“It’s gonna have to get addressed more at the statewide level, because I don’t know if one city has the ability to blame another city,” Valadao said. “Helping secure the drug trade, which I think is a big driver behind this, securing our border, the fentanyl crisis…”

Democrats Rudy Salas and Melissa Hurtado have announced their run against Congressman Valadao for the 2024 elections.

The 22nd district leans Democratic in voter registration.