Our Sacramento Road Trip
Dedicated in the Memory of Former Assemblyman Keith Richman

Our Sacramento Road trip evolved from a conversation in the spring 2005 between our then Santa Clarita Assemblyman Keith Richman and KHTS co-owner Carl Goldman. One year later, our first Sacramento Road trip became a reality. This is now our 6th the ride.

Keith’s successor, Assemblyman Cameron Smyth picked up Keith’s baton and has continued to sponsor and assist in organizing our powerful program.

We dedicate this trip in the memory of Keith. His vision lives on as seventy five Santa Clarita leaders travel today to Sacramento. The following is an editorial written by Carl Goldman just after Keith Richman died, on July 30, 2010. It best shares the significance and history of our trip.

I lost one of my heroes on Friday evening. Former California State Assemblyman Keith Richman passed away peacefully with his family by his side. His battle with brain cancer finally ended.
Keith represented our district, the Santa Clarita Valley. His office is now held by his successor, Cameron Smyth. Keith was a visionary, one of the first to recognize the cliff our state was heading toward long before state worker’s pension reform, term limits, redistricting, and health care reform were on anyone’s radar screen.

He inspired me and he inspired my wife, Jeri. The two of them sat on the Providence/Holy Cross Hospital Foundation together for many years. They worked closely together to raise funds for the Providence/Holy Cross Expansion. Keith led the capital campaign for the expansion and lived long enough to watch the hospital’s new tower rise. Sadly, he won’t be around for its opening in December.

My deep connection with Keith was triggered while we were hanging around one morning at an Arthritis Walk at Bridgeport Park in Valencia. It was spring of 2005.
Now, it was a sunny day in April. Hundreds of arthritis walkers had taken off from the park. I was hosting a live broadcast on KHTS and Keith used it as an excuse to hang with me instead of getting a little exercise. I kidded him and said we should have put up signs like the old Burma Shave Highway ads and list all the towns between Santa Clarita and Sacramento to create an illusion the walkers were traveling all the way to our state Capitol. Keith said he would give anything for them to all come up to Sacramento to see how dysfunctional things were up there. He said he would even pay for a bus to bring them up. I said, great, we could broadcast along the way.
Our Sacramento Road trip was born.

My hero is no longer around. But our Santa Clarita Valley leaders, the hundreds whom he has inspired, are even more determined than ever to keep his legacy charging in the right direction.
I will miss you, my friend.