Dear Senator DeSaulnier,

Most of us have been district residents for many years and I believe all of us voted for you.We have several decades of experience being what we call consulting mathematicians. This is not strictly accurate, as our work often crosses over into epidemiology, economics, education and geology. Back in late 2007 we met with then Senator Obama's campaign staff here in Oakland and told them the Senator would lose the California primary by 10%. This was guaranteed to start things off on a down note. BUT we thought he'd survive Super Tuesday if the super-delegates could be controlled. At the time, Senator McCain's campaign was in disarray, so we expected an easy win over Mitt Romney. To us, the real problem was what then. It was clear Democrats would have powerful majorities in both houses but a badly damaged economy, so the emphasis had to be jobs, Jobs and JOBS. There were only two strategies we could suggest: some dramatic changes to education and an international high-speed rail network. Our models clearly showed the US at that point could not afford to build 110,000 rail-miles of magnetically levitated (maglev) tracks. California would have to be a key player courtesy its location, agricultural riches, ports and population. <click Next below left to continue>