Debra's Vision for Our Lives and Our District

By Debra Whitmore

It is difficult to summarize all of my ideas on the issues that are so important to all of us. Therefore, please visit my website at http://www.debrawhitmore.com

There are so many important issues, and so much we can do to address them. Right now in California, 80% of our water goes to agriculture. Therefore, the government needs to provide economic incentives to our growers to change to more effective and efficient irrigation systems (such as low drip, low spray and reclamation systems). Additionally, as we curtail pesticide and herbicide usage we need to insure the viability of our growers as they compete against imported produce that will not have the same chemical restrictions.

In terms of our environment, we need to immediately stop the practice of leasing federal public lands to corporations. Not only do taxpayers have to pay clean up costs, but there is a huge environmental impact of this practice. A major source of damage is that of cutting roads into our national forests in order to harvest lumber. These roads lead not only to erosion, but damage to our sources of fresh water. We also need to encourage the development of engines that use natural gas instead of imported petroleum. Additionally, the government needs to set the example by replacing gasoline vehicles with electric and natural gas.

Social justice issues are vital to our nation. We have a history of separating people out of society in order to restrict their constitutional rights, liberties, protection and access. We need to include everyone in these guarantees. Currently, many communities seem to restrict the youth (besides other groups) for no other reason than it then appears that government is acting against potential crimes. We cannot restrict the rights of citizens because they cannot or do not vote. As we restrict the rights of various groups we lead to a further decline in the participation of our political process as people begin to feel that government does not work in their interest.

We need to protect our constitutional rights even if we do not agree with all of them. Once we restrict the rights of others, our own rights may be the next ones to be taken away.