The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California and asked of all candidates for this office.

See below for questions on Budget Crisis, Education, Water, Health Insurance

Click on a name for other candidate information.   See also more information about this contest.

Answer from Patricia Deutsche:

We need to make some serious cuts. Our problem is not that we tax too little, it's that we spend too much. Let's figure out where the money is going and whether those programs are effective. We need to get back to basics -- government helping protect our safety (fire, police, etc), support our education system, and guard our borders. For those things we can't fund , we should turn to private sector and religious & charitable organizations.

Answer from Tom Condit:

Reinstate the 2% vehicle license fee. Reinstate higher income tax brackets on high incomes. Legalize marijuana and tax it. Call off the failed "war on drugs" and release the prisoners.

Assess commercial property at real value. Repeal Proposition 13.

Bring back the California estate tax.

Tax capital gains and dividends at the same or a higher rate as earned income.

Answer from Patricia Deutsche:

For K-12: safe schools (both adequate buildings and free from violence), competent teachers, and giving schools more flexibility with their funding.

Answer from Tom Condit:

End the testing mania and put teachers in charge of developing curricula. Fix the bathrooms and water fountains in all schools.

Make school board members and superintendents file state economic disclosure forms, so we can see who's making money off the testing and computer expenditures.

Eliminate community college student fees.

Make community colleges the bedrock of the higher education system, putting money into them before the University system.

Answer from Tom Condit:

Institute strict limits on residential water consumption and tiered billing for residential and commercial usage.

Stop building in desert areas.

Answer from Patricia Deutsche:

I'll have to look into this more.

Answer from Tom Condit:

Institute a "single-payer" universal health system, without insurance company profits.

Answer from Patricia Deutsche:

There is a plan in place in Wisconsin that works VERY well. It enables retired phyisicans to provide free health care to those without insurance and the state covers the physicians' malpractice insurance. This would make high quality health care available to thousands of Californians immediately while we continue to work on insurance reforms, making health insurance more affordable.

The order of the candidates is random and changes daily.