Candidate for
State Senator; District 13

If elected to the California State Senate I will work to improve the following areas:

1. Quality of Life:

Although Santa Clara County's economy has improved, what has often suffered is our quality of life. I believe that we, as a society, have a duty to educate our children, provide good jobs, and take care of our seniors. As a State Senator, I will work to improve the quality of life in Santa Clara County. Areas that I consider essential for improving our quality of life include:

a. Education:

As a former teacher, school board member, member of the Assembly Education Committee for six years, and Chair of the Higher Education Committee for my final two years, I've been a fighter for public schools and improving education from pre-school through university.

I strongly believe that we need to invest more in education, not less (as some in Sacramento have suggested). As a parent and a grandparent, I will continue to fight for Universal Pre-School. Early education shouldn't be the privilege of the fortunate. I authored Math Teacher Training legislation (AB 1331, 1998) to insure that California's students were receiving proper mathematics education.

To promote an educated and capable workforce we need to continue to invest in Higher education. While in the Assembly, I successfully authored the Graduate Education Opportunity Act (AB 511, 2000), which allows employers to reimburse graduate students $5,250 in tax free tuition credit. The business and high tech community relies on skilled workers, and higher education facilitates economic growth.

b. Healthcare:

I am proud of what we were able to accomplish during my six years in the Legislature. As the legislator responsible for the creation of the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long Term Care, I have seen first hand that California seniors deserve a far better deal than they're getting from state government. We need to continue to invest in senior care, and work on nursing home reform.

California's children need comprehensive healthcare coverage, which is why I was a co-author on the Healthy Families legislation.

I also want to work on finding a solution to making health care more affordable for small business.

c. Economic Development:

The private sector--not government--is the engine of job creation in Santa Clara County. In addition to fighting for one of the largest tax cuts in state history, I have worked to help small businesses. As the co-founder of a small business, I know first-hand the importance of policies that encourage education, private investment, and innovation to create a pro-growth economic climate in California. I supported the elimination of the Minimum Franchise Tax for the first two years of incorporation and I co-authored AB 1774 (2000), the incremental increase in the general NOL carryover. I have long supported the Manufacturers Investment Credit as a critical means of expanding small business, and I oppose this year's elimination of the MIC from the budget.

My support of small business has earned me the endorsement of the California Small Business Association.

In addition, I have worked with local officials on projects that ensure that Silicon Valley remains an excellent economic power. As a member of the Revenue and Taxation Committee for my entire six years in the legislature, I stood up for high-tech tax relief. In California, technological innovation has created thousands of jobs and improved the quality of life for working families.

d. Affordable Housing:

While on the Job-Housing Balance committee, I saw first hand how the lack of affordable housing has hurt California's working families and its ability to attract new business. Concerned with the high cost of housing in Silicon Valley, I created the "California's Homebuyer's Downpayment Assistance Program" (AB 2865, 2000), which provides a deferred payment, low-interest loan for low and moderate income homebuyers. We need to continue to invest in housing at a state level for both our families and California's business community.

e. Transportation:

Transportation is an area that significantly impacts our quality of life and must be addressed in Santa Clara County. The state needs to continue to provide funds for local transportation projects, particularly BART funding. While in the Assembly, I fought alongside my legislative colleagues like Jim Cunneen to secure the extension of BART to San Jose. I authored a last minute amendment to legislation that saved $725,000 in state transportation funds from BART-as opposed to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, to bring BART to San Jose. To increase efficiency within the Valley Transportation Agency, I had legislation signed into law giving the SCVTA district authority (AB 1316, 1997).

f. Water:

Water infrastructure planning and funding needs to become a priority for the state of California as our state is relying on water systems that need to be upgraded. While in the Assembly, I co-authored legislation mandating Bay Area water planning and Department of Health Service oversight (AB 1823, 2002).

2. Government Oversight:

As a rookie Chair of the Assembly Committee on Information Technology, I was a fiscal watchdog, helping the State of California avoid wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on failed technology, such as the disastrous Statewide Automated Child Support System (SACSS). I took on the Administration and held the Department of Information Technology accountable for failing to create a system that could effectively deliver much needed support payments to California children as required by law. On my watch, the system was scrapped and California's child support enforcement infrastructure was reformed.

I feel we need to provide more public access to government and governmental meetings. To ensure legislation is enacted for the benefit of California's 34 million residents and not special interest, bills should have policy hearings in both the Senate and the Assembly.

3. Campaign Reform:

To ensure that politicians are accountable to the individuals who elect them-the voters-campaign reform must be implemented. I am the only candidate in this race, and in Santa Clara County, to accept the Fair Political Practices Commission's voluntary spending cap for the State Senate primary race of $637,000. Not only do I support campaign reform in practice, but I also authored campaign reform legislation while in the Assembly. My legislation, the Independent Expenditure Disclosure Act (AB 2, 2001), requires that committees that are formed in the last 16 days before an election must disclose, within 24 hours, all of the information that is required on a statement of organization. This legislation seeks to end the frequently false information submitted in last minute independent expenditure hit pieces.