League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Mateo County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Member of the State Assembly; District 19

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 Choices, Budget Process, Higher Education, Major Issues and Priorities Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. How will you prioritize the budget choices the Legislature must make to align the state’s income and spending, and address the need for fair revenue sources that are sufficient for state and local government services? Answer from Gary Tutin: There is no easy answer to decades of misguided priorities. #1 priority is lowering the sales tax, which discourages the consumers who drive this economy, plus it is a regressive tax. I would look at spending the same way families do during a time of economic uncertainty. That means cutting anything that is unnecessary and looking at less expensive ways of providing the same services. 2. What proposals, if any, do you support to fix the budget process? What other types of changes or reforms, if any, do you think are important to make our state government function more effectively? Answer from Gary Tutin: I support electing legislators with the courage to cut spending. Raising taxes is not an option. Taxes should be reduced, NOT increased. 3. Many members of the Legislature say that education is a high priority for the state. Yet fees for public higher education have gone up dramatically and funding has been cut. What is your vision for California’s higher education future, and how do you propose to get there? Answer from Gary Tutin: Higher education is overpriced, not because of high teacher salaries. Costs to students have risen far in excess of the inflation rate over the past during the past 30 years. College costs have risen at a higher rate than medical costs. This is a complicated problem, which I analyzed in a paper posted on my Web site http://www.garytutin.org/paper02.php. 4. What other major issues do you think the Legislature must address in 2011? What are your priorities? Answer from Gary Tutin: Balance the budget. Cut spending by putting non-essential programs on hold. Cut taxes. Encourage more citizen input, discourage secrecy in government. Reduce the tons of regulations and laws that are a burden to business, discouraging new employers and sending current employers to other states. Make California the leading state for responsible governance, not the first to declare bankruptcy. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. No candidate may refer to another candidate in the response. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.