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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Economy,
Budget,
Energy,
Health care,
Campaign financing
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. In this time of high unemployment, what are the most important steps that should be taken to improve our nation’s economy?
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Answer from Albin dennis "Al" Novinec:
The housing market created the recession, we need to fix the housing market. By fixing the housing market we would get back on track to recovery. People lost their jobs because the market collapsed, by fixing the housing market we would put builders back to work, home contractors, as in repair contractors, realtors, ect. Lenders would hire more employees due to more home loans. The banks have 4 trillion dollars to loan, this would bring buyers back into the market, if they wanted to loan it out. The government owns or insures 9 out of 10 mortgages, let's make the banks ease their restrictions on loans, and the market will improve. I have a ten point plan on my website on how to fix the housing market in (1) one year, lets make it work.
Answer from Jerry Tetalman:
As a nation we need to support America's middle class through job creation and sustainable economic growth. Creating a favorable business environment through sound fiscal policy will accomplish that goal. Businesses need access to low interest loans to encourage expansion and job creation.
Answer from Dick Eiden:
Getting our economy back on track is a complex task which has three major components: 1) job creation; 2) regulation of the financial sector (no more "too big to fail") with consistent enforcement of rules and diligent oversight of banking and investing institutions, and 3) control of the federal budget to reduce the deficit and channel funds from wasteful defense expenditures into desperately needed domestic arenas such as infrastructure and education.
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2. How should the federal budget deficit be addressed, now and into the future? How should budget priorities for defense and domestic programs be adjusted?
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Answer from Jerry Tetalman:
The deficit must be reduced while at the same time the economy must be energized. We should do what is economically prudent, and not engage in gridlock politics such as last year when Congress's inability to raise the debt ceiling led to a lowering of our credit rating. Defense spending priorities should be shifted away from a war footing. Domestic programs that support the poor and middle class are a priority.
Answer from Dick Eiden:
Like any financially responsible family, we must restructure our budget so that income covers expenditures. We need to create a fair and equitable tax structure (yes, this means a tax rate that demands more from the top 1%) and eliminate wasteful defense spending and redundancy in federal agency programs. Our highest priorities should be upgrading infrastructure, improving education, and ensuring that all have access to quality health care.
Answer from Albin dennis "Al" Novinec:
First and most important the Senate needs to pass a budget. They haven't passed a budget in three years, and by federal law they are supposed to pass one every year. We pay 484 billion dollars in interest every year for the deficit, does anyone but me find this riciduclous. A private citizen would do a or create a budget. The government needs to stop spending our taxes on needless things. Pay off the highest interest debt first and then work our way down, on my website I talk about the fraud and wastefull spending our congressmen do. They dont care about us because most of them are millionaires, they are the 1% and they dont understand, what the working class people want or need. We dont need higher taxes, we need to cut spending.
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3. What are your priorities with respect to our nation’s energy policy? Should there be an emphasis on clean energy and reducing carbon emissions, and/or on reducing our dependence on foreign sources?
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Answer from Jerry Tetalman:
I support environmental protections and sustainable energy policies, including the development and use of alternative and sustainable energy resources such as wind, solar, and geo-thermal.
Answer from Dick Eiden:
Green, renewable energy technologies can and should power our economy in the coming decades. We should accelerate development of solar, wind, and wave power while continuing to search for and develop new and even better technologies. We must reduce our carbon emissions for the sake of the environment and end our dependence on foreign oil as part of our efforts to create the conditions for peace.
Answer from Albin dennis "Al" Novinec:
Step one should be open our own energy sources, like oil and gas, as a short term fix. This will in truth lower prices at the pump, instead of being beholding to OPEC. Then with the money we save we can work twords a more green energy policy. We also need to work with other countries to help them and teach them how to do the same. The carbon emissions is world wide not just in the U.S. We can only change and reduce carbon emissions if we get all the nations on board with this idea.
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4. What, if any, changes should be made to federal health care policies or programs?
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Answer from Albin dennis "Al" Novinec:
I would work with other candidates to stop spending our taxes overseas, and use them to support our own programs, instead of giving Greese billions of dollars for their bail out, I would work twords putting that money into health care and programs like social security. It is our taxes use them "Here" not in other countries, we spent over (1) one trillion dollars in Iraq and Afganistan, WHY! we need to put that money into the United States not other countries.
Answer from Jerry Tetalman:
Heath care is a human right. I support a Single Payer Health Care System as the only effective way to cut administrative and provider costs, and ensure coverage for all Americans. I support protecting women's reproductive rights and freedom to make heath care decisions without government interference.
Answer from Dick Eiden:
All Americans should have access to affordable health care and thus be free of the fear of financial ruin due to soaring medical costs. I support a single payer system (Medicare for all) as the ideal solution to the inefficiency of our current health care structure. Until such a system is put in place, the individual mandate is a viable temporary solution.
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5. What, if any, changes should be made to federal rules on campaign financing?
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Answer from Jerry Tetalman:
There is too much corporate money and influence in politics. The "Citizens United" Supreme Court decision on super PACs has made this situation worse. It should be reversed by the Court or declared illegal by a Constitutional Amendment.
Answer from Albin dennis "Al" Novinec:
All canidates should be responsible for their own campaign financing, stop outside forces. What I mean by this is the only donations should be by the people they repersent, not big business. If we get the word out and only receive smaller donations from our voters, we would only owe our alligiance to the voters, cap the donations to maybe 100 dollars per person, and see how they would spend that oney for advertisement. I am sure they would focus on the main topics and not smear campaigns. I finance my own campaign if the other canditates did their own financing, we would be sure they wanted to do their civic duty and not just try to get into some lobyiest or corporations pocket. Lets bring honesty back to governmet and stop this plague of big money owning our candiates.
Answer from Dick Eiden:
Effective campaign financing reform requires limits on the amounts that any single entity--whether an individual, corporation, union, or special interest group--may contribute to candidates or political parties. Ultimately, I believe we should consider a system of public financing of elections, but until that happens, we must do everything possible to create transparency by requiring that the identity of large donors be revealed prior to elections.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' statements are presented as
submitted. References to opponents are not permitted.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
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League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
