League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Diego County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Member of the State Assembly; District 77

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 Budget, Government reform, Higher education, Major issues 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? Answer from Ruben "RJ" Hernandez: The bottomline is a focus on the greatest good-- that which benefits the most amount of people. In that way the impact upon them will benefit the others. 2. What types of changes or reforms, if any, do you think are important to make our state government function more effectively? Answer from Ruben "RJ" Hernandez: Detail oriented reforms that cover all the angles instead of simplistic legislation that only covers a broad topic. Budget reform, for example, means repairing structural issues in our budgeting process through creating proformas and closing tax loopholes to maximize our state's revenue. This will help us stand up for ourselves and rely less on the federal government. 3. Fees for public higher education have gone up dramatically and funding has been cut. Is this a priority concern, and if so, what measures would you propose to address it? Answer from Ruben "RJ" Hernandez: This is a priority concern. The focus is on maximizing and protecting revenue devoted to education and stop the high pay raises when the state is also raising student fees/tuition. No more of that. 4. What other major issues do you think the Legislature must address? What are your own priorities? Answer from Ruben "RJ" Hernandez: Focusing on facilitating bipartisan governance in committees and legislation, among others. The state needs to build up its reserves for the long term and cover its debts. We must ensure the state can continue to provide services to citizens and facilitate the growth of businesses. My first goal is to eliminate the income tax for low-moderate wage earners towards the facilitation of a living wage. 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.