Candidate for
State Senator; District 19

Jobs and the Economy

It's about experience and I have the proven record of leadership to know what it takes to get things done. I want to work with all members of the Legislature to come up with serious solutions to California's ongoing budget crisis. In addition to cutting waste and streamlining processes, we need to end loopholes that reward companies for disinvesting in our state. Reinvestment is the key to getting California back on track. Through budget discipline and reprioritizing critical needs we can once again return California to the "State that invents the future". Creating jobs and a better economic future for California is my most urgent priority.

Through investment, California can once again be the land of opportunity. Our future economy depends on creating new good-paying clean energy jobs in California. We need to make California appealing to businesses by continuing our investment in education to provide a well-trained work force, as well as continue to lead the way in innovation with our top-notch research institutions.

It is said that while big business makes news, it's small businesses that generate jobs and provide for the local economy. As a former small-business owner in Ventura County for over 15 years, I know the hardships facing many small-business owners throughout the state. I want to create incentives for small businesses to operate and invest in local job creation. I want to develop programs providing a support network for small business owners that will deliver anything from collaborating on successful business plans to providing loans and startup capital.

Education

As an educator, I have seen firsthand the challenges many of our students face, and the struggle with our public education system to address them with continued budget cuts and fractured support for education. The California Master Plan for Higher Education is what made California the home of innovation and responsible for our well-trained workforce. Publicly funded education is essential to creating a thriving and prosperous state and we must recommit to the notion that a public education in California is the right of each young person who seeks it and has earned that opportunity.

I believe we must first secure a reliable, adequate and effective source of funding to assure our public schools have the necessary personnel, programs and resources to provide a quality education for all of California's students. To achieve this, we must not tinker with the Prop 98 formula while I will continue to support closing tax loopholes that allow big corporations and the top 1% to avoid their responsibility to pay their fair share.

Higher education is crucial to getting California back on track. The continued cuts to public higher education are unsustainable. We need to rollback student fees so that higher education in California remains attainable and a goal for our students to achieve.

Protecting the Environment

As environmental regulations are being threatened, we are at a crossroads here in our community, state and nation. I have the experience, effectiveness and commitment to stand-up to big oil and other special interests to ensure that California continues to develop the infrastructure for green industries and jobs to provide for our future economy.

Our coast is an environmental, economic and recreational resource on which our community is based. The coastline in this district is threatened by urban and agricultural runoff. I've always opposed and authored some of the toughest legislation protecting California's coastline from drilling and its effect while being a leader in the fight for alternative energy for over 14 years.

I've worked closely with many organizations on environmental justice issues in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, ranging from pesticide use to air and water pollution. I have worked to protect vulnerable populations from toxic air pollutants and to ensure the equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. I helped pass statewide water and park bond measures that included resources specifically targeted to improve water quality and expand available open space for vulnerable populations. And as Chair of both the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials I worked to improve the Birth Defects Monitoring Act and successfully fought to regulate the use of pesticides near schools and communities. I will continue to fight for strong standards in monitoring the water we drink and the air we breathe to protect Californians for years to come.