League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Bernardino County, CA June 3, 2014 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Member of the State Assembly; District 33

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 Fiscal Choices, Water, Education, Your Priorities Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. How would you prioritize the fiscal choices the Legislature must make to align the state’s income and spending? Answer from Robert Larivee: We need to prioritize based on the outline of our State's Constitution. That is our legal commitment. Water, Education, Transportation, Public Safety are some of those required by the Constitution for us to consider. I would look to lessen preemptive governance over communities so that they can make their own choices. That formula lowers State spending and lowers taxes and keeps needed dollars in local control where they are needed most. Of course lower spending. Answer from Scott Markovich: The main purpose of government is to provide necessary infrastructure so that its citizens can live their lives. However, the government of the State of California grew in size, made pension promises and borrowed billions of dollars during the economic boom before 2008. It was not sustainable. The State of California was rescued through temporary tax measures approved by the voters on November 6, 2012, obligations and deficits still loom. Now, it is time for the legislators and the governor to balance the budget and negotiate with the state employees' unions to reach sustainable salaries and benefits to match the actuarials. At the same time we are reducing our expenses, we need to rapidly examine California's business regulations and taxes to retain and attract business to our state. The recent relocation of 3,000 jobs from California to Texas by Toyota is a wake up call. We have to be smart about reforming state taxes in order to motivate what is best for the state economy. Tax reductions to businesses will encourage business growth that will multiply the tax dollars equaling more money in the public sector. California government needs to provide infrastructure that is sustainable through our tax dollars, bond financing or community crowd funding. Markovich believes both Democrats and Republicans can agree on this. We need to structure our government in such a way to allow for the ups and downs of the economy that is why it is so important to have our government be as efficient as possible. The State of California currently has 381 different agencies providing services to California residents. I think we need to look at this. With new technology today, we can better track employee productivity and improve morale based on rewarding productive employees. Residents of California have a vested interest in their government. If government employees are efficient, accountable and have incentive to do so, then the residents of California benefit. But, if government employees are inefficient, they pay for it. If government employees do something wrong, they pay for it. I represent the best interests of the people. We need to have systems to prevent fraud, waste and abuse to where we catch it early before it is too costly. One of the biggest priorities of the state is our water system, the delta and its related infrastructure. I recognize that this project needs the support of the voters to be accomplished. Our state legislature and governor need to share the importance of this project with all Californians. The delta is California's lifeline. Another big priority is the drought and how we manage our water. California has historically gone through feast or famine with regard to our water so we need to manage it through distribution, development and conservation. But in the meantime, communities are at risk of running out of water, our agricultural community is being irreparably harmed and we are facing a very dangerous fire season. Our education system is failing in that we were the tenth lowest state in our score issued by Education Week in January 2014 and we spend the lowest on education among 50 states. That is unacceptable and has to change. I strongly believe more money needs to go into the classroom and teachers and less money in programs, frameworks and testing. We need to find a way to make the path to higher education and/or technical training more attractive, accessible and affordable. The decisions made after a student leaves high school impact their future success. We all benefit from an increase in productive citizens. The health and welfare of California residents is important and with the implementation of The Affordable Care Act we are on our way with the healthcare aspect. During hard economic times, it is imperative that we provide a safety net for families while providing pathways to jobs. We need to make doing business in California competitive with other states. Our state highways are a very important infrastructure that we maintain and provide to California residents. Our energy grid is in need of upgrades and its security is at risk. We need our police, firemen, our court system and the prison system. The truth is we are being forced to make cuts to the budget and doing that is never easy, additionally it has to be done soon, thoughtfully and carefully. The future of California rides on a wise and thoughtful legislature and educated voters. I like to think about if this bill is passed, what will it mean in the real world and make my decision accordingly. Answer from Rick Roelle: California has the highest taxes in the country yet we suffer from a chronic budget instability problem that is not going away. Unfunded liabilities like CalPERS pensions and retiree health care costs amount to tens-of-billions of dollars that the State does not have. We need to foster growth in the private sector and invest in innovative business sectors that can bring good paying jobs back to the state. The Legislature must find ways to cut back on spending and government programs without hurting those desperate for local services. Sacramento's taxing and spending problems are at the epicenter of fiscal issues throughout the State, and I will fight for responsible budgeting and fiscal policies that get us back on track. 2. Given our current drought condition, concern for water rights and usage is an important issue. What solutions would you support to address our water problems? Answer from Robert Larivee: In the 33rd District we are in serious trouble if we do not act. We have less than 3 years supply. Immediate action would require conservation education. We need long term planning goals to meet the needs for today and tomorrow. I proposed building small underground reservoirs. Creating a program for property owners to store water in underground tanks. The building of a water pipeline that will get water where it is needed and provide jobs. It will be cheaper than Gov Brown's 25 billion dollar dual pipeline that does nothing. I will fight to get the water running again from the Delta. I can prove the Delta Smelt is not endangered and the water should immediately be turned back on. I will propose a water importation plan till we get to where we need to be with reserves. Answer from Scott Markovich: I think it is the role of the state legislature to gather historical data on snowpack and rain, know how that snowpack and rain was distributed to stakeholders, how much went into the rivers and out to the sea, look at how we can capture more of the water during the periods when we have a lot of rain to store for those years when we don't have much rain, we need to even this out by capturing water, both though conservation, wiser use of our water and using recycled water. The state needs to facilitate its water companies to put policies and infrastructure in place to encourage smarter use of water, offer programs for water saving devices, penalize high water use and reward drought tolerant landscaping. I know a lot of water is wasted running the water to get the right temperature there has to be a way to control water temperature for more efficient use. We need to know who owns the water in California, how was the water right developed, what is its use and how much water do they receive. I know it would be a very sticky legal issue if the state were to suggest any redistribution of water rights, however, water is something we need to survive, access to it is a very basic right. This issue of water storage and fair water distribution would require the state government to find a solution. The state can provide something of great value to the stakeholders and that is the infrastructure to store and distribute the water in exchange there may need to be concessions made by the stakeholders to make the distribution of water more equitable. With regard to the Delta Smelt, we need to find a balance between protecting it and the needs of humans and agriculture. Both are important. In drought years, I think the sustainability of the agriculture economy becomes more important even though we need to balance that out some to keep the fish alive as a species. It's a balance between a species and the environment and the agricultural economy. It was the lack of water that caused the two needs to conflict. We propose to balance out the water supply. Answer from Rick Roelle: The lack of proper preparation and planning for the distribution, conservation and preservation of our water resources has led to one debilitating water crisis after another. The fact is that proper planning and mandatory conservation measures can significantly stretch our resources. We need a state-wide investment program in water storage and distribution infrastructures that enable us to save water in the good years for when the dry years come. We need to adopt a new mindset for how we use and conserve water, and stop putting fish ahead of our dry agriculture businesses and farmlands. 3. California high school students rank lower than many states in student performance. What do you see as the ongoing role of the Legislature in addressing this problem? Answer from Rick Roelle: Education state-wide needs to prepare students for work in the private sectors that drive our economy. We need to ensure that every taxpayer dollar allotted to our public schools is making a difference in the lives of our students. I am not convinced this is happening. Student performance is not benefitting from the investment we are making, and that needs to change. I will support legislation that does not skirt the real issues, that does not simply throw more hard-earned taxpayer dollars at the public education system, and that does not take a good, hard look at the problems with existing programs. We need legislation in Sacramento that puts our kids first and sets them up for success in their careers. Answer from Robert Larivee: We need REAL education reform. I originally dubbed Common Core as the Obamacare of education. My education reform team already has a plan that is partially being implemented to provide a path for our students to be either employed with at least 1 Assoc's Degree when leaving High School or moving onto University education. We need to create performance based incentives for our educators and administrators. We need to create more incentives for becoming teachers with higher pay and create a culture where teachers are heroes. We need to encourage more parents to take a more active role in their students education. Answer from Scott Markovich: I think the legislators actually hindered it in that a centralized form of education doesn't work. The standardized testing we have put in place has actually hurt education putting too much pressure on the students and teachers. We need to provide the funding and allow local school districts the freedom to education their children not tell them how to do it. We need to put an emphasis on directing more funding into the classroom with the teacher and students. I think Common Core may have been a good idea but is being poorly implemented as it is being mandated by the state yet the state is not providing any financial support. 4. What other major issues do you think the Legislature must address? What are your own priorities? Answer from Rick Roelle: There is no doubt that gun violence is a growing concern throughout our state and the country. I fully support the 2nd Amendment and will work toward solutions that preserve our law-abiding citizens' freedoms while making it more difficult and punishing for those who violent commit crimes. I have served my community for over 30 years, wearing the uniform and putting my life on the line every day. I fully support public safety and the full funding of law enforcement agencies throughout the state to help them be better able and prepared to protect and serve our communities. Public safety is the central role of government, and I think we can do a better job of supporting those that are willing to pay the ultimate price to keep us safe. Answer from Scott Markovich: Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure, water, energy and highways. Water is our lifeblood and clearly a big problem for California, it is time we solved it. I think we get enough rain in the wet years to sustain us over the dry years, if we capture more and use it wisely. Our grid is at risk of failure and/or threat of attack. This is a very serious issue; we all depend on electricity to function. In September of 2011, the largest power outage occurred in California and left 7 million people without power. San Diego was brought to a standstill, as people could not buy gas. We need to create a backup system to address the possibility of a grid failure. In April of 2013, an underground vault, just outside of San Jose, belonging to Pacific Gas and Electric was attacked by sniper fire. And according to Newsmax, the 20-minute assault knocked out 17 giant transformers that fed electricity to the Silicon Valley, resulting in about $16 million in damage. Unknown shooters escaped before police arrived and continue to remain at-large. Our highways provide us the freedom of travel, the ability to go to work and facilitate our economy through the delivery of goods. We couldn't live without them and they need to be maintained, widened, improved, this is a crucial infrastructure responsibility of the state. I propose to create a crowd-funding program for our cities and counties that would allow residents to invest in their own infrastructure. They have a vested interest in improving their community and could benefit in both receiving a rate of return on their investment as well as enjoying the infrastructure their investment created. This method of funding community projects will bring the community together and give the residents more power to create their own future. Answer from Robert Larivee: The State legislation needs to better connect with the PEOPLE who put them there not the lobbyist and special interests. They need to shrink government at the State level and restore power to more localized government. My priorities are to bring integrity and accountability to the Assembly by being the voice of the voters of the 33rd, to protect our seniors and children, to introduce bills that make sense and expose those bills and politicians that don't. 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.