League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
San Francisco County, CA June 3, 2014 Election
	David Campos Answers Questions Candidate for Member of the State Assembly; District 17

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. How would you prioritize the fiscal choices the Legislature must make to align the state’s income and spending?

I am running for office because I believe that government has a role to play in making people's lives better, particularly the lives of low income, working and middle class people. It is for this reason that I believe that it is important for the person who represents San Francisco's 17th assembly district in the state, be a champion for regular people. While fiscal responsibility and avoiding government waste can be important, California and other states have consistently ignored additional revenue sources, like Prop 13. If California is serious about educating our children, providing a safety net to our communities and having world class transportation, civic spaces and other critical infrastructure we must take seriously the need to generate additional revenues.

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?

I support the co-equal goals of protecting the ecosystem and water supply reliability. I also support the principle that those who will benefit from the infrastructure improvements planned for the state should be willing to pay for those improvements. Regarding BDCP, it is important to me that the water supply amounts to the Central Valley and Southern California remain the same as they are today, with increased reliability. It is also important that the water rights and water supply for Hetch Hetchy are preserved, to protect the 2.6 million people in 7 Bay Area counties that rely on water from the Hetch Hetchy system. I would encourage diversification of water resources across the state by supporting efforts such as recycled water, groundwater programs, and conservation.

It is also important that we take immediate steps to address climate change in order to prevent more frequent and severe droughts in the future.

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?

California should be consistently ranked the top public education system in the country, and it is not. It was once, however, and I think that we need to look at what worked for us in the past. The most specific proposal that I would support would be to simply increase funding to the levels at which we funded public schools in California back in the 1960's, when our public schools, both K through 12 and higher education systems, were the envy of the world. Proposition 30 last year has stopped the slide into the abyss. However, we need to reverse that and one way to do that is to reform Proposition 13 and de-couple commercial from residential properties. Remember, our schools took their biggest funding blow from the loss of property tax revenue. Reforming Proposition 13 could go a long way toward restoring that funding.

4. What other major issues do you think the Legislature must address? What are your own priorities?

Many of my top priorities will be around issues of affordability- in education, in housing, and in healthcare. San Francisco's greatness is being hindered by its prohibitive cost, and many of our most valuable and deserving residents are unable to live and grow here with dignity and comfort. I want to work to ensure that the opportunities I had as a young person immigrating here are still available for young people today. That means prioritizing legislation that makes education, housing, and healthcare more accessible to those who need it. I will also continue to advocate for and advance the rights of immigrants, Latinos, LGBT people, workers, and women. These are communities who are still being disenfranchised and unfairly treated in our political system and I remain committed to fighting for a more just society in these areas.

I have the most legislative policy experience in education, transportation, and immigration. As a former General Counsel for SFUD, and a lifelong advocate for making good education accessible to all, I have a firm grasp on the needs of our current education system. As a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors I have focused a lot of my time and energy on transportation issues as well. I have served as the chair of San Francisco County Transportation Authority and represent San Francisco as a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). As mentioned before, throughout my life and public service I have worked hard to advocate for immigrants and their communities. The result of that advocacy is that I am an experienced policy maker on immigration issues with many achievements and victories under my belt.

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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.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: May 19, 2014 16:00
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