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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Budget Crisis,
Education,
Water,
Health Insurance
Click on a name for other candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. What does California need to do to address the current budget crisis?
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Answer from Zander Y. Collier, III:
We need to fold together redundant and unnecessary government bureaucracies. For example: The California Franchise Tax Board and the Board of Equalization. We need to lower taxes (not raise them) to prevent the continued fleeing of businesses to Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and even offshore. We need to build our taxbase with healthy competitive businesses and abundant productive workers.
Answer from Ernie Konnyu:
The Legislature must accept Governor Schwarzenegger's spending priciple, that is, spend no more than you have to spend. The Legislature should seriously evaluate the key spending controls recommended to it by the Reason Foundation through their Citizen Budget Plan. Using these tools combined with the Governor's spending control negotiations with spending groups should allow us to avoid tax rate increases that would damage our recovering economy.
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2. What should the state's priorities be for K-12 education? For the Community College System?
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Answer from Zander Y. Collier, III:
Ending unfunded mandates from the state to the local level. Returning control of the schools to the local level. I am currently exploring ideas for improving opportunities for access to higher education and continuing adult education.
Answer from Rebecca Cohn:
I have been a champion of education, having conducted a reading program that has touched almost every local second grade class.
The bottom line is that I feel our children are our most valuable commodity, they represent our future, so why should we skimp and cut in an area that represents so much to California and its' families.
I am disappointed that there was a $2 billion cut to K-12 and that admissions were cut for eligible students at UC and CSU for the first time in the state's history.
And in this regard, I am committed to work to make sure there are no more cuts to K-12. Spending per student is now well below the national average. If we're going to remain competitive, we've got to make sure we provide a quality education to every child in this state.
And, I am excited to have been part of the team that was able to restore higher education funding, so some students who had been turned away were able to enroll after all. But it was too late for most. They enrolled somewhere else. The Legislature failed to keep its promise to these students and to their parents. I don't believe we should ever let that happen again.
Answer from Ernie Konnyu:
Teach each child to read, write, and speak the English language by graduation. The $25 billion dollar special categorical spending through some 110 educational programs has created a giant level of unaccountable maze of spending that even experts can't figure out. Most of the funds should be re-categorized into block grants (no strings attached except it is for results based educational improvement) for schools. Testing should be continued and pressure to improve should be placed on low performing schools.
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3. What measures would you support to address California's water needs?
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Answer from Zander Y. Collier, III:
I would improve the protection of water rights. When water rights are protected, water will be allocated to the most productive and efficient uses.
Answer from Ernie Konnyu:
The state must work with the president and the U.S. Congress to settle federal/state water allocation issues.
The Legislature should consider the Governor's recommendations on water issues.
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4. What should the Legislature be doing to address the needs of Californians without health insurance?
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Answer from Zander Y. Collier, III:
It should be encouraging a better business climate and engage in restructuring the health care market to encourage more entrants to the market. We need more health care providers competing with each other to lower prices.
Answer from Ernie Konnyu:
The key is to create more competition among insurance companies for lower rates. In urban areas require employers to offer multiple health care plans for employees to choose from the same as the federal government offers their civil service employees.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily.
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League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
