League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Alameda, Contra Costa County, CA November 4, 2008 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues State Senator; District 9

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 candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What does California need to do to address the current budget crisis? Answer from Marsha Feinland: We need to abolish the 2/3 requirements for adopting a budget and taxes and return to majority rule. California has enormous wealth which the people as a whole created, and we need to take control of it to meet our common needs. 2. What should the state's priorities be for K-12 education? For the Community College System? Answer from Marsha Feinland: We need to adequately fund our schools and community colleges and to move from test-driven curricula to ones which focus on human development. All schools from pre-school to graduate school should be free. 3. What measures would you support to address California's water needs? Answer from Marsha Feinland: We must stop subsidies to non-sustainable agricultural practice, such as cotton farming in California. Pumping water to desert areas uses a lot of energy and wastes a lot of water. Restrict the use of water to real human need and preservation of ecosystems. Let the golf courses in the desert dry up. For further information, follow the link on my website to the Peace and Freedom Party platform and read the section on "Defense of the Environment." 4. What should the Legislature be doing to address the needs of Californians without health insurance? Answer from Marsha Feinland: We need a single system of publicly-funded quality health care for all. This "single payer" system like Canada's would be like extending Medicare to everyone. The cost savings from this universal pool would more than offset any minor administrative costs. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.