fresno elections 2008

I do not believe that anyone will argue about the importance of agriculture as the driving force for the economy and employment in the Valley, however I do believe that it is important that the industry must also participate in measures that minimize the effects of air pollution. I will work to expand the Carl Moyer program, and to encourage the development of technology that helps farmers in their ongoing effort to be part of the pollution solution. Dairies must also participate.

I also believe that it is appropriate to use public financing to help dairies and other agricultural interest to achieve clean air goals.

And in particular, I think our state’s utilities need to do a lot more to help dairies and other farm industries improve air quality. Whether that means helping to create a market for methane gas or making it more affordable to bring electric power lines out to the fields to run water pumps. I think these services are beneficial to all residents and ratepayers should appropriately subsidize the costs associated with these efforts.

I believe it is important to acknowledge that working together with all industries to improve air quality must be a priority for the health of our valley residents, particularly our valley children.

With more than 7 million Californians without health insurance coverage, one would have to acknowledge that the State has a health care problem. One solution is to support a single payer system such as SB-840 by Senator Kuehl, which would make all California residents eligible for specified health care benefits under the California Health Care System.

In general I support the state lottery and I support tribal government gaming as passed by the voters. I generally support horse racing and recognize its historical connection with the people of California and the revenue it provides to our state fairs. I also support card rooms. I believe that gaming is a form of entertainment and is an appropriate revenue source for the state of California.

But I also recognize that gaming entities need to do a better job of mitigating their effects on society, which include providing additional resources in the area of problem gambling. I think people need to get the help they need, if in fact they develop a problem.

I am against off-reservation casinos by Tribes that do not have land in trust and seek Class III gaming without that designation.

The eight valley councils of governments formed the Regional Policy Council to address the needs of the region and adopted a legislative platform for the San Joaquin Valley. The council’s goal is to represent a unified voice when communicating legislative issues of regional importance to our state and federal legislative members as well as to relevant state and federal agencies. I have served on this policy council since its formation and am confident that united in the battle to secure state money for roads and projects for our region is well served by the formation of this regional policy council.

I believe that supporting a comprehensive water development program that includes environmental repairs, infrastructure and conveyance improvements and new below and aboveground storage is needed to solve the water crisis.

But we certainly need to do a better job of capturing as much water as possible. This is especially important during times of heavy or extraordinary rainfall. Even if you believe in underground water storage like I do, I believe that we still need a better above ground storage capacity to capture water so that we can then move it to our underground water banks. So building dams is an important part of comprehensive water storage program, no doubt about it.

With long-term projects that will benefit our entire state, we need long term financing and I would support using long term funding, such as bond funds, as well as user fees to finance a comprehensive water solution.

Very specifically, I support the building of dams to capture and improve our dire water situation. I don’t think that we can simply conserve or reuse our way out of the water situation we face. We need more supply to ensure our economic viability and well-being. While many Democrats are standing in the way of new dams because of environmental concerns, I think they are short-sided to the enormous needs and long-term consequences of not building dams.

I strongly support the death penalty, Megan’s law, the Three Strikes law and other efforts to hold criminals accountable for their crimes. I think that rehabilitation may be a luxury that we can’t afford, if in fact that means that we don’t have the resources to keep criminals behind bars for their full term. I don’t support a moratorium on legislation that increases penalties or adds new felonies that is occurring in the Legislature.

And I would also disagree with many folks in my party with respect to the right to bear arms. I don’t believe the folks in the Central Valley should have their right to possess firearms limited because of the violence that occurs in our state’s urban centers. Valley folks have a long tradition of owning guns responsibly, and I plan to continue to defend that right, without restrictions.

I don’t think we can simply cut our way out of the difficult budget times the state is facing without causing potentially long-term consequences. Releasing prisoners before they serve their entire term, cutting health care or eliminating class size reduction efforts in our school will have lasting consequences on our society. I’m certainly not in favor of more crime, the greater potential for the spread of contagious diseases or giving our kids a poorer education.

We certainly need to stimulate the economy and we can. I think we should spend the funding from the infrastructure bonds so that we move that money into our economy as quickly as possible. This will help to retain and create jobs as well as keep California competitive with new and improved infrastructure.

Other long-term solutions include creating a better regulatory structure in our mortgage industry that addresses some of the pitfalls that lead to the high foreclosure rates, which have affected our economy and state budget.

But in general, I think the state should also look at ways to raise revenues that make sense ---like the Governor’s proposal to put a fee of $10 per year on property insurance policies with the money being used to fund firefighters. I think people are willing to do their part if they know exactly what they are paying for. But let me be clear, raising revenues is not the sole answer. I am in favor of a mixed approach of some targeted revenue increases and very tough budget cuts – which I suspect will be the solution this year.