Bob Smith
Bob Smith biography
• I have a wide variety of experience which I believe will benefit the constituents of the 34th assembly District. My experience includes:
o 27 years in law enforcement which included working on a SWAT team, gang task force, narcotics division, etc.
o two separate school boards
o two transportation boards
o various community service boards including the Boys and Girls Club, Police Activities League Board, American Red Cross Board, One to One Mentors in various positions within the Republican Party.
o Fire Fighter with California Division of Forestry
• My goals in office will be to:
o oppose taxes,
o oppose liberal policies on illegal immigration,
• move immigrant prisoners to jails in their own countries
• push the federal government to meet its legal obligation to reimburse California for the costs of the federal government’s failure to secure the border.
• It now cost the state $750 million a year
o stop spending money we don’t have,
o make schools more accountable with more local control
o and use my 27 years of law enforcement experience to crack down on gangs and drugs
Smith on budget gap
• The liberals who run the legislature need to learn that hard-working Californians don’t want a bigger and more expensive government. Conservatives need to stand tall against run away spending and force state government to live within its means. You can not spend beyond your budget and the state should not be able to do it either.
The legislature needs to stop using accounting tricks and spending money the state doesn’t have. The legislature needs to create a rainy day fund so that we have a healthy surplus headed into the times when tax revenues fall short.
Finally, we need to take steps to secure the border and stop illegal immigration and it costs California $10 billion a year.
Smith on party ties
a. Illegal immigration
b. Prioritizing water for agriculture to maintain our crops.
Smith on water crisis
• Water is the Valley’s lifeblood and every step must be taken to protect existing supplies as well as expand storage capacity.
I support the Seismic Remediation Project at Success Dam.
I oppose any transfer or exchange which has the effect of diminishing water available for use in Tulare County needs. These storage facilities will serve as a backup system in the lean or drought years, such as the one we experienced in 2007.
• It is essential that we work to keep the “Delta” in good condition to assure the water being delivered to this valley which feeds our agricultural community. It is imperative that we keep the progress of rebuilding the Delta or putting in a peripheral canal or a combination of both as suggested in the “Vision of California’s Delta”. We need to make sure the water can get to us in this Valley in the event of a catastrophic event such as a levee failure or an earthquake.
• The Delta has direct beneficiaries who should bear the primary cost of the repairs, peripheral diversion or the combination of the various suggested solutions. The public funds through bonds should be used for specific needs which are in direct need of the public recipients. The order by Judge Wanger of the United States District Court to reduce the water flow by approximately two million acre feet of water was specifically directed to 27 public water companies and those are the companies who should bear the majority of the cost.
Smith on securing state resources
It is important that the highways in the San Joaquin Valley are maintained in order to efficiently move the produce which is imperative for the economy of the San Joaquin Valley. California produces approximately 7 million acres of agriculture which accounts for producing 45% of the fruits and vegetables grown in the United States. The California agriculture industry accounts for 1.1 million jobs and 60 billion in personal income. It is clearly a vibrant portion of our economy.
It is my belief that such an important part of our economy should receive top priority for roads and economy based programs.
It is also my belief that we need to work as a team to accomplish the necessary goals towards receiving the state monies that are due our Valley. A team approach must include federal, state and local officials in order for our voice to be heard loud and clear in Sacramento.
Smith on gambling revenue
The Indian gaming compacts are not the solution to our budget and money problems. The problem is excessive spending in Sacramento. Over the last five years the state revenues have grown 42% and Sacramento has spent at 44% therefore giving us an enormous budget deficit. Sacramental continues to try and tax the vices of the states population including cigarettes, alcohol and gambling but the more responsible and viable solution is responsible spending. Each of us has to spend within our family budgets and the state of California should be required to do likewise.
Smith on health care
It is quite obvious that the medically uninsured problem is not just in the state California but United States wide. It is very evident that a large portion of the problem is clearly attributed to the number of illegal aliens entering emergency rooms and clearly attributing for the closure of numerous hospitals throughout California. I am very aware that there are numerous families who do not have health care and I would encourage a plan that would not increase taxes but specifically attacked some of the causes of the problem such as the illegal alien abuse. Currently the insured is being charged approximately 20% above the costs of their medical bills in order to pay for the uninsured which means that you are being taxed (if you currently have insurance) for those that are currently uninsured.
The compromise failed because Republicans did not want to raise taxes and many Democrats thought the economy was too troubled to start such a large program.
I am reluctant to say that I could wave a wand and solve the problem. I do know that the current California resident works until approximately August according to latest information in order to pay federal and state income taxes. I do know that whatever the solution is, it should include a more transparent and understandable medical billing process which is usually a contributing cause of price reductions. Whatever the solution is, it should not be through additional taxation.
Smith on ag and air quality
The air-quality solution has to be incentive-based, easily instituted and clearly beneficial to not only the businesses but also the individual residents of the San Joaquin Valley through obtainable goals. One of the programs currently in effect is the "2008 Clean Green Yard Machines". This program allowed a 62% reduction in cost of an electric lawnmower. One gas mower can emit as much pollution as 40 late-model cars operating over the same period of time, while electric mowers produce no on-site emissions.
The unfortunate part of this program is that it is "sold out". It is obvious that the program is well received by the public however this type of stumbling block affects the public's enthusiasm to participate because of a lack of funding or sponsors. It is a perfect example of an incentive-based, easily instituted and clearly beneficial program which the public is clearly embracing however it is unobtainable at this point. These types of programs with collective sponsor participation from the smallest pollution generator to the largest producing generator have to be obtainable. The incentive-based programs have been proven to be more cost effective than enforcement based programs. Enforcement based programs not only require a bureaucracy to put them in place but also a bureaucracy to enforce a policy.