Ballot Designation
Retired Teacher
1. I will push legislation that will lower the cost of living in California, something that hasn't happened in our one party government in 15 years. I will support a bill that makes your house insurance, tax deductible. I will support bills that will decrease the cost of energy and stop the study on a mileage tax. California affordability is a California government crisis, or other states would be paying the same prices. I will strive to reduce regulations that overburden small businesses and the taxes they are forced to pay for government mistakes. I will call for the Public Utility Commission to roll back costs and push for nuclear power plants that have proven to be much more effective than wind and solar installations. People are leaving the state, it needs to stop.
2. Education is a disaster in California because of mandated legislation from democrat legislators. School board members used to have the flexibility to put money where it would benefit the students, now they can't. Restricted funding has replaced general funding and the results are showing. Mandated curriculum has not worked. They put in place 5 different organization not reporting to anyone but themselves, with no accountability. We need parents and families back in control of their children's education not the government.
3. Current legislators in this district have decided that water will come from somewhere when they force the dam to be destroyed. Again destruction before a solution is found. 60,000 people will have to pay the highest price for water. We need water infrastructure but they continually vote no do. California water commission has already issued a report on what is going to happen, rising cost and water restrictions on farms, gardens, businesses and homes. We are living the beauties of a democrat controlled economy that is and will continue to collapse with the working poor paying the price. A vote for Mike is a vote for yourself.
I have over 25 years of public service, including 20 on School boards and currently serving in Del Norte County as both a County and Unified School District trustee. I have, for the last 15 years, been active in the legislation process in Sacramento and Washington DC on educational, retirement, and wildfire issues. I understand the importance of accountability which are current legislators don't. I understand budgets and I'm not afraid of losing support of special interest groups, I will vote with integrity and conviction. I face the same dilemmas as you, the voters do, with rising costs of living caused by legislators regulating energy, housing, insurance, and voting for increased taxes to pay for someone else's mistakes, crimes, or not willing to work. I'm tired of it, I want it changed and it won't happen if you vote for someone who promises you they'll fix it. I get things done and don't walk around, following someone who tells me what to do. I believe in action not promises, hope, and dreams. My background has been one of hard work from being an iron work, plastic injection molding foreman, retail sales, and whatever was necessary to raise and support my family. I graduated from college when I was 50, and became a teacher, because it takes awhile when you have to work and go to school. I know what it is like to be poor, to lose everything in a wildfire, I know what it takes to get things done and move on, just like you. A vote for me is a vote for yourself.
One of the main reasons for shortage of housing are the regulations that have been put in place by government bodies enriching themselves. The current legislators have added and increased the the crisis by dictating to local boards what has to be in a housing plan and who can build the homes. The government should not be in the homebuilding market with sweetheart deals for contractors who use substandard materials for middle-low income housing with inflated material, labor, and overhead. People need to have an investment in their homes and not just have the taxpayer take care of it. Many of the low cost homes are owned by developers who have been given extra government support in tax credits, loans, and reduced fees. All homes should have the same fee structure, regardless of the value of the home. California has caused the crisis that we are in by bad legislation, bad judgement and greed. People value what they work for and there are ways, such as sweat equity and lower taxes. People can't buy homes not because of the lack of them but the high cost of maintenance, insurance, and high interest rates.
To me, an educator, this is a very biased and racist question. I never differentiated how I taught a student because of their race, religion, or income level. What you are stating is the very reason there are so many problems in the schools today. They are just as smart as anyone else but your stereo-typing puts them in a hole and then you convince them they can't get out of. What we need are educational policies and classes that don't separate them but help, like a 15-20 minute pull-out for specialized tutoring. Schools provide meals, transportation, materials, and health care to everyone. We need to stop spending categorical restricted money on special groups and instead use it where it is needed. Our after school programs have more money than they can spend while districts don't have enough to pay for aides and teachers. We need to start being educators and not the parents. School boards need flexibility in their programs to put money where it is needed instead of being told by some politician how it should be spent. Mandated state curriculum does not work and the restorative justice programs have no studies that show 8-12 grade students benefit from it. Students, staff, administrators, parents need to be held accountable but that is a word that politicians won't use or put into practice. The state education system has no accountability built into it, just 5 different independently functioning organizations that don't work together. The problem is at the top not the bottom of education ladder. There needs to be a cohesive curriculum that is robust and flexible for all students not specialized groups.
The voters in California voted on a proposition to increase our states water infrastructure but democrats refused to spend the money where the voters wanted it to go. We need to build more dams, not tear them down, in order to insure people have the water that they need for drinking, gardening, and personal needs. The ranchers and farmers need the water because they are the main producers of food for state, nation, and the world. Legislators in California want to believe that they can legislate a world of nature that was possible 200 years ago but that is not reality, so they stop water flowing before they have a solution. Find a solution first before tearing down and destroying something that is working. The population growth dictates what is necessary in todays world not what people wish for. We need upgraded water storage, water transportation systems, and use technology to help increase the availability of safe clean water supplies. Common sense and solutions before shortages and droughts. The democrat legislators continue to create problems but have no solutions to fix them. Localized berms, canals, and ponds could also be used along with updated irrigation solutions. Water in California will be the new oil or gold in the future and those in District 2 will be paying the highest prices for it because of the actions of the democrat legislators in our area. California will always have years of droughts and years of moisture but unless we prepare for it, we will pay the price.
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