Voter's Pipeline; 35th Senate Race Special Election

That special election will be held in Orange County next Tuesday April 13th in conjunction with several municipal elections in the county. Voters of the thirty fifth state senate district will go to the polls to elect one of six candidates as are state senators. This action will fill the seat formerly held by John Briggs who resigned last December. The candidate elected will represent the thirty fifth state senate district until 1984. This special election will be held within the boundaries of the existing thirty fifth district. In other words it will not be affected by reapportionment existing district lies largely in the northern portion of Orange county bordering Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. It has three hundred twenty two thousand registered voters voters.

Forty nine percent of Republican 40 percent Democrat with 11 percent in the other three parties and non affiliated categories. The District in its present boundaries includes the cities of ascension and Anaheim orange Villa Park and Tufts. Under California's reapportionment plan the thirty fifth state senate district is not scheduled to change until 1984. At that time if the current reapportionment holds up it will include areas lying south of its existing border and new areas to be served by the city's overbuying close to Mesa and Fountain Valley in portions of orange intestine but the harbor will be excluded from the district. And now let's meet the candidates. Less admin of Anaheim is a certified public accountant who prepares would be CPA A's to pass certification exams. He's an elected member of the Orange County libertarian Central Committee and is editor of caliber party statewide newsletter. He's also running for state treasurer William

Doherty a Republican is an attorney practicing intestine. He served in the U.S. attorney's office as a legislative aide for the Senate Judiciary Committee before starting his private practice in 161. He's a past member of the Orange County Republican Central Committee and a former Marine Corps aviator. John he colored Republican is the pastor of the Bethel Assembly of God Church in the harbor. He also owns and manages a board and care home for the elderly. He was formerly a machinist and he's held the position of union steward. John Seymour Republican was elected mayor of Anaheim in 1978 after serving four years on the city council. He's a realtor and was president of the California Association of Realtors in 1980. He currently serves as interim chairman of the California for Housing Coalition and is co chairman of the Orange County citizens for water qualifying as a write in candidate is B foster a Democrat living in Santa Ana. Mrs. Foster is a graduate student at Cal State University at Long Beach studying public administration and philosophy. She's a member of the Orange

County Democratic Central Committee and is on the board of the Orange County National Women's Political Caucus declining to attend today is Mark who has filed for this election as an independent unaffiliated with any political party. She is a graduate of Cal State University at Fullerton and Western State University College of Law. You've been a practicing attorney since 1977. If no candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote on the April 13th the runoff election will be held on May 11. Now I'm going to ask each of the candidates to give a one minute statement of his or her qualifications are. Philosophy in this race if you will and react if you keep to one minute and the time frame after which I'll start asking you some individual questions and collective questions. Let's start with less sentiment. Thank you Jim. A current movie title asked the question Whose Life Is It Anyway to me. And I believe to most of you in the audience the answer is clear. You own your own life. You have the right to control it and you must bear responsibility for your actions. Our elected

officials however see it differently. The only debate is between conservatives and liberals over whether they should primarily run your personal lives or your economic life. In the many issues that we discuss today. You will see one consistent theme running through my answers consistent respect for human liberty. Respect for the right of people to control their own lives and the fruits of their actions. Government represents the opposite principle. Contempt for self ownership. The consequences of government action have been taxes unemployment inflation and the threat of war. I urge you to consider. What has government ever accomplished. That just might explain your life. By the end of this program you'll know the libertarians are. I hope you'll agree with it. Thank you Mr. Norton. There is only one issue of the issues integrity. I haven't raised a nickel in this campaign I won't raise a nickel I didn't when I ran against John Briggs. Who raised a whole bunch of money and then took off with the money. My opponent John Seymour has

raised some two hundred thousand dollars. I submit that nobody gives you money and less They expect to get something back. The history of Orange County politics has been the history of crooks in office zoning fixes. Other times are fixes where the people who gave the money you know the politicians got their money by 15 or 104. And that's what I'm going to run against. Thank you Mr. Governor. Thank you Jim. Seen the need of people in the Orange County District and hearing the need from them vocally. I feel that I can represent individuals of this district from the way they feel and from the way they live. There's a great need for a caring legislation of the people of California and I believe that I can represent solely these individuals who want someone who

really cares for them. I believe that with the individual's needs there are those representative in our district whether they're economical whether there is crime whether there's other situations that are apparent. Transportation and I believe that with my being in the legislation I will be able to justly help each and every one. Thank you Mr. Seymour. Yes thank you Jim. Having been mayor of the city of Anaheim and a councilman I've had some experience in solving people's problems in their day to day problems I think I understand the issues and and what we're all confronted by on a day to day living basis. The way I see the issues. Number one is crime and I would strongly stand for very strong law and order mandated prison sentences for example for those who would commit personal crimes. I also also think the cost of government continues to be an issue and I

oppose any increase in taxes. I also believe that housing and transportation are issues and need aggressive attention such as I think I've demonstrated is the mayor of the city of Anaheim. Those are some of the issues I hope we have the opportunity to discuss today. This roster. If the mayor talks about being against any increase in taxes and yet. Well my husband is chair of the political science department down State Fullerton and all of the other institutions of higher learning that are in this district I think there are six. They're having a real budget squeeze and this county has thrived in the North Orange County part of. This county has thrived on the fact that we have all these institutions of higher learning. And so I think that we have to set our priorities and we cannot put education way down the bottom of the list. I'm also in this race because I knew that the issue there women's issues would not be mentioned I'm for the way the mayor is not. And I'm for all sorts of women's rights and including state funding for abortion I think all of these sorts of things have to be talked about and that's why I'm in this race.

And I one of the things that occurred to me the question many people wondered why why didn't someone you were someone else from the Democratic Party win when the filing deadline was available. Well I thought some of my friends did initial survey some took they did some polls and they found that the mayor actually was the front runner and that would be kind of useless to run and then I thought well I thought that the independent Mark push a said that he was that usually votes Democratic but see we hadn't bothered to register as a Democrat I felt that there should be a Democrat in there who actually. I would speak on the Democratic issues in that I hadn't decided this until very late in the campaign. It's going to be tough battle for you How are you how do you intend to get the word out and you're going to be a write in. It's very tough I am hoping that the women's groups that I belong to and voters and such will pass the word. And also I have had a few quotes in the paper and also I have been running a few petition campaigns such as the handgun registration campaign and people are aware that I care about a lot of

people who have to make a decision when they go to the polls on April 9th to make this go up to April 13th rather. This program will air it was airing tonight but you can hear people 13 who one of the things I would like to have each of you talk about just a little bit and I ask that you keep your answers out of the story in what you see as the principal issue that's going to make up people's mind is who they're going to vote for in this election. What would what do you see as the principal the single most important issue in the whole race. Starting with you. Well I certainly think it's going to be the budget and the economy and with President Reagan talking about the new federalism that's going to occur. He wants the states to now take over all the mandated programs that the federal government originally was supposed to do and provide now the states will have to provide those as well as all the other ones that were cut out after Prop 13. It's going to be incredibly money matters and money matters. They're very important to see more you know you mention crime a bit ago but what do you see as the principal crushing concern of voters.

Jim I think the number one issue and there are many issues I hope we get a chance discussion but the number one issue is the economy and jobs. And I think my record as mayor of the city of Anaheim a city with an outstanding economic growth pattern shows that I can offer the leadership on that issue necessary in Sacramento to turn around eight years of what I call an anti-business philosophy from the Brown administration back to the free enterprise sector and get people working again. What would you say you think of the thing that's on people's mind the biggest issue in this world. Well I believe as some have already stated that the economy of our country and particularly those who are unemployed have dealt very much with individuals who do not have jobs. And there is a pressing need to do something from the state level all the way down. There are situations where the UAW for instance in Fremont in Southgate shut their plants here are two beautiful plants that could be

producing certain items that even our government needs. And as a government instituted through the Department of Employment in one of the states one of the defunct building shipbuilding companies they began to refurbish and they began to put men to work and they reclassified them by educating them and retraining them. And I believe that through programs that will bring out retraining and doing things for men or women. Whatever the case may be. That there will be great benefit not only to the economy but to every individual. Oh you don't want to retraining programs are one of the things that have been cut down drastically because of the cutbacks. Now are you saying that you'd like to go back and retraining programs for job skills. I believe that we need to see some types of programs produce from the state level yes. Because if we don't see that I'm sure that

there will be a continual increase of unemployment because when once the ball begins to roll there needs to be something that stops it. And I believe that whether we need to invest in it or whether we need to see individuals that are a from the business level to invest in it we need to see some input put into the men's lives if we can put men to the moon through all different kinds of efforts and do different things like that. I believe that we need to put some input into the normal working class of individuals to do already. You mentioned integrity I know is an issue but would you enlarge and what do you think is really important in people's mind very much in favor of you. And I know very very much concerned about crime. I'm in favor of capital punishment. I think we ought to get it out in the open. I think that the only way that crime can be controlled is by freedom of the press and not closing courts and not closing people to those papers. Currently there's a scandal in me and I Police Department the chief has gone on the

stand that Levy just came back today to stress a sergeant and two officers have been fired and they're under grand jury investigation for brutality. Things like this only be by freedom of the press where they let people come in the register have to go and get a court order to lift the secrecy of the amount of money that was paid not by the insurance company but by the citizens of Anaheim the taxpayers. As a result of this scandal in the police department to pay off the policeman. For their negligent lawful acts would you say that any of any of single issue that emerges to you as a state senator that you would like to tackle right away. I said crime in the favor of capital punishment we like to have you put crime right near the time I work on capital punishment statute. We should we got to do something about prisons. They're coming apart at the seams. We've got to. Build more camps I would say rather than these terrible

places that just engender more crime. Mr. Inman. Well Jim first of all I don't think the key issue is integrity. I think that I think that very simply politicians who are whether well-intentioned and badly intention are always looking to propose a solution to a problem involves more government. The fact is the real problem facing the people of the 34 states senator straight is where a major problem is government. It's looking for every solution to evolve a new program. If you look for example a crime a couple of the candidates are mentioned crime already or they're always mentioning better enforcement more money the new laws the real problem is that half of the average cop on the beach time according to the American Bar Association is spent not protecting people from force and fraud which is the purpose of law enforcement. But abusing people with peaceful but unpopular personal lifestyles. I think that this focus that expenditure of government time controlling people's personal lives is the real problem in that particular case in another case when we had the economy. We've talked about how offering incentives to

business and. The real problem is that the government is doing too many things to make it difficult to practice business. The idea is to get the government out of the economy. Very simply what we have to do is decriminalize work. We have to repeal the restrictions that are making it impossible to engage in peaceful economic behavior. We have to stop punishing productivity through things like the state income tax. There are 10 states in this country which don't have any income times you'd like to make California the only other question I'll start with you because you brought this up. Right now the state of California the 27 billion dollar budget proposed that everyone from Jesse Unruh the Treasurer to Ken Corey the state controller has said that the shortfall is going to be between two and four billion dollars I'm talking about the 82 83 budget for a billion dollar shortfall in the 27 billion dollar budget now. If you stop if you took away the state income tax how do you propose that that budget could even be approximated. Do you have some other

answer. Well in fact I think the problem is that we're talking about the difference between 23 and 27 billion dollar budget which basically concedes it should be somewhere in that area. I think that we have to look upon what is accomplished by virtually all of the expenditures of the government. Only about 5 to 10 percent of the expenditures of the government of state of California is for what people might think are basic functions like like police courts. Highway highways Yes the fact is 75 water to the budget. No that's not most of the budget 75 percent of the budget is spent on two items. The educational system and the welfare system 75 percent of it and I think we're talking about the last few billion we should be talking about the first several And I think we have to get very. We have to look more carefully at those two. The biggest ticket item was education. In fact there's a 40 percent of the budget spent on education there is no shortage of funds in the educational system right now the average public school spends twenty five hundred dollars per student compared to private schools they spend twelve hundred dollars per student.

All right let me give some the other that you know can we see a climate right now is this election taking place in a very bad climate economically is it occurs in the country but people both parties admit that. Unemployment now in the USA is 9 percent. Ten million Americans are out of work 1100000 Californians are out of work 9.4 percent the highest since 1976. What would you do as a state senator to help to at least start to turn that around. But I would foster First of all I would tend to want to keep the tax money in California if the federal government's going to take the money and put like 19 million which they just recently have them. The Reagan administration voted to have it go to the CIA to blow up bridges in the garage. I'd rather keep that money first in the country and before that even in California and so I would have a tax on say I call them the sin taxes too I doubt In fact I'd be in favor of those include Yes alcohol and cigarettes and even as Governor Brown said the Twinkie tax sugar is an enormous cause of of of health problems and so I would tend to put a tax there.

How would you address this very unhappy climate. The 6 6.1 percent the highest in many many in the 15 years in Orange County. I have learned through experience how you generate economic growth and jobs in payrolls and the way you do it is first you create a stable political environment not some guru that's going off left or right or chasing moonbeams. There must be stability. Otherwise business is going to go elsewhere. Number two you don't tax business. If you want business to come in apparently the state of California ranks 50th out of 50 states as a place to do business you have to provide incentives if you want business and industry and jobs and payrolls and you don't do it by laying tax on you don't do it by creating bureaucratic regulations such as created by the Brown administration. When we lost the plant by the name of Dow Chemical would invest millions and millions of dollars trying to bring jobs into California only to be turned away and sent through bureaucratic hoops. And so

you deregulate. You deregulate business providing them a good stable environment and then you get out of the way and let them do what they're good at the private sector is very good at creating jobs and making profits and creating pre-roll And so you give them that opportunity to do it. What about these cuts massive cuts massive cuts that are now being made in such things as education in your district as California State University which now has 28 20 percent more students of Applied to get in there than before and they have less money would you. Sure look as as mayor of the city of Anaheim when Proposition 13 passed. I had the responsibility write down the gun barrel and say where we can set our priorities. Where are we going to make our cuts and we had to do that. The problem in Sacramento is that they have been living off the gov regen surplus ever since the bottom ministration took over and now it's gone and now they're running around like Chicken Little saying the sky is falling. What we have to do is set priorities. What is important to people. I tell you what's important to the

grassroots citizen who want a job to a roof over their head. 3 safe safety and security police and fire protection. Next is education for their kids and a better way of life. But we have got programs were tied into programs. On escalating inflated factors such as welfare I say the best answer for welfare is a job you want a welfare check and your people working. You don't get your welfare check from me until you go to work. Write them into color how would you answer that. Anything special you'd like to do to try to address this unhappy situation. Yes I believe that in one hundred thirty thousand California is out of work today. Yes and I feel with him because I was in the labor force myself being a machinist by trade what would you do suppose. I believe that through some of the things that I've seen that have happened in and about and between the businesses and the labor unions I believe that there has to be a better coordination between them such as right now in Southern California we have the

rock. Hollers out on strike. I really feel that there needs to be some concessions between these men and the businesses. If we don't have the business like it will like the General Motors contract where the greed is. Yes I mean this is North Korea. This is one time that we need to work together using negotiation between business and labor and business is the answer. I believe that's part of the answer and I believe just like when the Second World War came along we were caught unawares. There wasn't anything to be done except to work together and that's what we did. No matter who we were what we were we got in together whether we were preachers or pastors or anything we got jobs and we worked alongside the others just to get the job done and we we were able to prove their worth. In other words I believe we need to get into a teamwork to not fight against each other just like Southern California and Northern California seem to be fighting against each other. We need water. They and this and that and they feel that they're going to take it away to

promote harmony. I believe that we need to come back into a harmonious state of living. And I thank you very quickly and I'd like to ask you. We're all about issues and certain there's important reapportionment. But I think none is more important in peripheral canal. To build or not to build and that's what the voters are going to have a choice to do either you build a canal or you don't. When you walk in that booth you vote yes build it or no we don't want it. How are you going to vote and tell us why Very briefly please post where you live. I believe actually our campaign has done more of the personality of the other we put out a five page research paper and I'm opposed to the perfectly now. I believe that the basic principle behind it is the rich get water and the poor get so the fact is that under the current set up Orange County people are going to rain or in the future here and then California then are people who live in Orange County one hundred twenty dollars per acre foot of water right now. People in Kern County mainly large agribusiness pays an average of fifteen dollars. We have a massive subsidy to the Kern County agribusiness at the expense of Orange County. The fact is 85

percent of the use of water is for agriculture 85 percent of the benefit therefore would go to agriculture and I think the peripheral canal like anything else should be built by those people who would benefit by a syndicate appearing to have the agribusiness at their expense. So you have an obligation. OK. From a guard to keep your answers fairly brief. Of course we've got to build the peripheral canal. And in order to do what we need people who know what they're doing in Sacramento we need stable people as John Seymour just said but stable people are John Briggs's and John Schmitz was a absolute bigot. I said he was a bigot four years ago and I was proven right now he's an isometric easy and I feministic coming back to people like back to Sacramento when John can't take their support and say that he's going to go to Sacramento and do a good job. So we need stable people inside to know and you absolutely would vote I would absolutely be content with the peripheral canal if you want the figures are they were allocated 17 and the river only produces 14 not go it doesn't work going perfectly No we're running out of

time you know so I believe that with the need of water here I would vote toward yes on the periphery not toward I mean the the road yes but not with the US. OK I go to very loud Yes Jim I'm cochairman of the Orange County citizens for water 71 percent of Orange County's water is imported and that means when we lose 50 percent of our allocation from the Colorado River we have to look somewhere. The answer is the peripheral canal because there is no answer and so what this water issue is all about really is a water its economic growth again and if we don't have water we don't grow. Yes it is I think that would I agree with down the receiver on the last statement it is economic growth but the thing is that the canal is going to be built in Northern California and it's going to be paid for by Southern California but it's going to benefit the middle part of the California land and that's owned by a Standard Oil of Indiana and the multinational corporations and they're going to really benefit and we're going to have to pay for it and we're only going to get the water when it's a drought

year and the amount that was cut off from Colorado River is just 8 percent. We have a couple of minutes left so you can have make a very short answer but I would like to hear what you're going to do about reapportionment you have no other choice yes or no choice. You want to preach reapportionment as now envisioned by the Democrats are not and we only have a minute so let's just go around very quickly how are you going to vote on reapportionment. I'm in favor of having a separate commission to set up reapportionment. All right I vote yes on the referendum ballot reversing the current replacement plan that will be done. No that would be no that would be a no for another would you go again. You're going to reapportionment. That's exactly how I guess that's what you mean. Yeah and then you say no. If you want to reapportion when you say yes I would be for a commission to investigate these types of things instead of certain individual even though you don't want to reapportion as they've done it now right. That's right. Expect the politicians to do this every

time. Remember Tuesday April 13th 13th next week when we kick off our election with a special program on the peripheral canal remember. Thanks for being with us.