Jim Cooper's Orange County; California State Assembly 58th and 64th District Races.

You got to go. Jim Cooper's Orange County is made possible by grants from the Harry and Grace steel foundation providing charitable assistance to deserving organizations in the areas of health education and culture. Why signal landmark incorporated developer of Southern California real estate and builder of Landmark homes by Robert Half an account temps providing permanent and temporary accounting financial and ADP personnel and by Disneyland part an important part of Orange County for over 30 years. Welcome to election 86. A series of important election programs designed to present the

candidates and the issues to local voters in the November general election. Your vote does matter and this program is to help you be better informed in making those voting decisions. In today's program we'll present candidates for the California State Assembly fifty eighth and sixty fourth district. There are eight elected members of the assembly representing Orange County. Both the fifty eighth and sixty fourth district are held by a Republican incumbent about half of the 58 assembly district is located in Orange County where the other half in Los Angeles County in Los Angeles County the district occupies the east portion of Long Beach as well as Signal Hill. Catalina Island San Clemente Island in Orange County it includes Surfside Sunset Beach Seal Beach most of Huntington Beach and a portion of Rushmore. The 58 assembly district has a total of one hundred and seventy nine thousand voters with eighty four thousand or forty seven percent in Orange County and ninety five thousand or 53 percent in Los Angeles County. Overall there are 72000 Democrats and eighty eight thousand Republicans in the district giving the Republicans a 16000 vote lead.

The sixty fourth this empty district occupied the north central portions of Orange County it include the cities of Fullerton and portions of Anaheim are also within its boundaries. The sixty fourth is only that because 160000 registered voters and of these eighty six thousand five hundred are Republicans and fifty eight thousand are Democrats giving the Republican Party an edge of twenty eight thousand five hundred voters. And now let's meet the candidates. Assemblyman Dennis Brown Republican representing the fifty eighth district is completing his fourth term in the legislature. He served as a member of the assembly committees on Ways and Means and finance and insurance. He's the vice chairman of the assembly committee on revenue and taxation. Mr. Brown is a former stockbroker Staggs is the Democratic candidate in the 58. She's a history instructor at Golden West college and owns and operates a small business and image counseling. She was a Republican in the 1950s and was president of the coast amazing Republican women.

She became a Democratic activist in the 1960s and she served on the county and state Democratic Central Committees. Paul Hoch the Peace and Freedom Party candidate in this race declined to appear in today's debate. Assemblyman Ross Johnson Republican represent the sixty fourth the Samedi district he's not completing his fourth term in the assembly. You remember the assembly committee for ways and means finance and insurance revenue and taxation and public investments finance and bonded indebtedness prior to his election Mr. Johnson was an attorney with offices in Fullerton. Jill Marie Lisa is the Democratic candidate in the 64 district she the labor relations manager for NBC TV in Burbank. Until recently she worked as a personnel manager in the aerospace industry. She holds a law degree from the Western State University and was formerly an instructor in American government at Cypress college and elected member of the California Assembly now receive the salary of thirty three thousand seven hundred thirty two dollars per year plus a pretty m allowance of $75 for each day the legislature is in session.

The term of office is two years. Each candidate will now make a one minute statement on his or her candidacy. After which I'll ask questions on the issues. Now let's start with Assemblyman Dennis Brown. Well thank you Jim. I consider it a real honor first of all to have been elected to serve my district for the last eight years and I want to thank the voters very much for that confidence of the past. I'm running for re-election because I don't feel that I've accomplished everything that I would like to when I'm I'm a strong believer that when an incumbent is asking the voters to re-elect him or her they really should look at how accurately and effectively that individuals represented their district. I believe very strongly and I believe that the voters of this this district will also agree that that I represent them well on the issues that I think are important to the people of this district that being criminal laws taxation laws upgrading our educational system upgrading our transportation system and all those issues. I believe very strongly that it's important to look at the just the path that government is going down in order to really accomplish what we should be accomplishing at the state level.

And for that reason I would appreciate your support. Thank you. No stag. I'm running my campaign on the theme of restoring the California drain. I've been concerned in the last eight years that the dream that I had as a young person going up in California has been almost destroyed. I think that this is a result of the passage of Proposition 13 and the election of people such as Denise Brown to the state legislature people who do not want to spend the kind of money that is necessary to support the institutions that support the idea of the drain which is an opportunity for improvement of our lives both now and in the future. The educational facilities are deteriorating classrooms are too large. We are not providing provisions for public recreation facility in the degree that they are needed in today's distressed society. We need more protection from fire

and criminal activity for our homes and all of those things cost money. Dennis Brown seems to be opposed to legislation that calls for the expenditure of governmental funds regardless of the need. I think that has to end. We need people who will support the California dream. Well I thank you Assemblyman Johnson. Well I have served and had the honor of serving for the last eight years and the people of North Orange County in the state assembly for all of those years I spent with Jerry Brown as the governor of California. When Jerry Brown left office the state of California was literally bankrupt we weren't able to pay our bills the budget was out of balance. Employment was at record highs businesses were leaving the state education was in a shambles. But in the last four years with the Governor Deukmejian I've had the honor of working with Governor Deukmejian. We've seen a turnaround in that. I believe that the leadership and common sense that we've seen over the last four years has resort

California turned it back in the right direction. Our schools are improving. Employment is an all time high in the state of California. Odd proud to be a part of a team that's working for the future in this state that is looking to the future to ensure that our community will always be a place that we can all be proud to call our home. Thank you. Go release it. Thank you. I was born in Southern California and I have lived for the past 12 years in the 64 at the symbole district. In that twelve years time I've noticed various ongoing problems that we have in the district that have not been resolved. Actually the problems have worsened for example the traffic congestion and particularly the traffic congestion on the 57 in the 91 freeway as has absolutely become unbearable. The quality of our education has deteriorated. California ranks 50th in the nation on the student teacher ratio. The crime rate has increased particularly for homicides and drug arrests and

burglaries. We also have problems with our environment. There are additional cases of campaign polluters excuse me of toxic waste polluters who have been dumping pollution into our drinking water and also into the air. We can do better. The incumbent his surfer for terms he's now asking for a fifth vote for me is a vote for change and improvement. A vote for me will resolve the problems. Thank you. One of the mandates on any candidate is to define the issues and to prioritize the issues. So I'm going to start now with my stack and that's a question. If you prioritize the most important issues that you see in this race let's start with you and define what they are. I feel that the most important issue for the constituency in the 50th District is the crisis in California. It's an issue that affects virtually every man woman and child in this state and certainly in the 58 district. The insurance crisis is

more than just a matter of reforming tort law and patching it up. We need a complete renovation of the insurance industry in California putting real teeth into the insurance commissioner's power to regulate and control the abuses of the insurance industry that have resulted in outrageous prices for individuals and communities and protecting themselves from liability suits and damages. They're specifically complaining about the hype the inordinately high cost of premiums the high cost of premiums and the fact that the insurance read industry although it is exempt from most of the corporate regulations in California does not have any effective regulation. All right. Your main concern about the insurance if you had to prioritize the top one or two issues what would you say Mr. Brown. Well the top priority I believe is definitely the criminal epidemic that we have in California and in the 50th District as well I'm a very strong supporter that people that break

our laws should not be out on the streets walking around. But they should be behind bars where they belong. Unfortunately we've had a legislature that's been dominated by a very liberal philosophy that criminals should be rehabilitated and given second third and fourth chances we've had a California Supreme Court that's been a disaster and the people will have a chance to get rid of that court on November 4th and I certainly urge them to do so. So I think that is the major problem and with the new court I think we can solve crime and the Supreme Court and its role and talk about the Supreme Court little bit as Lisa. Yes I think that we have serious problems in our district in the area of environmental controls and particularly in the area of chemical and toxic dumping our drinking water has gone to the point where one in four people will drink bottled water they will not drink the state's drinking water. We need to improve our drinking water. We need to clean up the McCall toxic dump site that dump site has been in existence since World War 2 it still has not been cleaned up. That is detrimentally affecting the health of the citizens in

that area. Also we need desperately to do something about the transportation problems in the district. It is absolutely becoming unbearable to get from one part of the county to the other or one part of the the district into another part of the district. I think we can do a lot better. Are you faulting the company for the failure to have economical dumps. I think that I think that we can do better Gin and I think that you have to say that yes the incumbent is somewhat responsible for the fact that we do have these ongoing problems that have actually worsened. All right Mr. Johnson top priority there for you as you as you would prioritize them in terms of determining how should I want them to work and I think the important issue in the election is experience of the attitude the leadership that one brings to the office. I'm interested in a government that is responsive that lives within its means. But at the same time is responsive to the legitimate needs of individual citizens. So to me the overriding issues

and they're involved in each of the issues that have been mentioned be a crime or the insurance crisis or whatever is the question of leadership and experience. MCCAUL dumpsite at least some element of blame has been laid at your doorstep by your opponent what about McCall dumpsite it's certainly been a nagging problem. It certainly has and it's a tremendous frustration to me. It's something that I've spent a great deal of time and effort on and carried legislation that set aside several million dollars and I might add specifically for cleanup of that SOG site not for studies it's been studied to death. Frankly one of the problems that we faced as the Department of Health Services and middle level bureaucrats and lower level bureaucrats and department health services largely holdovers from the Jerry Brown administration who have been dragging their feet now for at least the last seven years on the cleanup of McCall. But obviously that's something that we have to do. Any any sunshine and any realistic hope that can be given to the people who had it. Yes like that. I think so. There have been some changes at the top levels now in the Department

of Health Services a new team that's been brought on board and I do believe that for the first time Department those services are beginning to get its act together and I think we will see some action. I'd like to ask about some questions some of them you brought up and some of you have not but that the governor of the state of California just vetoed a bill that would have extended bilingual education to 1992 in California I'd like to ask each of you. Whether you agree with it or disagree with that action and make a very brief comment on that question. Let's start with you Lisa. I disagree with Jim I think bilingual education in the state of California is very important. There is no doubt that we have a multilingual a multicultural state and it's important that those children that only speak one language have an opportunity to be educated and to learn. To learn English and to learn the subjects that will be necessary for them in their future. Ross Johnson what about that do you agree or disagree with the governor's action in vetoing No I strongly agree with the

governor's action like that first of all let's make very clear that the veto did not have anything to do with doing away with bilingual education in California all of the bill would have done was extending the 99 to the sunset deadline that is the time in which that legislation would go out of existence. And it did so nine months before it goes out of existence in June and it is now it goes out of existence in June it will go out of existence next summer. The point however about bilingual education and we all support the idea of having people who are non English speaking students become proficient in the English language in the shortest possible time that they not suffer a penalty because they are not proficient in the English language when they begin their school careers. But these programs as they've operated in California keep children in bilingual education year after year after year. That is not what the people of California want. They want an opportunity for these kids to learn English and compete in an English speaking society so you you agree with the idea of bilingualism But you think

it's not your pet or waiting. We should return to the original concept of these programs which was English as a second language to get these kids to be proficient in the English language in the shortest possible time so that they can compete in the regular classroom or anywhere else I mean to say before we leave this one. I can't disagree with Mr. Johnson too much on what he has to say except that I think that the problem of teaching bi lingual education is an extremely complex one. In most classrooms where we have supposedly bilingual education there are several languages rather than merely two and we have not provided the kind of training opportunities for our elementary school teachers to become proficient in these other languages making it virtually impossible for them to do the job that we have expected them to do. So I think we have to do a much better job of providing training for our teachers to be prepared for this.

Do you agree or disagree with the governor's action when he when he vetoed the bill. I don't really have a very strong feeling on that I feel that the bilingual education program itself needs to be completely revamped. Bilingual education. Well Jim I'll just briefly say I totally agree with this in live in Johnson I carried a bill in 1985 that would've totally reformed bilingual education along the lines of giving individual school districts more flexibility to form their program according to their needs. Unfortunately that was defeated and the current program has been a disaster and has not done the job of making students proficient in English language. Many times voters would like to know what you think on some of the very important issues that they're going to have to be confronted with on the ballot when they come up in November and I want to pick off there were these after the Very quickly answer the ad because it lets voters know exactly what you feel about them. One campaign is called the anti Rose Bird campaign. It's called by a group of California the Pete Rose Bird and not only are they targeting Roseburg but they're targeting justices down the last cruise and all stolen and just the drug. These are some of the

justices who are or who are on there and if you vote yes you're saying you want 12 more years of those justices. Look how are you. How do you feel about that. On the basis of road birds qualifications and her legal mind I feel that she has to be supported in her re-election. I think that there has been a great deal of distortion in the campaign against her. There is the claim for example that she is opposed to the death sentence. She has never ruled in her court against the death sentence what she has ruled against is procedures in the courts which are denying people their civil rights. And I feel that when we're in the process of proposing to take someone's life that we have to be scrupulous in the observation of the letter of the law. Do I understand you vote yes on yes I will vote for her. All right Robert on the other judges you want to make a comment how do you win gold and why. Jim I will not support Rose Bird However I am going to support justice Groden and Mostyn Reynoso. Quite frankly Rose Bird has an absolutely

excellent unanimous voting record of voting against the death penalty on every case that's come before her. She's publicly stated her opposition to the death penalty. I feel that she's obstructing justice in the state of California. We've had a death penalty statute in this state since 1978. Let's uphold it. Think if you spoke with your Democratic colleague on that one. Ross Johnson Well Jim as a matter fact I've been one of the leaders of the statewide campaign against Rose Bird and the other judges Reynoso and Joseph Groden as well. I could not disagree more with the biggest days. That's funny you know on the question of Rose Bird the death penalty you can't have that we have to see. Times in a road to reverse death sentences and they're not great. Issues of constitutional rights they are on what a former justice of our state Supreme Court justice Richardson called procedural fly specks. An example being the for Wendy's case

where the individual shot a Brinks guard and Chester but. Five times with a 38 at point blank range and Rose Byrd wrote an opinion that said he might have shot the guard in an effort to get him to drop the moneybag or he might have shot him in order to make good his escape or he might have shot him as a reflex of action. It's that kind of idiotic decision that says that Rose Bird must go in with respect to Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin their records are very very similar Cruz Reynoso has voted in 48 death penalty cases. Forty nine and thirty eight of those 49 he's voted to reverse Joseph Groden. Almost as bad. Very quickly here your view on the role of Word and the other one of them the court that you're going after Well Jim I'm really I'm really appalled at what Peggy stags had to say I can't believe that she really believes what she what she said. If there's been any distortion in this campaign it's been totally by Roseburg herself. She's been the only justice that has voted against every death penalty decision. The others that agree with her 90 percent of the time they've There's even been one or two or three that they have agreed with. It's

just strictly that she will not vote for the death penalty period. I'm very strong opponent of hers I think she needs to be removed. On the other justices Reynoso Growden mosque they are all just identical twins and almost every decision right down the line if you don't like Rose Bird in her decisions you ought to get rid of those other three as well. And the ratio of classrooms. California has a very on enviable position of 50th out of 50 states in the proportion the ratio of teachers to students. Are we doing what we should be doing in education and what do you have to say about that we have a limited time. This is your chance as a teacher in the community college. I'm one of those people who has had direct experience in the problems that have been created by overcrowded classrooms in California's elementary and high schools. The K through 12 situation is a disgrace. This is the richest state in the richest nation in the world. And for us to have that kind of a situation is simply unthinkable to me. I can't believe that teachers can do an adequate job of teaching students fundamental

skills of reading and communicating when they have 35 or 40 students. What about that. Well I think we've made giant strides in the last Largent couple of years classrooms too big. Well yes they are but I'll tell you one of the main reasons that it is because the teacher and teachers unions in this state control the educational establishment. And if they weren't as strong as they were and in control the legislature in the majority of my colleagues I'm proud to say the teachers association. It supports my opponent every time because I don't believe in the things that they do. And I think that's the main problem but we're finally getting back to putting in some competency test and these kinds of things that the teachers unions have always totally objected to to try to upgrade our educational system but you will a lot of the blame on the teachers unions is that which is absolutely fraught Johnson. Well there's no question that education suffered enormously during the Jerry Brown years during the entire eight years that Jerry Brown was governor of California. We saw a dramatic decrease in the amount of funding provided to education at all levels in the state of California during the last four years we've seen again a dramatic turnaround

there where we've gone from 43 percent of the budget going to education to 56 percent of the budget overall going to education. You can't race all of the ills that build up over a period of years overnight and still manage all of the other affairs of government. But we're moving in the right direction and I'm proud to say that the number one priority in California today isn't is education as it should be Does it concern you though this this. Record we have of the worst state in the union as far as no less you know no question at all that class size isn't important but class size is also a function of the particular activity that's going on in some instances. If you're watching a health film for example maybe that 200 to one is the appropriate ratio in other circumstances the appropriate ratio can be nothing but 1 to 1. But in examining these statistics you need to also look at how much are we spending for administrators how much are we spending on non certificate employees. What are those ratios. What is the overall ratio

of what we spend. California has moved up dramatically very quickly and that's one of them I don't think we can lay all the blame at the feet of Jerry Brown I think we have to look at the legislature and we also have to look at the Deukmejian administration. But I'd like to focus in on how to correct the problem. I think it's very important for everyone to support Proposition 53 which will be allowing the state to sell a hundred million dollars worth of bonds in order to build additional to have additional school construction and also to be able to upgrade and modernize the additional facilities that we have. We have a just a short time so I'm going to ask you to very quickly punctuated answer here abbreviated answer. Are you going to vote on 61 proposition again and again and they should. I absolutely will vote against that proposition I think it's going to cause a lot of problems economically for the state and I think it will also hurt our education and also our public employees and that we will lose some of the quality of people that we need because of limiting the salary because of the salary limitation.

Very quickly. Absolutely against it. Sixty one. How are you going to vote I'm voting for it. I don't think it's a perfect initiative but I think the legislature can correct some of the errors that it does contain because I think overall the message that it will send the legislature would be a positive impact. Well there's no question that I minded many of the public salaries and pensions that we pay in California today are way out of line but on balance I intend to vote no on Proposition 61. You're going to vote no on 61. You split with your Republican colleague there on that one what about AIDS the AIDS initiative 64. Well I intend to oppose that. We have done a great deal in California to attempt to deal with the AIDS crisis and obviously that's important. But I'm very concerned this political extremists are trying to take over the Democratic Party is behind it. What about that. I'm opposing it too Jim primarily because I think it would do more harm than good. The aid initiative. I'm also opposed to lie. I think that it in hers a lot of violation of civil rights.

Not much not much argument here on this for now but about AIDS. I will not support that also. Right. I have we have just a very short amount of time left right now. That's the biggest thing of acting quickly. The biggest thing that people give you back in their feedback of their vexation when you when you walk the streets very quickly the biggest thing they say to you the voters what are they saying to you. I think that they feel that government at the state level is unresponsive. What are they saying to you the people you talk to. The biggest complaint I get has to do with are the problems that we have with the environment that people feel as though we've had lacked leadership in this district that we haven't been able to resolve our problems. The biggest thing you're hearing from the voters. Well I think that people are generally pretty satisfied and I think they're generally pretty satisfied with my record and I caught the flu. Look forward to being re-elected. The biggest thing you're hearing the feedback you're going to I think basically the government is too big and too powerful and too much in our lives and I think of one thing my opponents might agree with me on is what my voting record

has thought to cut back government and make it live within its means. All right thank you. Appreciate all of your take part in this candid discussion. Our time is almost up now and I want to thank all the candidates for the fifty eight and sixty fourth assembly district for being with us. Tune in tomorrow night at the same time for candidates in the races for the 67 and 69 percent B district. I'm Jim Cooper thanks for being with us.