PLATFORM FOR CALIFORNIA

"California faces incredible challenges in the months and years ahead. We need to make difficult decisions with care and with an eye on producing jobs, educational excellence, and a sensible budget in Sacramento."

PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS

The unemployment rate in California is approximately 12.5%. National unemployment is around 9.5%. Our unemployment in the state stems from severe overregulation of businesses, which are burdened with unnecessary fees and some of the highest taxes in the nation. Companies are forced to shut down or move their businesses to more business-friendly states, like Texas or Nevada, and foreign countries just to survive.

We must bring businesses back to California and keep the ones we have and allow them to grow and create jobs. By creating profitable incentives for private sector-employers, we can keep and maintain a robust California economy.

EDUCATION REFORM

Because children are the future of California and our diverse economy, we need to invest in educational excellence and make sure that we have quality teachers in all of our classrooms.

Unfortunately, public-sector unions continue to obstruct needed reforms to achieve these vital goals.

Massive debt and runaway spending in Sacramento to fund a bloated bureaucracy and unsustainable pensions and health benefits for State workers mean fewer resources for our schools and universities. The probationary period before teachers are granted tenure needs to be extended from two to five years. Teachers need to undergo annual evaluations, and those who are consistently failing our kids need to be removed from the classroom. Additionally, the seniority system must not be used to prevent the assignment of our most experienced and effective teachers to underperforming schools.

BALANCED BUDGET

Government at all levels is experiencing run-away spending. This is unsustainable. The federal debt is over $13 trillion, and the deficit comprises more than half of the current budget. In San Francisco, it is projected that we will be $482 million dollars in the red. In California, that number is approximately $20 billion dollars.

We need to treat the state budget as if it were our own personal savings account. Californians - individuals, families, and businesses - are cutting spending in lean times; there is no reason Sacramento should not follow suit. Unfunded mandates for health care and pensions are being used by Democrats in the legislature as a reason to “raise revenues” (taxes and fees). Not on my watch.

California needs a balanced budget. As a signatory to the Americans for Tax Reform “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” I will never vote to raise any tax unless it is revenue-neutral. Californians should not have to pay for the mistakes of Sacramento politicians.

Additionally, we need to re-institute the Gann Initiative, which limited the growth of State spending by the rate of inflation and population growth, using FY 1997-1998 as the base year. Any surpluses in prosperous years would go into a rainy-day fund, and any monies left over would be returned to the taxpayers.

Finally, new employees hired by the State need to be enrolled in a defined contribution (401K) retirement system instead of the current defined benefit system (which is financially unsustainable) provided that the State fully covers workers injured on the job, and widows and orphans of uniformed officers killed in the line-of-duty.