Assembly: 35th District : Questionnaires were distributed to candidates and returned this month. Answers longer than space allotted have been edited to fit the available space.

Family Sick Leave

Q. Gov. Deukmejian recently vetoed legislation that would have granted workers as much as four months of unpaid leave every two years to care for sick children, spouses and other family members without fear of losing their jobs. Do you favor this type of legislation?

O’Connell: I supported the recent bill that would require family leave for larger employers of 25 or more people.

O’Shaughnessy: No.

Teacher Salaries

Q. The Legislature approved a 4.7% cost-of-living raise for school employees, and Gov. Deukmejian reduced it to 3%, placing the difference in an account for special education programs. Should this money be used for salaries?

O’Connell: As the voters dictated when they passed Proposition 98, the full 4.7% COLA should go to school districts, so that those local districts can spend funds according to their own localized priorities.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes. Teachers are still underpaid, and special programs now are so numerous that they get in the way of the basics. Current graduates are not as well versed in the basics as they should be.

Big Green

Q. Proposition 128, the so-called “Big Green” initiative on the November ballot, seeks to eliminate ozone-depleting chemicals by the year 2000, phase out pesticides known to cause cancer and require that trees be planted in all new developments. Do you support this initiative? O’Connell: Yes. While it is not a perfect piece of legislation, it is an ambitious attempt at setting comprehensive environmental policy for California.

O’Shaughnessy: No. The bill tries to do too much with too few financial resources. Also, it is unclear what the full cost will be, and how it is to be fully covered.

Tree-Cutting

Q. Proposition 130 on the November ballot would restrict clear-cutting of forests, allow the sale of $710 million in bonds to preserve ancient redwood forests and provide $32 million to retrain unemployed loggers. Do you support this initiative? O’Connell: Yes.

O’Shaughnessy: No.

Limited Terms

Q. Proposition 131 on the November ballot, authored by Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp and Common Cause, would limit most statewide elected officials to eight consecutive years in office, and senators and Assembly members to 12 years. Proposition 140, sponsored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum, is more stringent, limiting lifetime service to eight years in the Senate and six in the Assembly. Do you support limiting the number of terms state legislators can serve? If yes, how long should the limits be? O’Connell: No. I agree with former President Reagan that all voters should continue to have the option to support whomever they believe is best representing their interests.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes. I agree with 140, with limits of eight and six years.

Sales Tax

Q. Proposition 133 on the November ballot would raise state sales and use taxes by 0.5% for four years to raise $7.5 billion for drug enforcement and treatment, anti-drug education, and prison and jail construction and operation. Do you support this initiative?

O’Connell: Yes.

O’Shaughnessy: No. I am against all new taxes. The objective is noble, but there is so much fiscal waste in Sacramento that eliminating the waste would pay for it. If addicts can afford drugs, they can afford treatment.

Liquor Tax

Q. Proposition 134 on the November ballot would substantially raise taxes on beer, wine and liquor, and dedicate the revenue from the tax hike to programs for the treatment of drug and alcohol abuse. Do you support this initiative? O’Connell: Yes.

O’Shaughnessy: No.

Inmate Laborers

Q. Proposition 139 on the November ballot would allow private companies to hire state prison and county jail inmates as laborers. Do you support this initiative? O’Connell: No. I supported a more equitable and moderate prison workfare measure in the Legislature last session. Proposition 139 is not the best approach because it allows prisoners to work off-site, creating potential security and public safety concerns.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes, assuming half the compensation would go to defray the costs of running the prisons and jails.

Death Penalty

Q. Do you support capital punishment? If so, do you think it should be imposed on those convicted of importing or selling drugs? O’Connell: Yes, I support capital punishment. I support the death penalty for drug dealers when it involves the biggest kingpins of the drug underworld, who should be held directly responsible for causing so much pain and anguish as a result of peddling their deadly wares.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes, I support capital punishment. Yes, I support capital punishment for importers and sellers of drugs.

Handgun Controls

Q. Do you support additional limits on handgun purchase or possession in California? O’Connell: The Legislature and the governor last year successfully beat back the gun lobby to pass landmark gun control measures--an effort that resulted in unsuccessful recall attempts being launched against me and some of my colleagues. I believe the Legislature should now take some time to properly review and evaluate the effectiveness of those measures.

O’Shaughnessy: No. The current laws are not being enforced now.

Abortion Rights

Q. Do you support a woman’s right to unrestricted abortions within the first three months of pregnancy? O’Connell: Yes.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes. This is not even an issue for government to be concerned about, in my opinion.

Abortion Funding

Q. Do you support government funding of abortions for women who cannot afford them? O’Connell: Yes.

O’Shaughnessy: Partial funding: 50%.

Day-Care Services

Q. Do you believe the state should require private employers to subsidize day-care services for employees who request them? O’Connell: I have supported, and will continue to support, measures designed to provide incentives for employers to provide child care. This is in the best long-term interests of the businesses involved because employer-sponsored child care has been shown to increase employee morale and productivity, as well as reduce absenteeism.

O’Shaughnessy: No. A private employer is a private employer. However, some consideration should be given to employers for this.

War on Drugs

Q. Do you believe our present strategy of criminal prosecution, interdiction of supplies and imprisonment of users and dealers will ever significantly reduce the level of drug use in the United States? If no, what should be done? O’Connell: Yes. But I would add the strong argument that we all must strive to educate our youth about the perils of drugs in order to reduce the demand for drugs.

O’Shaughnessy: No. We need more enforcement. We need much more anti-drug education.

Drug Decriminalization

Q. Would you consider supporting the decriminalization of drug use? O’Connell: No.

O’Shaughnessy: No.

Oil Exploration

Q. Do you think the present Mideast crisis justifies opening up additional parts of the California coastline to oil exploration? O’Connell: No. The small amount of oil available, as well as the fragile nature of the California coastline, does not make this source a viable alternative to disrupted Mideast oil. Instead, the U.S. needs a comprehensive national energy policy to best utilize present resources as well to develop new sources of energy.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes. Our oil business is in shambles, thanks to importation of too much foreign oil. Let’s restrict imports, as we have the second biggest oil facility ready to operate, at Point Arguello, but is hamstrung due to Mickey Mouse-style environmental trifles. Alternative fuels research is fine for the long term, but we need oil now, not blackmail in the East.

Parkland Exchange

Q. Should the National Park Service exchange 50 acres in Cheeseboro Canyon in southeastern Ventura County for about 1,100 acres of the neighboring Jordan Ranch owned by entertainer Bob Hope, permitting park agencies to buy another 4,600 acres of Hope’s land in the Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountains for $10 million? O’Connell: This is an issue of local control best decided at the local level, and I will oppose any effort at preemption by the state.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes, but don’t raise taxes to do it.

Mandatory Ride-Sharing

Q. Do you favor mandatory ride-sharing in an effort to meet government air pollution standards? O’Connell: Pollution caused by automobiles necessitates our looking at ways to reduce their use. We must look to enhanced ride-sharing incentives (private and public), and to mass transit to help break our dependence on the automobile.

O’Shaughnessy: No. The real problem is underpromotion. Make it enticing and people will ride-share. Use positive incentives. Mandates irritate voters.

Political Funding

Q. Do you support full or partial public funding of political campaigns? O’Connell: In order to level the playing field for all potential political candidates, and to remove any questions of impropriety, at least partial public funding, coupled with spending limits, should be available.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes, provided it were on a matching basis: raise so much, get so much. The public funding must be limited to amounts paid into a special fund by taxpayers on a voluntary basis.

Income Disclosure

Q. Are you willing to publicly release your income tax returns and those of your spouse prior to the November election? O’Connell: Yes.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes, subject to confidentiality controls, and my opponent’s willingness to do the same.

Water Pipeline

Q. Do you support a new pipeline linking Ventura County to the state water system that brings water from Northern California? O’Connell: While much of Ventura County is already connected to state water, I support other local purveyors’ rights to connect to state water if local citizens decide that is most desirable.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes.

Drug Users’ Tent City

Q. Do you support the Ventura County sheriff’s proposal to incarcerate “recreational” drug users in a tent city on an area Navy base and require them to attend extensive counseling, drug-education sessions and monthly drug testing? O’Connell: I believe we must make every effort to convince the casual drug user, as well as the drug dealer, to stay away from drugs.

O’Shaughnessy: Yes.

Assembly District 35 The district has more registered Democrats than Republicans and includes the cities of Fillmore, Santa Paula, most of Oxnard, a portion of Ventura and southern coastal area of Santa Barbara County.

CONTENDERS Jack O’Connell, 39, a Democrat, was first elected to the Assembly in 1982. A Carpinteria resident, he was a teacher at Oxnard High School and an aide to former state Sen. Omer Rains (D-Santa Barbara) before becoming a legislator.

Connie O’Shaughnessy, 41, a Republican, is a businesswoman and philanthropist in Santa Barbara. She is president of the Santa Barbara County Republicans’ Lincoln Club and has been active in many Republican campaigns.