QUESTIONS & ANSWERS : Assembly: 37th District

Questionnaires were distributed to candidates this month. Answers 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?

Wright: No. It is a decision that should be negotiated between employee and employer regardless of the total work force.

Petrie: Yes.

Spooner: No. Private-sector matters should be considered on an individual basis--optional and arbitrated, but not legislated.

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?

Wright: I do not believe so because under Proposition 98, passed by the voters, there is to be a reserve set aside.

Petrie: Yes. California must value the critical work of our teachers. Compensation has to be at a level that keeps educators in the field and enthusiastic in their endeavors. We must pay teachers what they’re worth.

Spooner: No. The California education system needs revision, reform and competition. All tax-funded pay raises should be put to the voters.

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? Wright: No. First of all, ozone depletion is a worldwide issue. Secondly, 75% of cancer is self-induced by smoking/overeating. Of the remaining 25%, only 3% is pesticide-related and only from over-exposure, not from residue on food stuffs. It would result in higher food costs and water bills.

Petrie: Yes. Big Green forces California to address the pressing environmental issues we are saturated with. Although it is complex and rigid, it compels the state Legislature and citizens to activate efforts toward environmental reverence.

Spooner: No. There would be too much power in an appointed position. Chemicals do not deplete ozone. There is a better way to reduce the need and use of pesticides and we don’t need a statute to plant trees.

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? Wright: No. It is too drastic in that it reduces the total timber industry by 70% and gives government the right to condemn property.

Petrie: Yes.

Spooner: No. State bonds almost double the tax bill.

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? Wright: No. Fair reapportionment is necessary to make competitive districts and then voters could choose. These two initiatives do more than just limit a voter’s right to choose. Proposition 131 would put in place taxpayer financing of 200 legislative campaigns every two years. Proposition 140, by vesting the legislators’ pensions, would cause taxpayers to pay for the legislators’ retirement.

Petrie: No. I don’t agree with mandated terms. It is counterproductive to the process of democracy. When the public loses its apathetic demeanor and participates in the political process, terms will naturally be limited by the actions of the voter.

Spooner: Yes, two terms. Any more would be “write-in” to be selected by voters.

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?

Wright: No. People don’t need any more taxes. There are bond measures 144 and 147 for prison and jail construction and there is funding in the education budget.

Petrie: Yes.

Spooner: No. No tax increase.

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? Wright: No. The way the initiative is written, if the projected funds for the programs decline, which they are likely to do, the state general fund would have to back-fill.

Petrie: Yes.

Spooner: No. It does not generate enough revenue to cover the expenses projected.

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? Wright: Yes. It is only fair with the rising cost of incarceration that the prisoners pay their costs and make restitution to the victims.

Petrie: No. Prison labor in the work force is an attractive concept. However, I am not in support of this particular proposition, as written.

Spooner: No. This is unfair to businesses not hiring inmates and to the local labor market. Inmates would get preferential hiring.

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? Wright: Yes. I support the death penalty and I would support it being imposed on drug dealers if they caused the death of one person due to their actions.

Petrie: Yes. No, for drug offenses.

Spooner: Yes. Yes. Drug dealers are accessories and conspirators with drug gangs and addicts who die from their products. The best and most inexpensive way to eliminate import and sales is to legalize it.

Handgun Controls

Q. Do you support additional limits on handgun purchase or possession in California? Wright: No. Law-abiding citizens who choose to own guns should not be penalized as law-breakers.

Petrie: Yes. I support a 15-day waiting period between the purchase and delivery of any firearms. I support education on the use and storage of firearms.

Spooner: No. We need the limits on the people who use guns for criminal purposes.

Abortion Rights

Q. Do you support a woman’s right to unrestricted abortions within the first three months of pregnancy? Wright: Not really. The decision should be with the doctor and patient.

Petrie: Yes.

Spooner: No. It should be a “licensed” option in case of rape, incest or life-threatening risk for the mother.

Abortion Funding

Q. Do you support government funding of abortions for women who cannot afford them? Wright: No. Government should not pay for what is a private decision.

Petrie: Yes. Choice should apply to all women regardless of position or socioeconomic standing.

Spooner: No.

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? Wright: Yes, but it will take a long time without the education of our young people to end the demand for drugs.

Petrie: Yes, but not in and of themselves. Education and prevention programs are needed in addition to increased recreation, after-school activities and youth employment opportunities. Strict penalties should be imposed on businesses that launder drug money. The export of chemicals used to process/produce drugs should be withheld.

Spooner: No. History has proven a defensive war cannot be won.

Oil Exploration

Q. Do you think the present Mideast crisis justifies opening up additional parts of the California coastline to oil exploration? Wright: I never was opposed to oil exploration as long as it was done with the environmental concerns addressed.

Petrie: No. Mass-transit programs and conservation efforts throughout the state and country is the approach I would take--move or transition from a consumer-disposable society to a preservation or conservationist policy.

Spooner: No. In my opinion, the Mideast crisis is contrived to raise oil prices and shift the source of oil to the Soviet Union.

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? Wright: Yes. I support this transfer because local government would control the development through land use. Ideally, the improved development would generate enough taxes to replace the loss to local government of the 4,600 acres taken out of private ownership.

Petrie: Yes. This exchange should be given careful and thoughtful consideration. A pragmatic posturing would be beneficial.

Spooner: No. Government should not buy land, only govern its use.

Porter Ranch

Q. Do you support development of the massive Porter Ranch project in the hills north of Chatsworth as presently configured? Wright: Development is land use, the only decision-making left to local government without interference from the state. I would hope they would carefully scrutinize the plans before approval.

Petrie: No. Community and economic needs would be better suited if this project were scaled down and built in the Simi and Santa Clarita valleys with appropriate infrastructure improvements.

Spooner: No. Massive developments overload public systems, freeways, schools and utilities, not to mention the present water shortage. Developments should be organized, incremented and built to solve problems, not make them.

CONTENDERS Cathie Wright, 61, a Republican from Simi Valley, was first elected in 1980. A staunch conservative, she is a member of the Assembly environmental safety and toxic materials, rules, finance and insurance, utilities and commerce, and ways and means committees.

Dennis Petrie, 29, a Democrat from Canyon Country, is making his first try for public office. He is program director of Rancho San Antonio, the “Boys’ Town of the West” in Chatsworth. He has worked for several human rights-related causes.

John S. Spooner Sr., 63, the Libertarian Party candidate, is a computer sales representative who also sells real estate. He lives in Lompoc in a small northern portion of the district in Santa Barbara County. He and his wife, Bertha, have been married 42 years. Please see Q&A;, B5