QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS : Assembly: 36th District

Questionnaires were distributed to candidates and returned 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?

Connell: Yes. We must make efforts to maintain and support the family unit.

Harner: No. Workers should be free to negotiate their own benefits without government interference.

McClintock: No. Excessive regulations like this have sent thousands of businesses to other states. Although well-intentioned, this would produce the ultimate irony: fewer jobs with or without “family leave.”

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?

Connell: Yes, we must support our classroom teachers. However, it should not be an either/or choice between a fair raise for school employees and adequate funding for special education programs. We get more funds back in the classroom.

Harner: All salaries should be determined by a free-market system without government control. I want the state to systematically get out of the education business.

McClintock: No. Californians were promised that Proposition 98 revenues would be used for class-size reduction for the children, not higher salaries for employees who are already paid among the highest wages in the nation.

‘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? Connell: Yes. California definitely needs this level of commitment to cleaning up our air, water and soil--as well as developing nontoxic methods to control insect pests. It is cheaper in the long run to prevent environmental damage than to repair it.

Harner: No, our environment is too precious to be trusted to government bureaucrats.

McClintock: No. Independent cost estimates range up to $1,200 annually for an average family of four. We may need additional environmental protection, but not by taxing families out of the state.

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? Connell: Yes.

Harner: No.

McClintock: No. This measure is estimated to reduce timber harvesting 70%--driving up consumer prices while throwing 100,000 Californians out of work. California already has the toughest timber conservation laws in the country.

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? Connell: No. I favor reforms that will make races more competitive, but eliminating the best and most experienced members of the Legislature from competition does not serve the best interests of the state. Assembly candidates run for office every two years, the voters have the option of replacing them then.

Harner: No. Reduce the corruptible power of the legislators, and the length of their terms becomes irrelevant.

McClintock: No on 131; yes on 140. Proposition 131 will use taxpayer dollars to finance politicians’ self-aggrandizing campaigns. I was one of the earliest supporters of Proposition 140. As much as I enjoy my job, I am convinced that it is the only way to truly reform the state Legislature.

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?

Connell: I support the goals of Proposition 133, but I do not support increased sales taxes as the means. I am leaning toward no.

Harner: No. Drug abuse should not be a crime. It’s a serious health problem that requires the kind of treatment, care and education that a government bureaucracy cannot provide.

McClintock: No. This is a major sales tax increase which will cost the average family of four $250 annually. The aims are commendable, but should be funded by cutting lower priority expenditures.

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? Connell: Yes.

Harner: No. I would not trust the government to solve any serious problem.

McClintock: No. This measure not only imposes $101 of direct tax increases on an average family, but will require an additional $40 of general tax increases. Once again, the laudable goals should be funded by cutting lower priority expenditures.

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? Connell: No.

Harner: No.

McClintock: Yes. I authored a similar measure in 1984 and part of Proposition 139 last year. Prisoners are costing us over $18,000 a year, and it’s high time they paid part of the expense themselves.

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? Connell: No.

Harner: No. I prefer restitution over punishment. Restitution is better for promoting responsibility.

McClintock: Yes. I have twice carried legislation to require the death penalty for the murder of children and strongly support its use in all cases involving first-degree murder.

Handgun Controls

Q. Do you support additional limits on handgun purchase or possession in California? Connell: I support the new restrictions on handgun purchase, including a 15-day waiting period. These waiting periods must be extended to long guns, and we must keep military-type assault weapons out of our communities.

Harner: No. I prefer to hold irresponsible gun owners fully accountable for their actions. Responsible gun owners deserve maximum freedom.

McClintock: No. I wrote the law prohibiting plea bargaining for gun-related crimes and support long prison terms for convicts caught with any kind of gun. But I oppose attempts to disarm the decent and law-abiding citizens who own firearms to protect themselves and their families.

Abortion Rights

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

Harner: Government control is not the solution for dealing with an unwanted pregnancy.

McClintock: No. Parental consent should be required for minors seeking an abortion.

Abortion Funding

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

Harner: It depends on whether the state will have to support the children of women who can’t afford an abortion.

McClintock: No. Taxpayer funds should not be used to promote and subsidize the practice of abortion.

Day-Care Services

Q. Do you believe the state should require private employers to subsidize day-care services for employees who request them? Connell: No. The state should encourage employer-sponsored child care and be a model to private business by providing child-care programs for state employees but should not mandate this benefit.

Harner: No. Employees should be free to negotiate their own benefits without coercive interference from the government.

McClintock: No. Additional burdens on small businesses, particularly in a recession, will mean employees without subsidized day care or jobs. I prefer positive inducements such as tax credits.

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? Connell: No. These control measures must be coupled with education, treatment and prevention programs. We need early childhood education and intervention to bolster success in school and prevent high school dropouts. We also need job training, recreation programs for adolescents and available treatment for addiction.

Harner: No. Drug abuse should not be a crime. It’s a serious health problem that requires the kind of treatment, care and education that a government bureaucracy cannot provide.

McClintock: No. It doesn’t do any good to arrest a drug dealer if he’s back out on the streets before the officer’s paperwork is finished. More reforms like Proposition 115, which wrote some of Rose Bird’s worst decisions out of the law, are what we need.

Drug Decriminalization

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

Harner: Yes.

McClintock: No. It has been tried in other countries with disastrous results.

Oil Exploration

Q. Do you think the present Mideast crisis justifies opening up additional parts of the California coastline to oil exploration? Connell: No. Exploration leads to pressure to drill. Our coastline needs protection, and we need to keep developing cleaner, more efficient energy alternatives that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Harner: I do not believe government should own or control real estate. I do believe oil companies should accept full responsibility for any damages done to another’s property.

McClintock: Yes. It is vital that we know where our oil deposits are located in the event of future crises. It’s too late to help for this one.

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? Connell: No.

Harner: The government should not own or control real estate.

McClintock: Local land-use decisions should remain in local hands without interference by state or federal government.

Mandatory Ride-Sharing

Q. Do you favor mandatory ride-sharing in an effort to meet government air pollution standards? Connell: No. Business should encourage ride-sharing as one option in an overall plan to meet clean-air standards, but it should not be mandated. The state must continue to develop mass transit.

Harner: No. I do not favor government pollution standards or mandatory ride-sharing. Pollution standards only absolve polluters from responsibility.

McClintock: No. I am tired of government nannying us to death. People should have the right to decide for themselves how to get to work in the morning.

Political Funding

Q. Do you support full or partial public funding of political campaigns? Connell: Yes. I favor reforms such as the program used by qualified contenders in presidential campaigns, which provides matching funds for small contributions in exchange for limiting spending to a reasonable amount.

Harner: To reduce corruption in political campaign funding we need to reduce the power of politicians. This power must be returned to the individuals from whom it was taken.

McClintock: No. Thomas Jefferson said it best: “To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”

Income Disclosure

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

Harner: No. It is more important that we abolish the income tax all together.

McClintock: No.

Water Pipeline

Q. Do you support a new pipeline linking Ventura County to the state water system that brings water from Northern California? Connell: Yes. As long as the linkage has careful environmental and growth controls, and is part of a statewide water resource management and conservation effort.

Harner: No.

McClintock: Yes. Since 1963, Ventura residents have paid $46.7 million for the right to use state water--a right we have never exercised for lack of a pipeline. The hardship of this drought is the direct result of this lack of foresight.

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, requiring them to attend extensive counseling, drug education sessions and monthly drug testing? Connell: No. This measure would divert needed resources for drug enforcement from where it is needed most. Our first priority must be to crack down on the large drug dealers and gangs that provide drugs to our children.

Harner: No. Drug abuse should not be a crime. It’s a serious health problem.

McClintock: Yes.

CONTENDERSGinny Connell, 50, a Democrat, is chairwoman of the Ventura County Democratic Party and former chairwoman of the Ventura County Women’s Equity Coalition. A Thousand Oaks resident, she is a marriage and family therapist.

David A. Harner, 38, a Libertarian, is a clinical laboratory scientist. Harner, who lives in Thousand Oaks, has been an active member of the Libertarian Party for eight years.

Tom McClintock, 34, a Republican, was first elected to the state Assembly in 1982. McClintock, a Thousand Oaks resident, is a former aide to state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita).