Minor-Party Candidates Differ on Health Care, Tuition Raises

Along with Roberti and Rowen, three minor-party candidates appear on the June 2 ballot: Glenn Bailey of the Green Party, Gary Kast of the Peace and Freedom Party and John Vernon of the Libertarian Party.

The following are selected views of Bailey and Vernon. Kast could not be reached for comment and did not return a Times candidate questionnaire.

Glenn Bailey

Bailey supports a national health-care system in which the federal government would pay all costs, saying universal health care is “a right, not a privilege.”

He believes businesses are leaving California not because of a hostile regulatory environment, but because they want to “increase their profit margins by moving to regions that have cheaper land and labor costs.” Bailey opposes increases in state college tuition to help balance the state budget. He supports abortion rights and the death penalty.

He opposes opening California’s coast to oil drilling, saying the United States must reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and encourage mass transit and electric-powered vehicles.

John Vernon

Vernon opposes a national health insurance program, saying it would drive up the cost of health care. Employer-supplied health insurance, he said, should be “strictly by voluntary agreement between employer and employee.”

He believes that state tax increases approved by Gov. Wilson last year should be repealed.

Vernon supports oil exploration off the California coast, “with the proviso that oil companies be fully liable for any environmental damage.” He believes abortion should remain legal.

Vernon supports boosting tuition at state colleges because “those who benefit . . . from education should bear the expense for its provision.”

He also supports the school voucher initiative, which would supply state grants to parents so they could enroll their children in the school of their choice, be it public or private.