Decision ’92 : VOTING IN THE VALLEY / AN ELECTION GUIDE : ASSEMBLY / 40th DISTRICT : Q and A

Questions were sent to candidates in September. Answers have been edited to fit the space.

State Spending

Q. What do you believe is the single most wasteful program in state government?

Bailey: The state Legislature. Instead of solving the problems of average Californians, such as jobs, health care and education, their incompetence has made the suffering worse. What a waste of $140 million they are.

Friedman: The workers’ compensation system is in dire need of comprehensive reforms. Employer costs are among the highest in the country while employee benefits are among the lowest. Fraud and waste must be eliminated.

Glasser: The real problem is our underspending in education, for which we try to compensate by wastefully overspending for an ever-growing prison system.

Heidt: California’s fraud-ridden workers’ compensation program.

Vernon: Public education. I estimate that approximately one-third of all funds expended for K-12 public education are wasted on excess administration.

Indispensable Program

Q. Are there any state programs you believe should never be cut? If so, what?

Bailey: Yes, education. While reforms are needed to reduce the waste in administrative costs, any savings must be redirected to the classroom to reduce class size, fund textbooks and supplies, increase teacher pay and install air-conditioning.

Friedman: Funding for public education should never be cut; it should be increased.

Glasser: Welfare for the poor. I also oppose cuts in health, education or programs for the aged and physically or mentally impaired.

Heidt: In a time when recession continues to cripple economic growth and restrict revenues, we must find ways to reduce the cost of all government programs.

Vernon: No.

Taxes on Wealthy

Q. Do you support a November ballot initiative that would raise taxes on wealthy individuals, corporations and banks while repealing 1991 sales tax hikes?

Bailey: Yes. We need to close the unfair tax loopholes for the very wealthy so that everyone pays their fair share.

Friedman: Yes.

Glasser: Absolutely.

Heidt: No. I favor repealing the 1991 sales tax hike but I oppose the “soak the rich” ballot initiative.

Vernon: No. This will drive more jobs out of California.

Gay Rights

Q. Do you support legislation to ban job discrimination against homosexuals in California?

Bailey: Yes.

Friedman: Yes.

Glasser: Yes.

Heidt: No.

Vernon: No.

Business Exodus

Q. Do you believe businesses are leaving California due to a hostile business environment? If yes, how would you make California more attractive to business?

Bailey: No. Businesses are leaving to increase their profit margins by moving to regions that have cheaper land and labor costs. California needs to improve the education and the training of its work force to remain competitive worldwide.

Friedman: There are several issues that affect the business environment in California. Defense cuts, the recession, the rise in workers’ compensation costs are some examples. I support tough measures that will reform the workers’ compensation system so that employer costs will be decreased and fraudulent stress claims will be eliminated. In addition, I support job creation programs that foster the conversion of military aerospace technologies to civilian uses.

Glasser: Possibly. Businesses are moving because housing and health insurance are lower elsewhere, so the employer can pay less while the worker can maintain the standard of living he/she is accustomed to. Solution: national health insurance and regulated housing costs.

Heidt: Yes. Reform workers’ compensation; shorten and combine the permit and licensing process for employers; reform stringent Cal-OSHA and AQMD standards to conform with federal regulations; reduce corporate taxes and put back incentives in the tax structure to promote investment and job creation; reduce sales and personal income taxes.

Vernon: Yes. Laws prosecuting workers’ compensation fraud should be vigorously enforced. Licensing, regulation and taxes must be reduced or eliminated.

Health Insurance

Q. Do you support requiring California businesses to provide health insurance to employees or contribute to a fund to provide health care for the uninsured?

Bailey: Yes. The 6.4 million uninsured Californians, mostly workers and their dependents, deserve to be covered.

Friedman: We must create a health insurance system that not only provides universal coverage, but also contains the escalating costs of health care. Of the 6 million Californians without health insurance, 90% work or are part of a family where at least one member works. I support AB 14, which would require employers to provide health insurance while giving employers relief from the spiraling costs.

Glasser: The ideal would be national health care funded by the budgets from obsolete wartime projects.

Heidt: No. Raising taxes would create more unemployment, cause more businesses to leave the state and put the state more in debt.

Vernon: No. The state has no business interfering in the private contractual agreements of employees and employers.

College Tuition

Q. Should tuition at state universities and colleges be increased to help offset state budget deficits?

Bailey: No. The Constitution should be amended to allow for a maximum 5% fee increase per year.

Friedman: I am opposed to the 40% fee increase, which will seriously reduce access to higher education for many Californians.

Glasser: No. Education should be free for all, including the undocumented.

Heidt: Not if at all possible. Before increasing tuition, the state must stop mismanaging the universities and colleges. Far too much money is being spent on administrators’ salaries and expenses.

Vernon: Yes. Students at public universities should be charged the full cost of their education. Those who cannot pay should assume a debt against future earnings.

School Bonds

Q. Do you support reducing the votes needed to pass a school construction bond issue from two-thirds to a simple majority?

Bailey: No.

Friedman: Yes.

Glasser: Yes.

Heidt: No.

Vernon: No.

Death Penalty

Q. Do you support capital punishment for any crimes? If so, which ones?

Bailey: Yes. Only for crimes against society, such as the murder of a police officer or the assassination of a public official.

Friedman: The death penalty is appropriate in limited circumstances.

Glasser: No.

Heidt: Yes. First-degree murder.

Vernon: With reservations, yes. For first-degree murder.

Affirmative Action

Q. In general, do you think affirmative action in employment of women and members of minority groups has not gone far enough, or has gone too far, or is about right?

Bailey: Upper-level management still does not represent the diversity of the local or state population.

Friedman: In some cases, it has worked effectively; in other cases, it hasn’t. I support affirmative action programs that recruit and train women and minority applicants. I oppose quotas.

Glasser: It has not gone far enough until we see 50% men/women on the job and proportional representation racially. Women and minorities still have trouble moving up the ladder.

Heidt: Gone too far. Individuals should be hired on the basis of ability.

Vernon: Gone too far. Such laws violate the right to freedom of association.

Abortion Rights

Q. Do you support a woman’s unrestricted right to an abortion within the first three months of pregnancy?

Bailey: Yes.

Friedman: Yes.

Glasser: Yes, and at any time she chooses.

Heidt: No.

Vernon: Yes.

Welfare Benefits

Q. Do you support Gov. Pete Wilson’s proposal to reduce welfare benefits for a family of three by 10% immediately, to $597 a month, and by another 15% for families with able-bodied adults who were not working?

Bailey: No. Tens of thousands of families would become homeless.

Friedman: I support the part of Wilson’s welfare reform that would reduce the welfare grant for new residents in the state. Wilson’s proposal to slash the grant by up to 25% punishes children while failing to provide any job training or meaningful work incentives.

Glasser: No.

Heidt: Yes.

Vernon: Yes.