Q&A; : ‘I Would Like to Be Able to Bridge the Gaps’

Democrat Betty Karnette, a junior high school math teacher from Long Beach, stunned the political Establishment when she defeated 14-year incumbent Republican Assemblyman Gerald N. Felando in the 54th Assembly District. Karnette spoke about herself, the race and her plans last week over several cups of tea at a local restaurant.

Q Why do you think the press and the pundits, even your own party leaders, did not see you as a credible challenger to Assemblyman Gerald Felando?

A “That’s simple. I don’t fit the pattern for political people. I’ve never been anybody’s assistant. I’ve never been a big officer in the party. I’ve never really made a lot of noise unless I had something to say. You don’t see me written up in the newspapers. I just don’t fit the pattern. But that’s another reason I won. People are sick of the pattern. They are sick, sick, sick of it.”

Q Now that you have been elected, what’s first on your list of priorities?

“Well, of course, I’m very interested in getting jobs in the district. That has to be No. 1. Education is terribly important to me, but how do you improve education? You have to have a good economy to get money into the education budget.

“One thing I am going to try to do, and I don’t know it will work, but I would like to be able to bridge the gaps between the various groups. Everyone has to communicate. It has to be a concerted effort just like it was with my campaign. You have to know where you are going and you have to get everybody going that way.

“If we get people together, the businesses, the corporations, the unions, the educators, the thinkers, the artists, the librarians--I am talking about representatives from the whole community--and we start talking and decide which way we are going, I feel we will find that there are some things everyone agrees upon. Those are our common goals, and that’s where we start. Now that’s kind of a dream. I know it’s an idealistic approach, but it’s a goal, and we have to have a goal.”

Q What do you say, then, to those who are unemployed, who think there has already been too much talking?

A “What do you want to do? And they say, ‘This and this and this’ and I’ll look at it. I wouldn’t throw anything out. I agree we’ve done too much talking, but really, have we? I don’t know if people really talk to each other much except to the people that agree with each other. You know, the teachers get together here and they talk. The homeless representatives get together over there. Latinos get together over there. Is that talking? I don’t know. See, everybody has to work together to achieve something. We are not always going to agree on everything, but we all want the best for our communities and our families. Nobody wants to live in a hovel. Nobody wants to worry where their next meal is coming from.”

Q So what can we expect from you as a legislator?

A “The first two years I am going to get to know the district. My concentration will have to be on getting to know the people here and their concerns. I will try to be here every weekend. I don’t care about getting my name on bills. I’ll support good legislation and learn about the legislative process so that when something needs to be done in the district, I’ll know how.”

Q In the last week, you’ve been to Sacramento and back, been besieged by the press, had to return who knows how many phone calls. Are you nervous about what awaits you, and have you wondered just what you got yourself into?

A “Oh sure, I’m nervous. It’s just like being on athlete waiting on top of the high dive. There’s some stress, but you have got to do it. And I’ll do it. I’ve done just about everything else in my life. I’m sure there will be ups and downs, and there will be times that I’ll wish I could be home in bed, reading mysteries. And I’ll make mistakes. That’s inevitable. But they won’t be intentional, and I am going to try my very best to listen to the people in my district. I don’t have this Democrat-Republican thing, I really don’t. Most people are in the middle anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I am a Democrat, but I can represent the Republicans, the American Independents, the Libertarians, the Peace and Freedomers, the Greens, the declined-to-states, the non-voters. Everybody. I know I can.”