Candidates Debate on Education, Crime, Housing, Film Industry

With less than three weeks till the Nov. 7 election, candidates in four key state legislative races in the San Fernando Valley clashed Friday over the best ways to fix schools and freeways and halt runaway film production.

The Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. forums, attended by about 50 Valley business leaders at the Airtel Plaza Hotel, featured sharp exchanges involving all eight major party candidates in the 21st Senate District and 41st, 43rd and 44th Assembly districts.

School breakup, a goal long sought by a core of Valley political activists, divided the 44th Assembly District candidates, with Republican television commentator Susan Carpenter McMillan of Pasadena supporting a split while Democrat Carol Liu, a La Canada Flintridge councilwoman, said Los Angeles schools Supt. Roy Romer should be given more time to fix things.

“If it’s not working in the Valley, we need to look at a different governmental structure,” Liu said. But she said she is neutral on whether a breakup may be required. ‘I’d like to let the decision be left to those affected. I’d like to give Romer some more time,” Liu said.

Carpenter McMillan said she supports the creation of an independent authority for schools in the Valley.

“I don’t want to give him [Romer] any more time,” she said. “The most important thing we can do is give local control back to families.”

Liu said her three decades of experience as a teacher, school administrator and more recently, parent volunteer, will help her find ways for Sacramento to help fix the schools.

“We need to reform the public school system, and who can do it better that someone who has experience behind the desk and in front of the desk?” Liu asked.

Carpenter McMillan said Liu’s long work in the schools means “Ms. Liu is responsible for what we have today, a school system that is 49th out of 50 states.”

The 44th District includes parts of Pasadena, La Canada Flintridge, Arleta, Glendale and Sunland Tujunga.

Education was also an issue in the debate between the Senate candidates, South Pasadena City Councilman Paul Zee, a Republican, and Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena).

Scott touted his experience as former president of Pasadena City College, saying, “I bring to you a wealth of experience in education and also a wealth of experience in the state Assembly.”

The assemblyman said he has pushed through legislation to increase teacher quality by providing loans for teacher training.

Zee said he will work to make sure every student can read, write, do math and operate computers. He criticized Scott as a liberal ideologue.

“Mr. Scott passes laws of an ideological nature, such as trigger locks,” Zee said. “He does not pass laws to improve the quality of life of his constituents.”

Scott countered that the child safety-lock bill he wrote will help reduce handgun deaths, which total 30,000 a year in this country.

“Mr. Zee, you can pooh-pooh the idea of a trigger lock, but 80% of Americans support them,” Scott said.

The two also clashed over transportation. Scott said he supports Gov. Gray Davis’ plan to spend $5.5 billion to fix freeways and develop mass transit.

Zee said the state should incur no new debt, as Davis proposes, because California faces a surplus of up to $16 billion, including millions “stolen” from cities in recent years.

“First we return the stolen money to the local communities--cities and counties alike,” Zee said. “We need the money to fix the transportation problem.”

On the issue of affordable housing, Scott said he supported legislation providing $500 million in incentives for new construction. But Zee said the state has neglected the issue during the time he has been on the South Pasadena City Council.

“I know for a fact that in the past nine years, we have received zero dollars from the state for housing,” Zee said.

Sacramento was also the focus of the debate in the 43rd Assembly District, where two attorneys, Democrat Dario Frommer and Republican Craig Missakian clashed over their differing experience.

Frommer said his work as chief of staff to a state senator and more recently as appointments secretary to Gov. Davis gives him knowledge about how to accomplish things in Sacramento.

“My opponent likes to deride me as a state government insider,” Frommer said. “Those experiences taught me a lot about how state government works.”

Missakian, a former county prosecutor, said his experience will help him make the state more effective on crime issues.

The Republican said Frommer’s Sacramento experience “comes with certain strings,” while Missakian portrayed himself as an “independent fighter for the district.”

Frommer proposed an energy summit to find ways to provide new emergency supplies and keep rates reasonable, while Missakian said he would work to streamline the process to bring new power plants on line.

The two disagreed on the best way to stop film production from leaving California.

Frommer has proposed creation of a state investment bank to help provide independent filmmakers access to financing if they make their movies in California.

Missakian dismissed the idea.

“You would have a system where government is deciding which movies are made in the state,” Missakian said. “That’s a mistake. I don’t think that is the best use of tax dollars, when we have a lot of schools that need to be built.”

Frommer said Missakian’s idea of providing tax incentives to film companies does not go far enough. The Democrat also called for a more aggressive marketing effort by the state as a film locale.

Runaway film production was an issue that also divided the 41st Assembly District candidates, teacher and former Agoura Hills Mayor Fran Pavley, a Democrat, and nurse and children’s rights advocate Jayne Murphy Shapiro, a Republican.

The district includes parts of Agoura Hills, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Woodland Hills, Encino and Calabasas.

Shapiro accused Pavley, an alternate member of the California Coastal Commission, of being part of the problem of runaway production.

“One of the reasons film production is leaving is the Coastal Commission is not very friendly to the film industry,” Shapiro said, adding that she would work to streamline the permit process.

Pavley said several film companies are currently shooting in the Coastal Commission jurisdiction.

“Permits are definitely possible,” Pavley said. “You just have to go through the procedure. Some of the processes are rather lengthy.”

She said her four terms on the Agoura Hills City Council provided “invaluable legislative experience,” that will serve her well in Sacramento.

But Shapiro said she is the more independent of the two.

“I’m not beholden to unions,” Shapiro said. “I’m not beholden to the party. I’m an individualistic, independent thinker.”