League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Los Angeles County, CA June 3, 2014 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Member of the State Assembly; District 62

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Fiscal Choices, Water, Education, Your Priorities Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. How would you prioritize the fiscal choices the Legislature must make to align the state’s income and spending? Answer from Paul Kouri: Priority should be on addressing the short comings of our schools (both K-12 and post-secondary. Funding must be increased, as must leadership - esp w/ regards to common core implementation (K-12). Revenue can come from closing oil extraction fees, closing prop 13 loopholes, and shifting budget where able. 2. Given our current drought condition, concern for water rights and usage is an important issue. What solutions would you support to address our water problems? Answer from Paul Kouri: Invest in the water infrastructure delivery system - i.e. repair leaky pipes and install water meters in the over 250,000 homes and businesses that don't have them. We also need to invest in drip-irrigation where feasible and build water capture areas to ensure more rain and snow-melt is retained. 3. California high school students rank lower than many states in student performance. What do you see as the ongoing role of the Legislature in addressing this problem? Answer from Paul Kouri: Reduce class size and ensure districts have common core curriculum implementation plans that are properly funded (i.e. ensure there is funding in place for 2-3 weeks of teacher training.). Legislature must also provide oversight to ensure this is rolled out correctly. We must get this done right. 4. What other major issues do you think the Legislature must address? What are your own priorities? Answer from Paul Kouri: Infrastructure modernization. We must modernize our roads, rails, port-rail systems, airports, etc to ensure California is competitive. We should also invest in fiber optic Internet connection and improve our electrical grid. Upgrading these systems coupled w/ improved education ensure we'll continue to be competitive and attract companies and investment dolls. A big par;t of this is the improvement of our university system to ensure enrollment is increased (extra slots reserved for California residents) and that costs are reduced to ensure CA grads are not saddled w/ too much debt. Total US student debt is over $1T and this hurts the growth, for e.g., of our housing market as fewer young people can't afford to buy a home. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. References to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.