League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Orange County, CA June 3, 2014 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Member of the State Assembly; District 73

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 Anna Bryson: In 2012, it was discovered that the California State Department of Parks and Recreation had since the late 1990s been hiding away tens of millions of dollars in a slush fund. Further investigation revealed that the same sort of thing was going on in the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. This state-government park bureaucracy was saying it would have to close parks to the public. Meanwhile, it had millions in secret accounts known only to top bureaucrats. California no longer has a central transparency website, and California departmental and agency websites are not searchable for spending data. California does not provide spending information on off-budget agencies and noncontract spending. California used to have a dedicated, one-stop-shopping transparency site where those interested could look at spending information from the various state departments. From my Assembly campaign platform: "We need greater transparency and more accountability in California budgeting and spending. We need the wise stewardship and responsible use of the people's money. California's government should be able to live within its means. Politicians and public officials shouldn't be able to turn to taxpayers' wallets whenever government spending gets out of control. "As such, I support a balanced budget that puts taxpayer's priorities like education, law enforcement, and transportation first." Answer from Wendy Gabriella: I would prioritize the fiscal choices as follows: 1) Establishment and maintenance of a Rainy Day Fund which ensures revenue growth is actually saved in good years. 2) Debt repayment: California is presently $340 billion in debt. Pursuant to the May 2014 revised budget, 50% of the reserves would be used to pay down the debt. 3) Revision of the statute under which the Governor can avoid placing money into the Rainy Day fund to include objective criteria. Under current law, Governor can simply issue a proclamation. Answer from Jesse Petrilla: California does not have a money problem, Sacramento has a spending problem. Less bureaucracy and less government means a better economy for our state. 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 Jesse Petrilla: While I support protecting the environment, current over-regulation on environmental issues is greatly hindering our ability to rapidly build new needed infrastructure to support our growing water needs. Answer from Anna Bryson: For years, politicians in California have been warned of the imminent water-supply problem. If we'd started investing in our water infrastructure then, including new reservoirs, groundwater storage, and desalination plants, we wouldn't be in this situation. We need to take back control of water policy from opponents of storage and desalination and start building now. We need additional pipes and aqueducts to get water from Northern California to Southern California. We need rational pricing. In drought situations, we need policies in place that put farmers over fish. Answer from Wendy Gabriella: Policy changes regarding water conveyance and sustainability are critical for the future of the state. A vigorous conservation program should be implemented in every city. City conservation goals should be set with incentives for meeting those goals. State officials must establish procedures for monitoring and protecting our underground aquifers which were depleted during 2008-2009. Critically, passage of a water bond is necessary to provide resources for increased storage capacity, recycling facilities, and ecosystem restoration. 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 Jesse Petrilla: Education funds should be prioritized more towards the students, and less towards bureaucracy. Unfortunately, the current system allows too much wasteful spending that does not make down to the students and place their needs first. Answer from Wendy Gabriella: Student performance and student success rates are correlated with per pupil funding. According to recent Census Bureau data, in 2012, California spent $9,183 per pupil placing California 16th lowest in the US. We can do better. The highest amount spent per pupil was in New York at $19,552 and the lowest $6,659 in Idaho. New York has one of the best student performance indicators Proposition 30 will help address this issue but it is only a temporary solution to a long term problem. Thus, the legislature must develop and implement a consistent K-12 funding mechanism. Answer from Anna Bryson: During my tenure on the school board, Capistrano Unified School District has risen to being the highest-performing large school district in the state. While the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is an imperfect yardstick, California is near the bottom in the ranks of states in results on that test. We should be in the top ten. Here are some of the priorities that need attention: 1. Close the Latino learning gap. 2. Bring math achievement levels closer to achievement levels in East Asian "tiger" countries. 3. Guard against neglecting the students in the middle of the pack. 4. Raise reading comprehension levels. Increase student knowledge of background information as a basis for reading comprehension. 5. Defend a rigorous course of study. 6. Maintain school safety and classroom discipline. We also need stable, predictable budgets for school districts. The existing erratic, up-and-down guessing game every year prevents school districts from planning ahead in a sensible way. This annual yo-yo of uncertainty is detrimental to schoolchildren and their parents, as well as unfair to administrators and teachers. In communities across California, including many large urban areas, public schools are failing our children. Charter schools in these communities (and others) provide public school options for parents. There are many examples of charter schools providing transformational opportunities. From my Assembly campaign platform: "A solid K-12 education is a civil right. Every child deserves the opportunity to have a good education. We need teachers who are successful in getting children to learn the subject matter. We can do better than the national Common Core academic standards and gain a competitive advantage for California schoolchildren -- by expecting Algebra I in eighth grade; emphasizing mastery of subject-matter content, not requiring unproven teaching methods; assigning great literature; and protecting student privacy. An effective preschool program should concentrate on children from disadvantaged families, providing aid where it is most needed. Both private and public preschool options should be available." 4. What other major issues do you think the Legislature must address? What are your own priorities? Answer from Wendy Gabriella: Continued economic growth, addressing water conservation,and education are top priorities. In addition, the legislature needs to address comprehensive California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reform including the energy extraction process known as hydraulic fracking and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Answer from Anna Bryson: My legislative priorities: Reduce unfair and confusing state regulations that make it hard to start a business here. Cut waste and pay down state debt so that we can actually have a real balanced budget without raising taxes. Hold schools accountable for results; make sure every California child has the opportunity to get a great education. Answer from Jesse Petrilla: Regulatory reform is greatly needed in Sacramento to reduce the burden on California businesses. As a business owner myself, it often feels as if I am being punished for doing business in our state. It is no wonder why so many businesses are fleeing California. Less regulation and lower taxes would mean a better economy and more jobs. 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.