THE ISSUES

Gas tax

I strongly oppose the gas tax that was unilaterally imposed on all Californians. This tax hurts the most vulnerable among us the most. In addition to the new out-of-control car registration fees that were levied, the gas tax will lead to more people in poverty, the reduction of quality of life, and lead to more middle-class jobs leaving our state looking for financial relief. As your assemblyman, I will fight to reverse these taxes and help lead a coalition of the willing who believe we can fix our roads without burdening working families with stifling taxes and fees.

EDUCATION

I am a product of public education in San Diego and I’m proud to sit on the board of a highly successful local charter school. My parents taught me the value of education and I know that it can serve as a powerful path towards a high quality of life.

Unfortunately, today too many of our public schools are failing our students as laws are designed to benefit the impulses of special interests over the best interests of our children. I believe that a high-quality teacher should teach in every classroom but Sacramento has chosen to ignore this request, hindering our efforts to make our state’s education system among the envy of the nation once again.

Giving our local schools and parents more independence so they can best meet the needs of their students is the best way forward. I’m in favor of expanding charter schools in order to provide more educational choices. Career technical education should be made available so students leave with skills they can immediately use in the workforce. Community colleges, CSUs, and UCs need to remain affordable for working and middle-class families, and must direct funds into the classroom instead of toward a bloated administration.

Until we succeed in reforming California’s education system, we will continue to fail to meet the needs of the next generation and not provide the educational opportunities that will allow our children to live out the American Dream.

Sanctuary State

I'm opposed to the dangerous sanctuary state policies. The safety of our country should not be held hostage to politics. I support the rule of law and our constitution. Federal immigration law has to be enforced because without laws that govern the system, there is no system. If you agree with this position, please join my coalition here.

TAXES

Even though we have the highest taxes in the country, too many politicians in Sacramento demand the middle class and working families pay even more. Before I decided to run for Assembly, I volunteered to the fight against a massive new gas tax that is going to cost families and those who are in most in need.

California’s record-high budget remains in a surplus, though amazingly politicians insist on passing the largest gas tax increase in California history. They are also considering a new tax on real estate transactions, and even an assault on Proposition 13. I will fight their efforts that make California even more unaffordable.

The priorities of too many Sacramento politicians are clearly not yours. Instead of asking you to pay more every year to the State government, we should instead focus on funding core services like public safety, education, and infrastructure. By setting priorities for the services most important to our communities, we can fully fund the state government while saying NO to new taxes.

PUBLIC SAFETY

A critical fundamental responsibility of government is to ensure safe communities by providing high quality public safety services. Yet, decisions in the State Capitol seem to prioritize protecting criminals over families — and our State is suffering as a result.

Do you remember Proposition 47? Proposition 47 significantly weakened penalties for a number of crimes. This, combined with prison realignment—which flooded local jails with inmates from state prisons resulting in thousands of early releases—have turned our communities into a revolving door for criminals because there are no longer significant consequences for their actions. This has placed a tremendous strain on the work of California law enforcement and is causing violent crime to increase at an alarming level even as the rest of the country has experienced declines. This trend needs to be reversed.

Parents should not have to worry about their kids walking to school but if current trends continue, this will become a sad reality. We need leaders in Sacramento who are willing to put public safety first — something I will do from day one if elected to serve.

LIFE SCIENCES

The life science industry, along with the military and tourism, is a vital part of the San Diego economy. Starting in 1978 with the first biotech company, Hybritech, San Diego has become one the leading life science powerhouses, attracting some of the biggest names in pharmaceutical, scientific expertise, and philanthropy. The industry employs nearly 60,000 workers in San Diego County. The average wage for all life sciences positions in our county is more than $120,000 per year and the total economic impact of life sciences, direct and indirect, amounts to $36 billion for our region.

This success story has not come without a great deal of vision, investment, and encouragement from our community leaders and entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, too many of our elected officials choose to ignore the force multiplier of the life science community.

The growth of the computer industry transformed business in the last decade. In this decade, we are at the beginning of an equally dramatic transformation, driven not by the semiconductor, but by the life sciences revolution. In order to continue to be a leader in this area, which holds the only promise of treating and curing the world’s most pervasive diseases, our political leaders must understand, adopt, and help this industry thrive.

JOBS AND THE ECONOMY

California is consistently rated to have the Nation’s worst business climate. Taxes, red tape, and out of control regulations make it too difficult for businesses to open and thrive.

State bureaucrats and opportunistic lawyers have created a nightmare of regulations that invite endless lawsuits, which are most harmful to small business owners who are barely scraping by and cannot afford to fight litigation in court.

Sadly, California also has the highest poverty rate in the country. That is 9.1 million Californians who live in Poverty.

I believe that the best way to fight poverty is by creating new jobs and economic opportunity — not chasing them away with high taxes and stifling regulations. Getting Sacramento to focus on common sense ways to grow the economy will be one of my top priorities as an Assemblyman.

Veteran Affairs

The 76th Assembly district has the largest population of veterans in California — men and women who sacrificed to serve our state and nation.

As a vice commander of the Sons of the American Legion in Encinitas, I’ve been honored to be part of the lead veterans group that fights on behalf of the interests of veterans and service members, including support for veterans’ benefits such as pensions and the Veterans Health Administration.  

When I am in the Assembly, I will demand that the federal VA provide our veterans and their families with the timely services and support they are owed for their service. The VA’s failure to do this in past years is a disgrace and cannot be tolerated.

Honoring America’s promise to our military veterans will be a top priority for me in the Assembly — for those who have sacrificed so much to keep us safe.