State Senate candidates square off in Ventura County
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Tony Strickland

At a business forum in Camarillo last week, HannahBeth Jackson and Tony Strickland, candidates for the 19th District state Senate seat, had few disagreements on the problems facing California, although they differed on how best to solve them.

Strickland, a Republican, and Jackson, a Democrat, are vying to fill the seat Tom McClintock will vacate at the end of the year. McClintock, who represented the 19th District in the state Senate for 22 years, will term out in December. He announced plans earlier this year to run for a congressional seat in Northern California.

The 19th District extends from Port Hueneme and Camarillo to Moorpark, Simi Valley and the northwestern end of the San Fernando Valley.

Strickland and Jackson spoke to several dozen business owners and city and county officials at the May 9 forum put on by the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce at Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo.

While both candidates want to attract more businesses to California, support public safety as a priority and said California could become a leader in green technology, they have different approaches.

Hanna-Beth Jackson

Businesses leaving the state

Jackson, a former prosecutor, said she doubts the accuracy of statistics that seem to show that businesses are leaving California en masse, but she sees education as the way to increase the number of businesses operating in the state.

Strengthening the state's infrastructure and investing in education "are the keys to economic success," Jackson said.

By offering quality education, California can attract and keep businesses here, she said. Corporations that have moved here said they did so because this is where they find talented employees, Jackson said.

In addition, by forming a publicprivate partnership with universities leading the way, California can entice businesses interested in developing environmentally friendly alternative-energy sources to move here, she said.

Strickland agreed with Jackson that the state could become a leader in developing green technology but said fewer stateimposed restrictions on employers are needed to attract and keep businesses here. He called for legislators to talk with business owners to learn firsthand about the problems they face.

He said California is turning into an economic development testing ground for corporations that move to states that are friendlier to business, such Arizona and Nevada, because they're frustrated with the high cost of doing business here.

Other issues

With the state facing a deficit as high as $20 billion next year, Strickland said legislators also need to have more oversight on programs already in place instead of spending more money.

One example is the state's Healthy Families program, which offers low-cost insurance for pregnant women and children up to 18 years old. Many uninsured people are unaware they're eligible for the program, which includes health, dental and vision coverage, so the state should create an information campaign and enroll those who are eligible instead of creating new healthcare legislation, he said.

"Let's have some followthrough," Strickland said.

Both Jackson and Strickland said public safety is a priority, and Jackson supports investing in education as a way to decrease the number of future prisoners.

She said a sizable number of people in the state's prison system have learning disabilities and if schools can reach children with disabilities early in life it might prevent some from ending up in prison.

Strickland said he opposes the governor's across-the-board 10 percent cut proposed in January, because it could mean early release dates for prisoners.

He also said the state should change how it funds school districts, allowing local school boards to determine the best way to spend state money. The state presently requires school districts to spend some funds only on particular programs, what's known as categorical funding. But that method encourages a use-it-or-lose-it mentality that's not the most effective or efficient use of state money, Strickland said.

If voters are unhappy with how a school board spends its money, they can replace those local officials more easily than the ones in Sacramento, he said.

"Government closer to the people is best for the people," Strickland said.

To relieve the state's housing and employment problems, Jackson again pointed to the state's financial support of education as one answer. California could encourage people to enter occupations that are or soon will be in short supply, such as doctors and nurses, and give first-time homebuyers a leg-up by offering favorable loan programs designed for them, she said.

But to make it happen, legislators from both sides of the aisle will have to cooperate, said Jackson, who chaired a bipartisan caucus while in the Assembly.

"We need to come together," she said.