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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
Budget,
Government reform,
Higher education,
Major issues
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. How will you prioritize the budget choices the Legislature must make to align the state’s income and spending?
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Answer from H. Christian Gunderson:
Instead of only thinking about taxing someone or firing someone work of creating more income coming into the budget.
My solutions include: have 25% of credit card fees go to our schools it would add billions for education and free up the state budget and require multinational banks to loan a 25% percentage of deposits to local small businesses.
If California brokered all health insurance this would decrease the cost for all small businesses and single families and still allow for as much shopping around as people would want. California brokering health insurance could save a family $2000-$5000 or more a year. And have a 5% commission from the health insurance to increase state revenues.
Another idea is to have California certify Canadian pharmaceutical websites for quality and safety. This would save 50 to 80% off of medications and certify that they are safe as walking across the street to local drugstore. By attaching a 5% safety fee to the participating websites, this would also increase revenues for California.
Answer from Peter J. Mancus:
1. Make difficult decisions realistically based on sound policy arising from excellent reasoning, not "compassion" that is calculated to pander to groups that demand more entitlements that help to bankrupt the state; 2. Say "No" to powerful unions to break their control of state government; 3. Drastically cut wasteful spending and programs that do not work; 4. Promote "tough love", namely, instead of making the poor comfortable in their poverty by giving them "fish" [entitlements/welfare], teach them how to "fish" [develop a marketable skill] and created incentives to motivate them to work for a living. 5. Create cash incentives for anyone who discloses an excellent true solution for wasteful spending or wasteful practices.
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2. What types of changes or reforms, if any, do you think are important to make our state government function more effectively?
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Answer from H. Christian Gunderson:
Putting the people first a head of any party, money, or group.
As your future Assembly Member, my vision is simple: provide transparency, stop bills that hurt Californians, support bills that help change the lives of 37 million Californians for the better. I plan to be pro-active and fight to make Marin and Sonoma an even better place to live and work. Thank you for your vote.
Answer from Peter J. Mancus:
1. Relentlessly and loudly demand that the Calif Attorney General and the local District Attorneys prosecute approximately 1,800 of California's 1,900 state judges who have committed felonies by accepting illegal extra compensation, which amounts to bribes, in violation of Article VI, Section 19 of California's Constitution, and repeal SBX211 which unlawfully granted these crooked judges retroactive immunity for their felonies. When the judiciary takes bribes and is crooked, when the Legislature gives them retroactive immunity, when the Governor signs immunity into law, and when the Attorney General and District Attorneys refuse to prosecute crooked judges, in violation of their duties [Calif. Constitution Art. 5, Sec. 13],there is no "checks and balances" and there is a 100% breakdown of constitutional California state government. We now have government by and for public serpents, which is intolerable. Our courtrooms are no longer "Temples of Justice". They have become viper pits presided over by crooked judges who should be pulled down from the bench. 2. We need to elect "statesmen" type candidates who will say "No!" to powerful public employees sector unions that have their hooks into most Democrat lawmakers so these new "statesmen" candidates will replace "politician" types who have sold out to the powerful unions and put the unions' memberships' interests before the public's. 3) We have to be extraordinarily serious about balancing the budget and spend taxpayer revenue wisely and stop relying on "smoke and mirror" gimmicks to claim we have a balanced budget when we really don't. 4) We have to repeal many forms of "immunity" for government officials who make horrible decisions and then hide behind their "immunities". Immunity for public officials encourages negligence, incompetency, malicious behavior, and corrupt behavior. It is absurd that an official who is required by oath to support the Constitution enjoys immunity when he/she violates the Constitution. 5) We need a state level "Department of Bill of Rights Enforcement" to do what is legally required to deter and to stop governments' agents from violating citizens' rights which will hold rogue government agents who violate citizens' rights accountable. These reforms are necessary to hold governments' agents accountable, to make government obey its own rules, to secure citizens' rights, to make government responsive to citizens' rights, to restore confidence in government, and to promote respect for the law.
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3. Fees for public higher education have gone up dramatically and funding has been cut. Is this a priority concern, and if so, what measures would you propose to address it?
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Answer from H. Christian Gunderson:
Education must be our number one goal. My idea is to cap credit card rates at 20% and have 25% of the fees go to local schools. Banks helped get us into this mess, they can help us get out. And they would still make 15% profit on the almost free money from the FED. This one idea would raise billions for local schools and ease the budgets issues.
Marin has 19 school districts, Sonoma 46 school districts I would consolidate a lot to cut overhead. In the IJ there was an article about how good the Finland schools are, the 1st thing they did was consolidate school districts and make the superintendent teach one day a week. Also pension reform.
Answer from Peter J. Mancus:
Yes. Making higher public education much more affordable is a major concern. I am a product of the Univ. of Calif, undergraduate and law school. It was much more affordable in the late 1960's and early 1970's. We must invest in higher education because that is a major gateway, or barrier, to upward social-economic mobility and much of California's future depends on how well educated our children become and are. One major step to make higher public education much more affordable is to return to how the state budget was handled in the 1960's and 1970's, when there was a lot less wasteful spending and a lot less "entitlement" government handouts. We have to encourage citizens to think in terms of them being self-sufficient and less dependent on government, waiting for their monthly entitlement check(s).
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4. What other major issues do you think the Legislature must address? What are your own priorities?
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Answer from Peter J. Mancus:
I incorporate here what I stated earlier about the imperative need to stop and to eradicate entrenched corruption in this state. We do not have to tolerate corruption. We must not tolerate it. The stark, sobering, truth is this: Most of California's state judicial officers [judges] have been accepting unlawful extra compensation, which is a felony, which, if the real law was obeyed, makes them ineligible to remain on the bench. Yet, the California Legislature, Governors [Republican and Democrat], and California's Attorney General and District Attorney's have given these crooked judges a free pass that is itself unlawful. I do not believe in "too big to jail". I believe in "No man is above the law." On my campaign Internet site, http://www.petermancus.com, I have posted my critical analysis of the 2012 California Republican Party Platform and the 2012 California Democrat Party Platform, plus, I have posted a long opinion-editorial about what would be my major legislative goals if I am elected. I discuss, in substantial detail, approximately 18 major legislative goals. I urge voters to go to http://www.petermancus.com and read what I wrote that is posted there for their edification.
Answer from H. Christian Gunderson:
We need to decrease business regulations California puts out 40,000 news regulations a year, require multinational banks to loan a 25% percentage of deposits to local small businesses. Ask business leader specific ways to help business something the professional politician in Sacramento don't do. Stop the Farm Bill which may increase food prices 25-50% during harvest and crush and put 1000's of farmers out of business. Re fund the redevelopment agencies.
Support Gov. Brown's 12 point pension plan fully along with Marin's and Sonoma's pension reforms.
A number of things I would also wish to see are:
Make sure they never receive a pension bigger than their last paycheck.
Retire when you want, but don't start collecting any pension until age 67½.
Create a hybrid plan that limits unfunded mandates.
Do something about courts which are limiting action on people still employed and have pensions that need to be modified.
In short don't put a Band-Aid on a gaping pension wound.
Global Warming I would like to see a Palm Oil Ban it's the number one reason for the cutting rain forests around the world. Palm Oil is a food additive and it's unnecessary. Banning it's would save thousands and thousands of acres of rain forests and it would slow down Global Warming
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.
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League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
