My work as a local elected official, serving on the Escondido city council, has given me the experience to work with and represent all my constituents.  It is important to respect everyone you come in contact with and allow all voices to be heard, whether you agree with them or not.  Being respectful of others and differing opinions has been a huge issue in our nation.  Just because you don't agree with someone, doesn't mean you can't get along.  The idea of censuring individuals or shutting down events because of disagreements with the speaker is not what Freedom of Speech is about.   All ideas are valuable, people should be heard and need to be part of any civil discourse.   The problem with society today is the opportunity for civil discourse has been overthrown by radicals with a agenda to shut down speech or intimidate.   I have worked hard and successfully in local government and in the Assembly to listen to ideas, work with people of all political ideology and get things done for the people of my district and California.  

Too many see housing as out of reach.  Creating jobs without providing access to affordable housing drives up income inequality and drives down consumer spending which, in turn, slows the economy.  It is a current economic fact that housing costs continue to rise while wages and income for working families is stagnant. 

Housing is a fundamental need.  No Californian should have to choose between paying for housing or buying groceries.  California is leading the national recovery and has the 5th largest economy in the world, but it is producing far more jobs than homes.  The current housing shortage costs our economy $140 billion per year in lost economic opportunity.  Equally concerning, business employers know that the high cost of housing impedes the ability to attract and retain the best workers. 

Since 2005, California has only produced 308 new housing units for every 1000 new residents.  California is projected to grow to 50 million residents by the year 2050.  These statistics are untenable and have brought us to a housing crisis.

We can manage a Smart Growth Plan.  Cities remain unmotivated to create housing in California because the property taxes do not fuel their budgets.  Building retail creates sales tax revenue that does fuel their budgets.  We must reverse these motivational barriers to building affordable housing.

If elected to the State Assembly, I will work with the next Governor toward a Smart Growth plan.  First, this November, we must pass the $4 billion statewide bond measure for affordable housing.  Next, let’s double the $85 million in tax credits to encourage investment in affordable housing.  Let’s build a strong middle housing supply and support working families by streamlining regulations to make it easier for builders to produce housing.  Further, lets provide access to tax increment financing, a tool successfully used by prior redevelopment agencies.  Let’s create a public state bank that invests in infrastructure and housing. 

A Smart Growth plan will require the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) to be done annually or biannually.  Let’s link transportation funding to housing goals and move light rail projects forward like the Temecula – San Diego Sprinter project. 

Finally, let’s be smart about the realities surrounding homelessness and promote an interagency council on community solutions.  Let’s fund in-reach programs in our state prisons to prevent inmates from being released into homelessness.  Lastly, lets enhance programs like the Housing Disability Assistance Program which provides SSI advocacy services to chronically homeless adults.  By expanding social services, including mental health in our healthcare, bridge housing and permanent supportive housing, we can win and change the trajectory of homelessness. 

There are many components of this Smart Growth plan, but with the political will to get the job done, we can stop the patchwork development that passes without infrastructure, schools or traffic mitigation plans. 

I see many factors that contribute to waning faith, depressed voter turnout, and general political apathy, all of which are components of general "civility in America".  The divisive nature of our discourse and the belief by many citizens is directly related to the reality that their elected officials primarily represent those with the deepest pockets.  Too many feel that their voices go unheard and overlooked.  Further, civility in America is exasperated by poor leadership examples we now have in the Washington, DC.  Our children are confused by the moving boundaries of civility. 

If elected, I will use my position to bolster youth leadership in my communities. I will support our public schools and the teachers who guide our children through the education matrix.  I will support youth sports and the coaches who guide our children through teamwork and sportsmanship.  I will work with civic groups, senior groups, veteran groups in my community to grow confidence in government and governance. 

Our health and climate are inextricably linked. From polluted air quality to shrinking food and waters supplies, communities across California—and around the world—are already experiencing climate change's harmful health impacts. The looming effects upon California's communities, particularly those that are disproportionately vulnerable, are becoming increasingly urgent and severe.  I support the California Clean Energy Act of 2018 (SB-100) and the targets toward a zero-carbon energy supply by 2045.  I will work to accelerate these programs to achieve zero-carbon energy supply by 2035.

Although the Governor announced the "end" of the current drought climate, water is still the top issue for Californians.  California’s record-level drought has drawn attention to the state’s neglected water management challenge. However, the state’s obsolete, inefficient water infrastructure system threatens effective statewide water delivery even during non-drought conditions.  I am focused on helping our region implement or adopt federal and state infrastructure improvements to meet these water management challenges.  I will also work directly with the eight (8) Tribal Nations that occupy our area.  Water distribution works hand-in-hand with the natural rights of their sovereign nations. 

California’s children must have access to a free, individually appropriate, high-quality public education from preschool through college or vocational degree. Education must provide a well-rounded curriculum including the arts, music and physical education. Teachers as the stewards of our future, should be well paid and work in safe learning environments with up-to-date equipment and learning tools.  Additionally, schools are understaffed, especially considering the number of special needs students who are  being identified/ who are being mainstreamed/ who require personal aides/ who compose an ever increasing proportion of our public school demographic. The Local Control Funding Formula attempts to tackles these entrenched challenges, but strong leadership in Sacramento is required to make sure our kids and grandkids are receiving top notch education. By repositioning funding priorities, correcting the injustices of how our tax code treats commercial property, and establishing a taxing strategy for the implementation of cannibus, we can assure our public schools are fully funded, restore the confidence in public education throughout the State of California.