8th Assembly District Candidate’s Forum

Here on The Davis Voice, we tend to concentrate on hyper-local public policy and city elections.  But, on June 3rd Democrats will also be voting in a primary for our Assembly seat.  Although the rest of the district isn’t nearly as liberal as Davis, it is a solidly Democratic district.

So, the winner of the primary will most likely win the seat in the general election.
The 8th Assembly District of California encompasses most of Yolo and Solano Counties.  Our current representative is Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, who has termed out and mounted a campaign for the State Senate.

On June 3rd, Democratic Party voters from Benicia, Fairfield, Vacaville, Winters, Woodland, West Sacramento will join the right & relevant voters of Davis in choosing between long-time West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon and two-term Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada for the.

After the jump, read Bob Schelen’s report from the Assembly candidates portion of the recent candidates’ forum at the Davis Democratic Club.

Coverage of the Davis Democratic Forum.  Part 1: 8th Assembly District
by Bob Schelen

Well, it has been awhile since a posting on local election forums. Of course, there have now only been three forums for the June 3rd election. The first forum was hosted by the Davis Chamber of Commerce on April 2.  The Davis Voice reported on that event and decried the fact that there were only a few forums scheduled for this election.

Two weeks later, we find three forums in the same week. In fact, two occurred on consecutive nights. The Davis Voice was not able to cover the UC Davis College Democrats Forum, but you can read the written responses here.  You may yet see analysis of those written answers in an upcoming post.

The other forum we were unable to cover was the 8th Assembly District Democratic nomination held by the Northern Solano County Democratic Club. However, The Davis Voice was available to cover the forum held on Thursday evening, April 24th by the Davis Democratic Club. The forum covered the candidates for the Democratic nomination to the 8th Assembly District seat and those candidates that are Democrats who are running for Davis City Council, which is everyone but Rob Roy, who is a registered Green Party member.

4th Supervisor Race

The 4th District Supervisorial race was not on the agenda per se, because the Davis Democratic Club has already endorsed Jim Provenza. However, both Democratic candidates were allowed to address the Club. At the end of the evening, the 30 or so club members that attended the event heard from Jim Provenza and John Ferrera. Each took a few minutes and stated their qualifications for the position and they both focused on the county being the key government entity in helping those on the margins of society.

It must be mentioned that Ferrera showed up argued his case with members of the Club, even though it has endorsed his opponent. He deserves kudos for that.

The other candidate Cathy Kennedy is a registered independent (and I believe voter registrations files shows a very recently registered Republican) and therefore not invited to address the Club.

Disjointed Evening

The evening was a bit disjointed as Christopher Cabaldon, Mayor of West Sacramento and candidate for the 8th Assembly District nomination had to go to another event about 7:15 pm, therefore the State Assembly candidates went first.  Usually, the City Council candidates would go first, followed by the Supervisorial candidates and the City Council candidates. Another issue adding to this feeling was the fact that Don Saylor a fundraiser that overlapped with the forum and was represented at first by Alan Fernandez, Saylor’s campaign manager. Mr. Saylor arrived later in the evening.

The candidates of the 8th Assembly District, Mayor Cabaldon and Mariko Yamada, Yolo County Supervisor were given time for an opening statement and then asked a series of questions that were submitted by club members and asked by the moderator Arun Sen, President of the Davis Democratic Club.

Mayor Cabaldon’s Opening Statement

One of the things I found interesting throughout the evening was that Mayor Cabaldon throughout his statement and answers seemed to be rushing through his answers, as if he has so much to say that he would not be able to say it all in the short time he had to address the Club. He started off by stating that California, and in particular our district, is in a state of crisis. He then went through a litany of areas where the state is in crisis mode: the state budget, education, the delta, the agriculture community.

Mayor Cabaldon stated that California is “in the worst shape it has ever been in threats to essential public services, law enforcement, and environmental protection.” He went on to say that all the values we hold dear as Democrats are at risk and he is running “because I think we can take those challenges on and do something about it.”

He concluded by pointing to his various achievements as Mayor that are transforming West Sacramento into a vibrant city and redefining its sense of purpose.  In general, he talked about reducing crime, redevelopment (specifically the West Capitol Avenue corridor) and education. He mentioned that his entire professional career has ben geared towards advocating public education, serving as consultant to the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, as Vice-Chancellor of the Community College System in California and President of EdVoice, a foundation for education reform.

Cabaldon’s endorsements include the three immediately previous 8th Assemblymembers: Tom Hannigan, Helen Thomson and Lois Wolk. He also specifically mentioned support of the California League of Conservation Voters. His concluding remark was that “June is important but once it is over, we all need to work together on the important task of electing Democrats in November.

Supervisor Yamada’s Opening Statement

County Supervisor Mariko Yamada mentioned that she has been a member of the Davis Democratic Club since 1995, just shortly after moving to Davis from Southern California. She said she was happy to be here, “because it is just like coming home, this is my home and my hometown club.”  Yamada states that she is running for higher office to work to solve problems in a collaborative fashion. Her belief is that we need to make changes and have the courage of our convictions as we tap the very, very tough problems we have facing us.

The Supervisor went on to state that every level of government has a plethora of problems. Because of these “problems galore”, it will be important to prioritize and that is what she intends to do if elected. She mentioned that unlike Mayor Cabaldon (who did mention how many familiar faces he saw,) she has not seen too many of the members of the Club recently as she is using the bulk of her time walking precincts in Solano County where two thirds of the voters are.

As Yamada knocks on these doors many people are commenting that she is the first candidate they have seen at their door in a long time. She told some anecdotal stories of some of the people she has met while walking the district. She mentioned that that is the basis of her campaign, meeting the people.

“As a County Supervisor, we are asked to grapple with huge policy issues, but for me, it is important to remember that any decision we make has real impact on real people and that is what I believe distinguishes my candidacy.”

Yamada then listed her endorsements, first mentioning the California Nurses Association, who she said support her because of her support for the single-payer universal health care system and that would be a core issue with her is she is elected. The California Teacher’s Association, the California Professional Firefighters, the California Labor Federation, California State Council SEIU and many others have also endorsed Yamada. Her endorsements also include many elected officials, although she did not name them, they include Assemblymember Dave Jones of Sacramento and Assemblymember Mary Hayashi of the East Bay area (via literature). She closed with the statement that her endorsements are reflective of the working people that she hopes to serve if elected.

And after such encompassing opening statements, there were still questions. The questions were not provided to the candidates ahead of time. They had to think of the top of their head. I must say I was impressed with the abilities of both candidates to do so.

1st Question: What are we going to do implement an up to date water conservation reclamation policy for the state?

Mayor Cabladon was the first to answer, saying that in the absence of a truly transformative water conservation policy, the needs for water storage, such as dams is enormous, so conservation is critical and it is possible. He cited the fact that with Los Angeles County has seen recent growth of nearly 35% and yet use of water has stayed the same because of aggressive water conservation programs. He would like to see those aggressive water conservation programs replicated throughout the state. He also mentioned that water conservation is not the only important part of the water issue, but also the purity of the water supply. A wide array of personal behaviors, as well as how we build and landscape as communities, must be changed. Cabaldon’s last comment was that the state needs to say, “We are not building anymore dams until we have gotten every drop of water conservation we can and we are a long way from it.”

Supervisor Yamada started her answer with the importance ot the recent 3-2 contentious vote to establish a countywide water-agency. She mentioned her early vote on saving Conaway Ranch. She said, “We have an advantage because we are in the north and there is a giant sucking sound in the south.” Everyone must understand that this is a finite resource and that we have to work together to ensure its safety, supply and security. She mentioned climate change and the issue of the delta. Yamada wants to see a balanced approach that studies the core problem and listens to all sides. She stated she would never say “never build a dam”. She would want to review the problem and listen to all sides before making a decision.

2nd Question: Do you think we should amend the state budget to be passed by less than a two-thirds vote.

Supervisor Yamada stated that while she does think there should be an amendedment lessening the percentage of vote needed to pass a budget, she does not believe it should be a simple majority. She favors a 55 to 60 percent theshold and a two-year  budget process to align with the Legislative session. She feels those changes would allow for more planning and make it easier to develop a reserve fund. Yamada also mentioned that she would worry that if the Republicans take power in the Legislature they could destroy Democratic programs if they had the ability to change financial resources by 50 percent plus one vote.

In a campaign where there appears to be so many similarities on the positions of the candidates, this answer provided a distinct difference. Mayor Cabaldon supported a simple majority for passing the state budget. He felt that without a majority vote, too many people could claim they are not responsible for what happens when a budget is passed or not passed. It is an equity issue, he stated, that it takes a majority vote to repeal a tax. His position was that the system gives the minority, in this case the Republicans, a distorted amount of sway over the process. He mentioned that in the last four decades the Legislature and the Governor have not been of the Republican Party at the same time. “We have to be clear about what it means to be Democrats and make our case to the people which we have done successfully in election after election in California, but when we arrive, we cannot get a good budget passed” without conditions. That is the consequence of the 2/3rds vote on the budget.

3rd Question: What have you done or will you do to ensure that labor unions are able to vote to organize inside of chain stores?

Christopher Cabaldon supports card checks for all labor organizing. He specifically mentioned that while big box stores are certainly a part of it, they are not the only employers that have resisted labor organizing. Many employers have waged campaigns against allowing their workers to organize. Card check neutrality where the cards get tabulated with no interference from employee resources assures for the most effective way to have the workers true voice be heard. He stated card check neutrality is a priority issue of the labor movement nationally in the ‘Voice at Work’ campaign. While box stores and others have been able to frustrate at the federal level, we can do it here in California and Cabaldon would support that.

While Mariko Yamada also endorsed card check neutrality, she used the question to remind the audience that many of her supporters come from the labor community. She also mentioned that Indian Gaming and the “Indian Nations could be a good source of union activity.” She mentioned how fortunate we are in Yolo County to have good relations with the Wintun Indians who were among the first in the state to agree to working with unions. She also mentioned Nugget as a company that is non-union, yet is always rated as one of the best companies to work for. She stated that it is the workers that “should give rise to whether they need to be unionized.

4th and last question: What will you do to remedy the crisis brought about by sub-prime lending made by the financial institutions?

Mariko Yamada began her answer with the fact that question is a very difficult one, because you are not only dealing with the unscrupulous lenders, but also some irresponsible buyers that have signed on. She said that, “of course, greed was one of the primary factors that brought on the problem.”  She feels that certain communities were actually preyed upon to find people that in years past may not have been viable to lend too, but to find creative ways that they would qualify for loans. She thinks there needs to be some kind of moratorium, as well as a way to provide relief. “We do not want to create another new community of homeless people. It seems a little ridiculous at the time that people are most desperate that we are just going to push them out the door.”

Mayor Cabaldon started by saying that even though those of us that feel we have not been directly hit, we have, both in terns of the regional and statewide economy, but even in neighborhoods. He mentioned abandoned houses, vandalism and loss in property values. There are also impacts at the local government level, especially with revenue. However, he cited the electricity crisis and the fact it is important not to rush in and fix everything at once. We need to exercise a lot of caution, because there are so many causes of the problem. “It is easy to issue a press release and say I have all the answers, but I don’t have the answers. One place the state can help is to capitalize a fund to provide, essentially a secondary market to back up mortgages, so that they can be refinanced in a way that keeps people in their homes without their credit being destroyed while holding them responsible for the long term cost of their home, as they should be.” State can play a role, but it has to be done surgically.

I now understood why Mayor Cabaldon seemed to be out of breath as he answered the questions, there was so much to get out to say even with the few questions that were asked. There were many more questions rolling around in my head as the state is in dire straits at the time and there are so many issues to address.

I thought both candidates did remarkably well in this discussion. And the questions actually showed some policy differences between two very similar Democratic candidates.

Next up, a recap of the City Council candidate’s responses in the same forum.