Transportation

We must improve our transportation system. Relieving all of us from frustrating traffic congestion is one of my top priorities. To do that, I will fight to acquire the state funds we need to fund many needed improvement projects – starting with badly needed railroad grade crossing separations in the City of Riverside, to freeway on and off-ramp interchanges throughout the Coachella Valley.

We must also allow for local decision making to play a bigger role in how our state transportation tax dollars are spent in our district. Often, the state’s priorities are far different than those of our local governments. That is why I plan to introduce legislation that makes local government officials part of the decision-making process in Sacramento and allow for funding flexibility when local government has proven funding streams for projects.

I’ll fight day and night to bring our fair share of transportation projects to our rapidly growing Riverside County and will work tirelessly for private/public investment opportunities to stretch local, state and federal dollars.

Above all else, I will ensure transportation dollars are spent on transportation, not shifted to cover budget shortfalls and other state programs.

 

Illegal Immigration

I support all efforts to secure our border. We must complete the border fence; increase the number of border patrol agents; deploy the National Guard, and enforce penalties for repeat border crossers and illegal alien criminals who commit crimes in the United States. I will work with our federal legislative and executive branches of government to ensure that our current immigration laws are strictly enforced.

By securing our borders and enforcing the laws we already have on the books, we secure our citizens. Border security will bring order to the process of assimilation and ultimately create a more positive and productive relationship with our neighboring countries.

 

Control State Spending

The last thing hard working Californians need is to pay higher taxes so politicians in Sacramento can balance the state budget. Our state budget is out of balance because Democrats in control of state spending can’t stop spending more than the taxes the state collects. Economics have proven that raising taxes is a disincentive to real growth. Government spending must be reduced if we are to increase private sector employment.

We know that the liberal theory of increased government spending has the disastrous results of a failed state. When spending is controlled and taxes are reduced, private investment brings in the business and jobs that are necessary for long term growth and prosperity.

I strongly support a spending cap to force government to live within its means. If the spending cap that Californians overwhelmingly supported in 1992, (the Gann Spending Cap), had not been diluted, California would be enjoying comfortable reserves today instead of facing a $14 Billion budget shortfall this year.

Education

California’s prosperous future rests in the hands of children attending our public schools today.

It is a known fact that a community is only as good as its workforce, and schools are where the workforce is trained. The bulk of our education dollars should be spent in the classroom, not on the education bureaucracy. Schools and teachers must be held to standards and accountability. Good teachers should be rewarded, and good schools should be recognized.

We must look to innovative solutions to improve our school system. From school voucher programs; to learning in a particular field at career academies; to character development, our schools must engage all children and equip them with the skills to succeed.