Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/394471
ByJulietWilliams TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO A break- down of the views of Dem- ocratic Gov. Jerry Brown and Republican challenger Neel Kashkari on major is- sues facing California: Education BROWN Praised by edu- cation and business lead- ers for restructuring Cali- fornia's school-finance sys- tem to send more money to schools with the highest proportion of low-income students, English-learn- ers and foster children. Brown appealed a Los Angeles County Superior Court ruling that found California's teacher tenure laws unfairly discriminate against poor and minority students. KASHKARI Brown's re- forms are mere "tinkering" in a flawed system con- trolled by teachers unions. Proposes scrapping most of California's complex educa- tion code and sending state money directly to individ- ual schools, as well as elim- inating many of the teacher tenure protections. Wants to lift the cap on the num- ber of charter schools in California. Water BROWN Negotiated Prop- osition 1, a $7.5 billion wa- ter infrastructure plan that was placed on the No- vember ballot with over- whelmingly bipartisan support in the Legislature. It includes $2.7 billion for water storage projects, in- cluding two new reser- voirs. Proposes a $25 bil- lion plan to build two mas- sive tunnels to ship water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta to farms and communities farther south, which en- vironmentalists and delta communities oppose. KASHKARI Has endorsed Proposition 1 but says it is insufficient to prepare California for future wa- ter shortages. Opposes Brown's tunnel plan, say- ing it needs further study, but has not proposed an al- ternative. Public safety BROWN In a dramatic overhaul known as realign- ment, Brown restructured California's incarceration system to send many lower- level offenders to county jails instead of state pris- ons to help meet a federal court order to lower the state prison population. KASHKARI Calls realign- ment "absolutely a fail- ure" that has led to the re- lease of dangerous offend- ers onto the streets who are then committing crimes. Taxes/regulations BROWN Persuaded voters to approve Proposition 30, which imposed temporary income tax increases on the most wealthy Califor- nians and temporarily in- creased the statewide sales tax, with some of the extra revenue directed toward schools. Has not sought an overhaul of California's overall tax structure, which contributes to the state's boom-and-bust economy because it relies on high-in- come earners and a boom- ing stock. KASHKARI Proposes a 10- year sunset and regulatory review of all current and existing regulations. Pro- poses a 10-year corporate income tax holiday for any currently operating busi- ness outside California that moves to the state. Environmental regulation BROWN Proposed sweep- ing reforms to the Califor- nia Environmental Qual- ity Act, or CEQA, but re- treated, saying it was "very hard to get" broad reforms. KASHKARI Has called for a wholesale overhaul of CEQA and criticized Brown for picking economic win- ners and losers by creating exemptions for businesses or projects that are politi- cally connected. High-speed rail BROWN A staunch sup- porter of the $68 billion project. KASHKARI Calls high- speed rail the "crazy train." Says he would go back to voters to ask them to reau- thorize the $10 billion in bonds approved for high- speed rail in 2008 so the money could be spent on other priorities, such as education and water infra- structure. Climate change: BROWN A vocal propo- nent of California's land- mark global warming law, AB32, which was signed in 2006 by then-Gov. Ar- nold Schwarzenegger. Brown went to the United Nations Climate Summit in September to promote California's efforts to re- duce carbon emissions. He told world leaders that Cal- ifornia is on track to derive one-third of its electricity from renewable sources in the next three or four years, has a goal to have 1 million electric cars on the road and has the toughest vehicle emission standards in the nation. KASHKARI Would repeal the state's cap-and-trade program, which puts a price on industrial car- bon emissions, and would block the carbon tax that will raise gas prices. Pension reform BROWN The Legisla- ture approved and Brown signed a series of changes to the public employee pension system. The pen- sion package stopped spik- ing, renegotiated benefits for new hires, raised the retirement age for some workers, increased em- ployee contributions and prohibited pension "hol- idays" in which the state would stop making con- tributions to the pension fund. But Brown failed to win independent over- sight of the state's pension funds and boost their ac- countability. The state still faces unfunded pension and health care liabilities of about $150 billion, ac- cording to a report in July from the nonpartisan Leg- islative Analyst's Office. KASHKARI Says he would crack down on pension en- titlements negotiated by public employee unions and appoint more rigorous oversight to the boards that oversee the pension funds. He says the first step is re- quiring honest accounting of the debt. HOT TOPICS Brown,Kashkariontop issues facing California SACRAMENTO Restraint and steady progress don't necessarily make for catchy political slo- gans. But a sure-handed a p p r o a c h to manag- ing Califor- nia's fiscal recovery is Gov. Jerry Brown's cen- tral pitch to voters as he seeks re-elec- tion to an unprecedented fourth term as governor. The Democratic governor is promoting the state's im- proved fiscal health since he retook the office in 2011, as well as promoting his restructuring of Califor- nia's education finance sys- tem and a November ballot measure seeking to spend $7.5 billion to improve the state's water supplies. He also has been crit- icized for being too cozy with union interests, push- ing a contentious water- tunnel plan and pressing ahead with a $68 billion high-speed rail project. During a September de- bate with his Republican rival, former U.S. Treasury official Neel Kashkari, the 76-year-old governor touted the experience he has accu- mulated after a lifetime in government and politics. "Things don't get done with a press release or a glib statement. They take many, many years," he said. Brown was referring to the state's continued mas- sive shortfall in its public pension obligations, but it also sums up his approach to governing. Brown has made good on campaign promises to overhaul education financ- ing, eliminate a $26 billion budget deficit and make changes to the public em- ployee retirement system. — The Associated Press GOVERNOR RACE SACRAMENTO Neel Kash- kari is trying to rewrite the playbook for Republican g ub er n a - torial can- didates in California and nudge the party back to rel- evance after years of de- clining reg- istration. Taking a somewhat un- usual approach for a Re- publican candidate, he has focused his campaign on helping the poor and fix- ing California schools. But he also finds himself in the position of many Republi- can candidates in a state where they are the decided minority. The former U.S. Trea- sury official faces an enor- mous challenge against the political and fundrais- ing machine of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who has criticized Kashkari for his role leading the national bank bailout. The gover- nor also has highlighted other points on Kashkari's resume, including his work as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and at the bond investment company Pimco. Given those ties, it is somewhat unusual that Kashkari is seeking to em- phasize income disparity in California, where unem- ployment has rebounded from the height of the re- cession but remains at 7.4 percent statewide. Kash- kari, an Ohio native who is the son of Indian-Amer- ican immigrants, says he wants to let voters know that Republicans care about the downtrodden as much as Democrats do and that Democrats' poli- cies are not helping close the income gap. — The Associated Press Kashkari aims to rebrand GOP in gubernatorial bid Brown promotes restraint in bid for fourth term Kashkari Brown 2014ELECTIONCOVERAGE CANDIDATES AT A GLANCE By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Termed-out as state controller, Demo- crat John Chiang is playing political musical chairs by running for state treasurer and appears to be a shoo- in to win. Chiang will face Repub- lican challenger Greg Con- lon as Chiang aims to move a half-mile up the Capitol Mall and jump from one state fiscal office to another. Chiang got 55 percent of the vote to Conlon's 38 in June's primary election. A September Field Poll of likely voters showed an even bigger margin, with Chiang leading Conlon 52-26 with 22 percent undecided in the heavily Democratic state. Chiang's terms as con- troller came at a time when the state and its cities were in fiscal peril. He oversaw audits and investigations in the finan- cially troubled city of Stock- ton, which in 2012 became the biggest U.S. city at the time ever to declare bank- ruptcy, and in the corrup- tion-riddled city of Bell, where exorbitant salaries made national headlines. Chiang often took on the state's pension organi- zation, the California Pub- lic Employees' Retirement System, and in a recent au- dit report attacked its gen- erally passive approach that he said invites abuse. Conlon, 81, is a CPA from Menlo Park and longtime partner at Arthur Andersen LLP, the former Big Five ac- counting firm. He served as president and commissioner of the California Public Utilities in the 1990s under former Gov. Pete Wilson, who also appointed him to the state transportation commission. His run for treasurer comes 12 years after the first time he sought the of- fice, losing in 2002 to Dem- ocrat Phil Angelides. Con- lon also ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008. Conlon has touted his ac- counting and business acu- men over Chiang's career in government. He has said Chiang's con- troller's office engaged in "bad math" in its fiscal over- sight that was full of errors and miscalculations. STATE TREASURER Te rm ed -o ut , Ch ia ng s ee ks t o sh uffl e position from controller to treasurer — The Associated Press GAVINNEWSOM Age-Birth Date-Birthplace:46;Oct.10, 1967; San Francisco. Party: Democratic Experience: California lieutenant gover- nor, 2011-present; mayor of San Fran- cisco, 1998-2006; San Francisco County Board of Supervisors, 1997-2004; Owner, PlumpJack Associates LP 1991-2004. Education: Bachelor's degree, Santa Clara University Family: Wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom; Three children. Quote: "California needs to be on track to educate and train a greater number of residents with higher levels of knowledge and skills. We need to reshape and rethink our success models of higher education." RONNEHRING Age-Birth Date-Birthplace: 44; May 20, 1970; Islip, New York. Party: Republican Experience: Political consultant, 2007-present; state Republican Party chairman, 2007-2011; San Diego County Republican Party chairman, 2001-2007; Grossmont Union High School District trustee, 2004-2006; Education: Bachelor's degree, Stony Brook University (SUNY Stony Brook), 1992. Family: Single Quote: "The office is what the holder makes of it." Lieutenant Governor BETTYYEE Age-Birth Date-Birthplace: 54; Oct. 19, 1959; San Francisco. Party: Democratic. Experience: Served on the Board of Equalization since 2004. Formerly a top budget official in Gov. Gray Davis' admin- istration and legislative staffer focused on financial issues. Education: Bachelor's degree from University of Berkeley; Master's in public administration, Golden Gate University. Family: Single. Website: www.bettyyee.com Quote: "I may be an insider ... but I'm an insider who's been independent through- out my career. I will call my shots as I see them." ASHLEYSWEARENGIN Age-birth date-birthplace: 42; May 24, 1972; Fort Worth; Texas. Party: Republican. Experience: Served as mayor of Fresno since 2008. Previously served in Central Valley economic development organiza- tions, including as lead executive for the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, California State University, Re- gionals Jobs Initiative and Fresno State University's Office of Community and Economic Development. Education: Bachelor's and master's degree in business administration from California State University, Fresno. Family: Married, two children. Website: www.ashleyforca.com Quote: "This job requires independence, free from one political party, a major politi- cal party in power here in Sacramento." State Controller ALEXPADILLA Age-Birth Date-Birthplace: 41. March 22, 1973, Los Angeles Party: Democratic Experience: State senator representing Los Angeles-area district since 2006, member and president of Los Angeles City Council 2000to 2006. FAMILY: Wife, Angela, two sons. Website: www.padilla4sofs.com Priorities: Increasing voter registration and turnout; making business registration faster and easier; modernizing and en- hancing state campaign finance website. PETEPETERSON Age-birth date-birthplace: 47. Nov. 25, 1966, New York City Party: Republican Experience: Executive director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engage- ment and Civic Leadership at Pepperdine University since 2010, which evolved from Common Sense California. Family: Wife Gina, one daughter. Website: www.petesos.com Priorities: Use of technology to promote campaign finance transparency and citizen participation; making business registration faster and easier. Secretary of State By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO A Republi- can fighting to unseat Cal- ifornia's incumbent attor- ney general has adopted the unconventional strat- egy of seeking to legalize recreational marijuana as the centerpiece of his up- hill campaign. Democratic Attorney General Kamala Harris, meanwhile, has softened her opposition to recre- ational pot as she seeks a second and final term as the state's top law enforcement official. "The circumstances have changed. Now Colorado and Washington have done it," said Harris, who spoke out against California's failed Proposition 19 legalization measure when she first ran for statewide office in 2010. California should wait to see how those states deal with such complex issues as open-air use that can lead to contact highs among by- standers who had no inten- tion of inhaling, Harris said in a telephone interview. Regulating the contents and marketing of mari- juana-laced edible prod- ucts is another issue, as ev- idenced by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd's recent Colorado candy bar overdose. Eating pot can produce different effects than smoking it, Harris said, and some edibles are attractive to children. Republican nominee Ron Gold, a former deputy attor- ney general, said Califor- nia should follow Colora- do's lead by making mari- juana legal and restricting its use to people over 21, im- posing a tax and regulating production and sales. Pot use is largely a vic- timless crime that fills pris- ons and jails, empowers for- eign cartels and saps time and money from more im- portant law enforcement priorities, Gold said. "I think it's an issue whose time has come," Gold said. Harris, a former two- term San Francisco dis- trict attorney, has focused her crime-fighting efforts on cross-border gangs that she said are increasingly en- gaged in high-tech crimes such as digital piracy and computer hacking to target businesses and financial in- stitutions. Harris drew national at- tention when she helped ne- gotiate a national bank set- tlement with major mort- gage lenders and secured extra funding for Califor- nia. A personal friend of President Barack Obama, she is widely viewed as an eventual candidate for gov- ernor or U.S. senator should she win re-election. ATTORNEY GENERAL Marijuana an issue for attorney general race | STATE | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014 6 B