40TH DISTRICT: LEVINE VS. FRIEDMAN.

Byline: Ryan Oliver

DEMOCRAT Lloyd Levine is running for Assembly District 40, saying he wants to help improve the quality of life for Californians, while Republican contender Connie Friedman wants to improve the state's business climate.

The two are campaigning in the Nov. 5 election in the San Fernando Valley-based district to take over from Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, who is facing term limits.

Democrats account for 49 percent of registered voters, and the GOP has 31 percent, in the 40th District which includes portions of the communities of Canoga Park, North Hills, Northridge, Reseda, Van Nuys, West Hills, Winnetka, Woodland Hills and smaller slices of Chatsworth, Encino and Granada Hills.

``Crime, education, health care access, getting traffic moving, streets and freeways in the Valley - those are the quality-of-life issues that affect everyone across the board and those are the things I care about,'' said Levine, a former aide for Assemblyman John Longville.

Levine, 33, of Van Nuys defeated Hertzberg's hand-picked successor, Andrei Cherny, in the March primary to gain the Democratic nomination.

Friedman, 60, of West Hills who owns a human resources outsourcing company, said she's running because she's fed up with the Assembly passing laws that increase the cost of doing business in the state.

``Every time I look, there's a law being passed in Sacramento that inevitably costs money,'' Friedman said. ``No one wants to come to California to do business; the laws being passed oppress business. They're killing jobs because the companies can't afford to hire more people.''

Levine said he wants the state to collect unpaid taxes - including an estimated $1 billion in Los Angeles - in order to help offset the budget shortfall.

``I would ensure there's more people to collect the taxes,'' Levine said. ``This is money that's owed to us, and it's not fair to people who are paying their fair share.''

Levine said he also wants to encourage more business growth in the state in order to expand the tax base.

Friedman said that, as a business owner, she brings a common-sense understanding of budget issues and how to survive in the real world, a lessons the state would do well to heed. She said taxes that oppress business should be revoked and government should work closer with private industry to solve problems with the environment, education and transportation.

``I think we need to get people in Sacramento who think clearly and understand the issues of the state rather than spending money to fix the problems they created in the first place,'' she said.