DEMS, GOP FACE OFF FOR SEAT A.V. FORUM FEATURES ASSEMBLY HOPEFULS.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - Giving voters an opportunity to compare styles and philosophies as the March 5 primary election approaches, 36th Assembly District candidates fielded questions Wednesday on education, health care and other issues. The four candidates in the GOP primary and the two candidates in the Democratic primary faced off in a forum sponsored by the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce. The Democratic primary is a contest between Bryon Bostic, a Lancaster resident who is retired from the electronics industry, and Robert Davenport Robert Davenport (fl. 1623-1639) was an English dramatist of the early seventeenth century. Nothing is known of his early life or education; the title pages of two of his plays identify him as a "Gentleman," though there is no record of him at either of the two universities or the , a TV producer who lives in Palmdale. During the forum, the major point of disagreement between the two Democrats was the subject of taxes. Davenport said that the state needs to cut waste and focus on needs rather than wants. ``I would not support any new taxes,'' Davenport said. Bostic said he would hold the line against property tax increases, but said the state should look at a snack tax and taxes on luxury items to help pay for education. ``We need schools. If that takes a snack tax or a luxury tax, so be it,'' Bostic said. On other issues, Davenport said he would work to eliminate bureaucratic blockades for school funding, encourage development of renewable and clean energy sources such as wind and solar power, and work to reform the state's health care system. Bostic said he wants to lure entertainment companies to use the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. at Avenue I and Division Street, work to promote Palmdale Regional Airport as a cargo-handling hub for Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , and would work to bring community centers and business incubators into rural areas. Running in the Republican primary are Mike Dispenza, a Palmdale councilman and owner of an insurance agency; Ollie McCaulley, a nonprofit corporation nonprofit corporation n. an organization incorporated under state laws and approved by both the state's Secretary of State and its taxing authority as operating for educational, charitable, social, religious, civic or humanitarian purposes. official; Republican activist Sharon Runner Sharon Runner (born May 17 1954, Los Angeles) is a Californian politician. She has been a member of the California State Assembly since 2002. Runner, a Republican from Antelope Valley represents the 36th district. ; and Assemblyman Phil Wyman. On education, Dispenza said he would work to restructure state funding for construction and eliminate requirements for matching funding from school districts. Dispenza said he also opposed state laws that prevent cities from denying construction permits for homebuilders when a school district is already overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. . On energy, Dispenza said the High Desert should look into building hydroelectric plants that would use recycled water. He also advocates property tax credits for companies building power plants and for companies working on developing alternative energy sources. On health care, Dispenza said state reimbursements to hospitals and clinics should be based on where a patient is treated, not where he lives. ``We need real management for health care,'' Dispenza said. Dispenza said he also wants tort reform and a reduction in capital gains taxes. McCaulley said he would also promote after-school programs that would keep students off the streets while their parents are still commuting home. McCaulley also said he wants to continue the fight for funding for improvements to Highway 138. ``You need someone who can hit the ground running. I believe I have the experience to do that,'' McCaulley said. Runner said she will push to equalize e·qual·ize v. e·qual·ized, e·qual·iz·ing, e·qual·iz·es v.tr. 1. To make equal: equalized the responsibilities of the staff members. 2. To make uniform. per-student funding, saying that the High Desert receives $1,600 less per pupil than Los Angeles schools The Los Angeles School of Urbanism is an academic movement emerged during the mid-1980s, loosely based at the University of Southern California and UCLA, that poses a challenge to the dominant Chicago School of Urbanism. . Runner also wants to continue efforts to get the California State University, Bakersfield As of fall 2002, some 7,700 undergraduate and graduate students attended CSUB, at either the main campus in Bakersfield or the satellite campus, Antelope Valley Center in Lancaster, California of Los Angeles County. , center in Lancaster recognized as a separate line item in state budgets, bolstering efforts to offer four-year university course study in the Antelope Valley. On energy, Runner said the state has to get out of the long-term contracts it entered into during the early phases of the energy crisis. The state also needs to provide tax credits to encourage power plant development. ``I am not a career politician,'' Runner said. ``I want to be a citizen legislator LEGISLATOR. One who makes laws. 2. In order to make good laws, it is necessary to understand those which are in force; the legislator ought therefore, to be thoroughly imbued with a knowledge of the laws of his country, their advantages and defects; to .'' Wyman, a state assemblyman, represented the Antelope Valley in the state Assembly from 1978 to 1992, then served in the state Senate from 1993 to 1994. He was elected to the 34th District seat in 2000. On education, Wyman wants to push for equalization In communications, techniques used to reduce distortion and compensate for signal loss (attenuation) over long distances. of funding for High Desert students. Wyman said he is lobbying to try to bring a four-year university to the High Desert. Wyman said he plans to push for the construction of the Lancaster veterans home and said that as a member of the newly revived Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs is a term of the business that deals with the relation between a government and its veteran communities, usually administered by the designated government agency. Committee, he will be in a position to lobby for that project. On energy, Wyman said the state needs to streamline the permitting process for new power plants. Wyman is also pushing legislation that would ease permitting requirements for new transmission lines. ``I would also raise the baseline for senior citizens so they are not treated so shabbily,'' Wyman said. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Republican and Democratic candidates for the 38th Assembly District seat attend a forum sponsored by the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, answering questions on education, health care and other issues. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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