THE L.A. DAILY NEWS SAYS ABOUT SUSAN SHELLEY:
"A whipsmart constitutional scholar"
"She's got good ideas"
"Anyone — Democrat or Republican — who is uncomfortable with the current Democratic lock in Sacramento will certainly want to look at Shelley because electing a Republican in this one special election will end the supermajority." Read more
Issues
Protect Prop 13 and prevent tax increases
Taxes are too high in California. We have the highest state sales tax in the country and the highest income tax in the country and it's still not enough for the Sacramento politicians, they want to raise your property taxes. Right now, the state Senate is considering measures that would lower the vote needed to raise your property taxes from the current two-thirds down to 55 percent whenever a city wants to borrow money for libraries, transportation, infrastructure*, community development, parcel taxes, or any general purpose. If any of those measures pass in the Senate, they'll be sent to the Assembly. I will vote NO to any attempt to lower the vote needed to raise taxes. My one vote could be the difference - it takes a two-thirds vote of the Assembly to put one of these tax-hiking measures on the ballot, and that two-thirds supermajority will be broken when we win this election.
Cancel the bullet train
There's no better illustration of the mismanagement in Sacramento than the reckless decision to borrow $6 billion to build a bullet train from Merced to Bakersfield. Right now, politicians are telling us they need to borrow billions to fix streets and sewers in the San Fernando Valley and throughout the state. Where was that discussion during the debate over the bullet train? California needs leaders who understand the importance of setting priorities, and who understand what's really a priority and what's just an ego trip or a payoff for donors and cronies.
Take another look at the mandate for increased use of renewable energy
In 2011, California passed a law requiring utility companies in the state to get 33% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. That mandate has resulted in sharply higher energy costs throughout the state, costs which will continue to rise every year. We all care about the environment and we are all concerned about the future. The question is, how much can we pay and what are we really accomplishing by paying it? The next time you open your DWP bill, think about this: In 2011 before the law was changed, the "Renewables Portfolio Standard" target was 20%. What did we gain by raising the target to 33%, and how much are we paying for it? I think we should hold hearings to examine the costs and benefits, and to decide if the law needs revision.
Protect students
In 2012, the state Assembly killed a proposed law that would have made it easier for school districts to fire teachers who had engaged in sex, violence or drug offenses with children. Senate Bill 1530 was prompted by the case of the Miramonte Elementary School teacher who was arrested on January 23, 2012, for lewd conduct. The bill was opposed by the California Teachers Association, which called it "political grandstanding." I will vote to protect students and I will never take orders from union leaders.
Transparency
On May 13, 2013, the California Assembly passed 37 "spot bills" as part of the budget process. "Spot bills," also knows as "budget trailer bills," are blank pieces of paper with a bill number, which the legislature votes on, passes, and fills in later. Nobody has to read them, there are no hearings on them after they're written, and they become law. This is a practice that has to stop. We need transparent government. We can't have our lawmakers passing blank laws that staffers and lobbyists write later in closed rooms. Why is this even legal?
Smog checks every three years instead of every two
I will introduce a bill to change the requirement for smog checks from every two years to every three years. This is a reasonable balance between the costs and the benefits.
Good sense in government
Californians are burdened with layers and layers of regulations, restrictions, requirements, taxes and fees. Some of it is good, some of it is outdated and counterproductive, and some of it is driving businesses out of our state. Let's work together to identify problems we can solve. Our government works for us, not the other way around.
*The proposal to allow property-tax-hiking infrastructure bonds to pass more easily already passed the Assembly by a two-thirds margin, with no votes to spare. If I had been there, I would have voted no and it would have been defeated.
