Democrats Steve Filson, Jerry McNerney, Steve Thomas and
Republicans Thomas Benigno, Pete McCloskey and Richard Pombo answer
questions concerning the 11th Congressional District.
QUESTION:
How would you improve fiscal
responsibility in the 11th
Congressional District?
Steve Filson (D)
Airline pilot
MBA, ST. Mary’s College
“First, we must refuse to make the Bush Administration’s tax realignment permanent. … Second, we must immediately close the special interest tax loopholes and identify defense spending that doesn’t aid our national security. … Finally, we must return to President Bill Clinton’s economic model of pay-as-you-go.”
Jerry McNerney (D)
Renewable Energy Businessman
Ph.D., University of New Mexico
“We need to return to the policies of the Clinton Administration, which produced a budget surplus. This means managing Congressional spending and vetoing irresponsible budgets. It means fair taxation, not large tax cuts for the wealthy.”
Steve Thomas (D)
Union Electrician
College of Marin
“We need to rescind the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. We need to look long and hard at the 74 corporations with more than a trillion dollars of net profits that pay no U.S. taxes at all. We also need to look at this war profiteering. There are billions completely unaccounted for in Iraq and nothing is being investigated.”
Thomas Benigno (R)
Retired
Chabot College
“Keep local tax dollars for local projects. We will need it with the growth that will take place in the state. That will be a Democratic agenda. Republicans don’t know how to do that. We are the sixth-largest economy in the world here in California.”
Pete McCloskey (R)
Former Congressman
Stanford University
“Try’ is a better word. I would try to end earmarks, lobbying contributions and would tie congressional salaries to the budget. A 5 percent budget deficit would cause a 5 percent cut in congressional salaries.”
Richard Pombo (R)
Incumbent
Cal Poly Pomona
No answer provided.
QUESTION:
What would you do to make the 11th Congressional District more ethical?
Steve Filson (D)
“We must address campaign finance and the mechanisms we use to investigate members of Congress. I favor campaign finance reform that allows candidates free access to airtime on radio and television. I would also support establishing an independent body to investigate ethics charges against members of Congress.”
Jerry McNerney (D)
“First, strictly limit earmarks. Second, reign in the lobbyists and pay-to-play methods, and third and possibly the most important, move toward a more rational method of federal campaign financing – possibly public financing.”
Steve Thomas (D)
“Again, this applies to Congress in general. Clearly, we need more than simple lobby reform. We need full public financing of campaigns. I would be happy to introduce a bill saying that if you haven’t read an accurate executive summary of the bill and signed under penalty of perjury that you understand it, you can’t vote on it.”
Thomas Benigno (R)
“It can only happen if we vote Pombo out, then go to term limits. McCloskey can’t do it in his time. Pombo won’t. The other three don’t know how.”
Pete McCloskey (R)
“Ask for strong investigatory and enforcement powers for the House Ethics Committee and provide for independent monitoring groups.”
Richard Pombo (R)
No answer provided.
QUESTION:
What are the biggest
concerns/goals you have for the 11th
Congressional District?
Steve Filson (D)
“The biggest goal I have for the 11th District and the nation is to return our country to a balanced budget. We cannot accomplish any other goals … while the country continues to accumulate massive amounts of debt.”
Jerry McNerney (D)
“I want to tap into the resources of our district to create a new energy technology industry – the Silicon Valley of New Energy Technology, that will create jobs, make our district prosperous for generations to come, and help alleviate our nation’s dangerous dependence on oil.”
Steve Thomas (D)
“Strengthening the levees. They will fail in an earthquake. Deal with air and water pollution. Bring real jobs to the valley so it’s not a long-distance bedroom community for somewhere else. Bring more federal dollars to education at all levels. Road improvements as well as mass transit, possibly BART.”
Thomas Benigno (R)
“We are looking for a disaster if we don’t control the growth. By doing that, we will also need the transportation to move masses of people to their jobs, or distribute the jobs and the wealth equally in every venue. None of my opponents are even talking about that. All of these answers are more for local control. The trick is to get Washington’s help. I can do that.”
Pete McCloskey (R)
“Honest representation, with civil discussion between Republicans and Democrats.”
Richard Pombo (R)
No answer provided.
QUESTION:
What would you do to
promote rural or lower-income
geographic areas of the 11th
Congressional District?
Steve Filson (D)
“We must put a highly qualified teacher in every classroom and work to ensure our children have the skills to compete in the world economy. Parents, teachers, school administrators, elected officials and students must work together to identify community issues and find effective solutions.”
Jerry McNerney (D)
“The 11th Congressional District has a wealth of resources, such as some of the best agricultural assets in the world, a deep water port that is underutilized, highways, railroads, a major and underutilized airport and a wide breadth of human talent that can be used to develop new industry, especially in new energy technology, that if harnessed, will bring prosperity to the entire region.”
Steve Thomas (D)
“We cannot afford to pave over and build on our best farmland. Whatever projection you want to use, at some point, the population in California will double. We will still need land to feed people. We need to do something about global warming right now. This is a crisis of our time. We need to start thinking about ‘sustainability’ in general and also in how we design our communities.”
Thomas Benigno (R)
“More money is spent in Southern California for roads and infrastructure thus killing Northern California’s potential growth. The Davis administration stopped building freeways or rail like BART to be used in the whole state. … Putting jobs and infrastructure in place is essential in California’s future plan.”
Pete McCloskey (R)
“I would hold public meetings in the poorest areas every two weeks and listen to people’s concerns. I would work for a national health insurance plan. I would give undocumented workers a decent chance to become citizens.”
Richard Pombo (R)
No answer provided.
