Democrats Have Two Experienced Contenders For Perata’s Senate Seat

The 9th Senate District stretches from Richmond south through the northern portion of Alameda County through part of Castro Valley to Dublin and Livermore.

The 9th district has more than 800,000 residents, which is a typical population total in a California Senate district. The party registration is 60 percent Democratic and 13 percent Republican, so the Democratic primary race winner is expected to be elected in November.

The seat is held now by Sen. Don Perata, the Oakland Democrat who has served as Senate Pro Tem. The position is generally considered the second most powerful elected governmental job in Sacramento, behind the governor. Perata finishes his tenure this year, because of term limits.

Seeking the Democratic nomination are two people with Sacramento experience. Wilma Chan is a former Alameda County Supervisor from Oakland who served in the Assembly from 2000 to 2006, when term limits ended her tenure. She was Assembly majority leader, which is the second most powerful post in the Assembly, after the speaker.

The other hopeful is Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, who is termed out this year. Hancock was the first woman to become mayor of Berkeley. She served in the Carter Administration as head of the regional office of ACTION, which recruited for the Peace Corps and VISTA. During the Clinton administration, Hancock was director of the western regional office of the U.S. Department of Education. Hancock is married to Berkeley mayor Tom Bates, who occupied the Assembly seat that she now holds.

Chan and Hancock share some of the same endorsers, including the League of Conservation Voters, and the California Chapter of the National Organization for Women.

However, most endorsers on the long list gathered by each have chosen one over the other. In Chan’s camp are former Livermore mayor Cathie Brown, state superintendent of education Delaine Easton, former state Sen. John Burton, state attorney general Jerry Brown, and Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, whose district includes Sunol and a small part of south Pleasanton. Also on board for Chan are Santa Clara County Rep. Mike Honda, state controller John Chiang, Alameda County school superintendent Sheila Jordan, children’s advocate Rob Reiner, and Dublin school board member Pat Kohnen.

Siding with Hancock are Perata, Livermore Mayor Marshall Kamena, Dublin mayor Janet Lockhart, former Dublin councilmember Claudia McCormick, former Dublin mayor Linda Jeffery Sailors, state treasurer Bill Lockyer, Eastbay Reps. Ellen Tauscher, George Miller and Barbara Lee, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, the Tri-Valley Democratic Club, and the National Women’s Political Caucus.

Also in Hancock’s corner are San Ramon Valley school board member Joan Buchanan, who seeks the 15th Assembly District Democratic nomination, and former Valley BART director Erlene DeMarcus.

The Independent asked both candidates the same specific questions in telephone interviews on the broad topics of the state budget and taxes, local government, health care, education, transportation and environment.

WILMA CHAN
Looking ahead to future state budgets, Chan would like to see a 51 or 55 percent majority requirement in both houses to pass the budget, not the current two-thirds vote, which leads to gridlock. A referendum is expected on the ballot in a future election to change the two-thirds requirement.

Chan doesn’t approve of a cuts-only approach in the current budget crisis, because there would be so much damage to vulnerable people such as seniors and health patients. Education would take a big hit. It’s clear that taxes will have to be raised in some form.

“I would oppose any deal that gives the governor, or any one person the power to cut the budget,” said Chan. She also wants to see a budget reserve built, though that will have to wait until a future budget is healthy enough for that to happen.

The Legislature should change things so that in the future it starts to work right away on the governor’s January budget proposal, and not wait until April or May. There should also be more transparency. “You see the drama in the press. What’s really happening is that people are meeting in back rooms and cutting deals. If you want the voter to understand why taxes need to be raised, you need to have more hearings, and an earlier date (to start the process),” she said.

Chan said she was critical of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in taking back the vehicle license fee. That would be generating $6 billion, and help government avoid the current budget crisis.

To address the current crisis, Chan prefers closing loopholes, especially on corporate taxes, so that working class and middle class people are not tapped disproportionately. The notion of raising Proposition 13 taxation on commercial property should be examined, if it’s a “reasonable level,” said Chan.

Asked about special districts’ lost revenue, such as Livermore Area Recreation and Park District’s loss of 50 percent of its annual budget to the state’s various budget crises, Chan said that districts seeking capital improvements can take advantage of the bond issue that passed several years ago. As for operating costs, Chan said that if elected, she would assign staff in the Tri-Valley area to work on a solution.

MANDATES TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Chan was asked about the so-called unfunded mandates that Livermore and Pleasanton city governments have complained about in the state’s “fair share housing” requirements in general plans. She replied that it’s important for communities to take their fair share of housing.

In Piedmont, the city dealt with it by working with the community and the law to achieve low and moderate income housing. “You need to find a fair way to do it. If tweaks are needed, and cities don’t have the funding (for infrastructure to support it), then revise the law,” said Chan.

In general, planning decisions should be local and regional, not dictated by the state. This is certainly true when it comes to decisions about urban in-fill, which she supports.

Chan opposes Proposition 98, which is geared toward eminent domain, but which also eliminates rent controls in mobile home parks, and shuts down other forms of rent control that exist in some cities. “There should be local input into it (rent control),” said Chan. Prop. 99, an eminent domain alternative to Prop. 98, is written much better by legislators, and would serve the public better, she said.

Asked about supporting local senior and youths programs, Chan said that for five years she sat on an Assembly committee for seniors. She passed a bill that ensured that there would be enough flu vaccine for seniors, who would take precedence. In terms of local programs for seniors, in general it would be well to consolidate programs, and have “one-stop shop types of things, so they don’t have to go to too many places,” she said. Her own experience with her 88-year-old father’s access to many different services is showing her that.

‘HEALTH CARE IS A PASSION’
When Chan was in the Assembly, she supported a universal health care coverage bill sponsored by a fellow legislator. “I was chair of the health committee. Health care is one of my passions. Making an investment now would save us money later. The governor said he’s interested in rewriting a package for 2010. If I’m in the leadership, I’m well-positioned (to pass it),” said Chan.

Chan said that she was the primary author of 20 health bills during her tenure. Among those that became law was one that required health care insurers to make public the percentage of applicants they turn down for coverage. It can help consumers determine where to apply if they have been rejected over such things as taking a cholesterol drug, or having a bad acne condition (as one committee hearing witness testified).

Another bill put a cap on how much a person can be charged if they have no insurance for a given procedure. One couple testified at the health care hearing that their bill was $400,000. When the hospital found out that they had health insurance, the bill was cut to $75,000. Health care bills have been the second leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States, she said.

Chan wants to see all California children have health care coverage. Her bill to extend it to all was vetoed by Schwarzenegger. However, Sen. Darrell Steinberg has picked up the torch since Chan left the Assembly. “There are 1 million kids in California who have no health insurance. I think that’s criminal,” said Chan.

B.A.R.T. CAN PROFIT FROM BULLET TRAIN
On the topic of a Livermore BART extension, Chan said that she likes County Supervisor Scott Haggerty’s suggestion of rolling in money for it from the proposed bullet train bond measure. She definitely would support the bond or other money for the extension, having been caught in rush hour traffic in the Valley.

On relieving freeway congestion, Chan said the state infrastructure bonds can help. The Bay Area has to come together and fight for its share, since Los Angeles has received a big part of it.

EDUCATION SIMPLY NEEDS MORE MONEY
With California ranked nearly last in support for education, there is a need for more money. This year’s prospective education budget is bad. “It will take a lot of pressure from outside (voters). I’m a Democrat, but Republicans will have to get off the mantra of ‘no new taxes.”

Livermore school district has improved its income through the Legislature’s moves toward equalization, but more needs to be done, said Chan, who was on the education budget committee for five years. Unless there is infusion of more money, the problem becomes taking money from other districts to “equalize” Livermore and other underfunded districts.

TOXINS, GLOBAL WARMING ARE MAJOR
Many things should be happening when it comes to environmental law. Global warming and control of toxic substances are chief among them.

Bills introduced by Chan include a ban on harmful toxins in rugs and furniture, which was approved in 2003, and was the first in the United States. Another of her bills reduced the amount of lead in pipes, despite opposition from chemical companies.

Education in the schools and in households is a good way to cut the carbon footprint. Working with the energy caucus, she said she presented a program statewide on the topic. She also was involved in AB 32, the bill that will cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

On green jobs and the spread of technology, Chan said she would make sure that money for them goes into Senate District 9. “We are in a good position, with LLNL and the Berkeley lab. A lot of it is working with partnerships,” she said.

On the home mortgage crisis, she is sympathetic to people who have lost their homes. She supports congressional bills to allow people more time to pay off their debt. “We have to protect the consumer, and regulate mortgage brokers more,” she said.

In closing, Chan said she feels that based on her record in the Assembly leadership, she expects again to have a leadership post. If she does, she can use it effectively for district residents, she said. Overall, her emphasis has been on getting bills passed, not just on ideas, she said.

LONI HANCOCK’S VIEWS
On the state budget and taxes, Hancock stated, “Taxes are the way we pool money for things that we can’t afford separately, such as roads, schools, a health care system, hospitals, trains and buses. The budget is a statement of our values. What kind of people are we? What kind of life do we want in California?”

The California budget has been at the tipping point for years. It’s clear that the state, which is 47th in financial effort behind each student, can’t endure the $4.8 billion cut for schools proposed by Schwarzenegger, and “prepare kids adequately for 21st century jobs.”

“We are about the lowest in the nation on medical reimbursement (for doctors with Medi-Cal patients). A 10 percent cut there would be disastrous for many doctors. In some rural counties, only two or three doctors take Medi-Cal patients now. We leave federal-match money on the table all the time when we make cuts. We have to realize we can’t cut our way out of a crisis,” said Hancock.

Revenues need to be raised in a way that does not hurt the working class and middle class. A bill that Hancock has would supported accomplishes what Ronald Reagan did when he faced a deficit (as governor). Hancock stated, “He implemented a 1 percent increase in the income tax for the wealthiest Californians. So I am proposing we restore that, on people making over $250,000 per year, keeping in mind that they can also deduct their state income tax from the federal tax.”

Closing the yacht tax loophole, where someone can buy a boat in Oregon, wait 90 days, bring it home to California and escape the state’s sales tax is another thing to consider. “We need to look at these options and ask, ‘Is educating our children worth it?’ ”

If the governor hadn’t cut the vehicle license fee, it would bring in $6 billion annually now, said Hancock. It would be good to restore the fee in some form. “It was quite a progressive fee. You could structure it so that gas guzzlers pay more,” she said. It takes a two-thirds vote in both houses in the Legislature to close the yacht sales loophole or approve any other tax increase, since closing a loophole is considered a tax increase.

“We are one of three or four states to require a two-thirds vote (of the Legislature) to pass a budget. That means there is the tyranny of the minority. If the U.S. Congress had a two-thirds rule, they would never pass a budget.”

Hancock said that she and Sen. Tom Torlakson have sponsored Senate Constitutional Amendment 22 for a future ballot that would change the rule to a simple majority could decide the budget. Hearings in Sacramento have shown that people who are “very distraught about what would happen to schools and elderly parents and child care” want more taxes so that services are not lost, as long as the tax increases are fair, she said.

Instituting an oil severance tax is another way to raise revenue. “We are the only one of 21 oil-producing states that does not have an oil severance tax. Texas and Oklahoma have oil severance taxes. We couldn’t get a two-thirds vote for it. All of the Democrats were for it, and all of the Republicans were against it. We were seven votes short in the Assembly, and two in the senate.”

The oil-tax vote also brought up the topic of public financing of campaigns, which is the subject of a bill that Hancock sponsored and passed in the Assembly, but which died in the Senate. If she gets into the Senate, she’s optimistic she can work on the logjam there.

Hancock’s donations reform plan is patterned after that of Arizona. It involves getting many $5-limit contributions to qualify for matching state funds. “I talked to a Republican in Arizona who ran on public financing. He said that when he was elected, he didn’t have to do anything but what was in the best interest of the state of Arizona. A year or so ago, 66 percent of people in an Institute of Public policy poll said ‘yes’ to the statement that Sacramento is run for a few big interests, not for people like me,” said Hancock.

Proposition 13 needs to be put on the table to re-examine the entire way California is financed, said Hancock. It’s the commercial side that needs a second look, not residential properties. Residential homes turn over every three to five years, and are reassessed. However, much of the state’s old commercial property has not been reassessed because there is relatively little turnover.

Asked about special district taxation, such as the 50 percent cut the state takes from LARPD every year, Hancock said she has spent time fighting for Bay Area special districts, such as EBMUD, EBRPD and AC Transit. “I have succeeded in keeping those special districts from being cut in the budget. I look forward to doing the same thing for the Livermore district,” she said.

FAIR SHARE HOUSING GOALS
Asked about unfunded state mandates in terms that require cities to expand housing, Hancock said, The more you housing build, the more is assigned. “Instead of punitive measures, there are positive incentives for cities that build around transit hubs. I was able to include $850 million in the last housing bond for incentives for cities that decide to build inside urban limit lines,” she said.

Hancock said she believes “strongly in urban limit lines, and having greenfields as opposed to urban sprawl.” She said she doesn’t see any threat from the state against open space or urban growth boundaries.

On the eminent domain propositions, Hancock said, “No on 98, and 99 is fine.” She said that Prop. 98 would prohibit all local zoning. It says developers should be able to build anything they want, or be compensated. It would hurt renters, the environment, the ability of cities to shape their building environment. Prop. 99 clarifies, in some very narrow cases, where you can’t use eminent domain, but it leaves the rest of zoning and planning.”

About programs for seniors and youths, Hancock said that she is focused on protecting the existing programs, such as in-home support of seniors and senior nutrition, that are threatened with cuts. Also, if $4.8 million is cut from education, “we’ll see after-school and nutrition programs cut. Some districts I represent are looking at cutting music and art. One is looking a sports. That’s a recipe for making school a place where a child doesn’t want to be.”

HEALTH CARE, TRANSPORTATION
Asked about whether the state should adopt single-payer health plan, Hancock said that the experience in other countries shows that it works. It results in spending a smaller percent of the gross domestic product on health care, and people live longer.

“The question should be: If every other industrialized country in the world does this, why can’t we? We are a very innovative people. Truly we can figure it out,” said Hancock.

Extending BART to Livermore is an important part of the picture. “We need to invest a great deal more in public transit. We are one of the few countries that doesn’t have high-speed rail. That is public investment. We need to pool our money for that and BART and buses,” she said.

EDUCATION
The Republicans in the Legislature are trying to manipulate the formula contained in Proposition 98, the guarantee for a minimum amount of state budget money to underwrite education. By manipulating the formula that distributes the money, they think they can say they are not really cutting it. “The point is, the money is needed in the classroom,” said Hancock.

Asked about equalization for poorer districts, such as Livermore, Hancock said that there are a variety of levels of funding depending on the district, and every district is different. The real problem is that “like the rest of our financial system, education needs to be completely overhauled. We need more money for public schools. Otherwise, we are just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic,” said Hancock.

ENVIRONMENT, MORTGAGE DEFAULTS
As chair of the Assembly natural resources committee, Hancock said she is looking forward to implementing AB 32, the greenhouse gas law. “This is leading to an economic boom in California.

Investment capital is flowing into the green economy. We have been working with partnerships on the I-880 corridor, from Oakland to Richmond, to attract green businesses and jobs, with help from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

Representing Livermore, we would bring the Livermore lab into that as well, and the whole Tri-Valley business community,” said Hancock.

A bill Hancock sponsored is establishing 10 career academies in green technologies in career path settings in schools. “I think we really can position this part of the world to lead in building the green economy. There is a role for every young person. They can invent the next generation of solar panels, or install them, or market them around the world, or be involved in shipping them,” she said.

Asked about whether the state should help people who got in trouble over mortgage defaults, Hancock said that it is “as least as important as helping mortgage brokers about investments that didn’t work out.” Such tools as longer loans, and negotiated loans that families can pay for would be better than seeing people “losing their homes and whole neighborhoods becoming derelict.”