Earlier in March, I asked the top three candidates for the 54th Assembly District seat being vacated by Betty Karnette because of term limits if they would participate in an “e-Interview”, and all three (Republican Gabriella Holt and Democrats Bonnie Lowenthal and Tonia Reyes-Uranga) agreed to participate. I e-mailed all three candidates on the same communication with the questions last Tuesday, March 25th, requesting responses by Friday, March 28th. Holt and Lowenthal provided their responses, Reyes-Uranga never responded. Today we post the responses of Gabriella Holt to our questions.
Biographical information:
Name as it appears on ballot: Gabriella Holt, Registered Nurse/Teacher
Party affiliation: Republican
Age: 52
Current occupation: Health care consultant (RN) for The Ibrahim El-Hefni Foundation and substitute teacher for the Southern California Regional Occupational Center, Torrance, CA
Elected office currently held: Current appointee by Supervisor Don Knabe to the Los Angeles County Probation Commission since 2002/Elected to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board of Education, served from 1997-2005.
Degree(s): BSN, University of Michigan; Accounting Credential, UCLA extension; Executive Juris Doctorate in Health and Administrative Law, Concord Law School. Professional Licensing/Examinations/Credential: Michigan Board of Registered Nursing (BRN)/California BRN /California Board of Accountancy State CPA Licensing Exam/California Teaching Credential Career Technical Education
City of Residence: Rancho Palos Verdes
Why are you running to be the representative of the 54th District? I am running for the Assembly because the issues of affordable health care, quality education, public safety protection, job protection and fiscal responsibility are some of the most important issues facing our state and the ones where I have extensive first hand experience. As a registered nurse, teacher and public servant I have spent most of my adult life serving people. This step is a natural progression for me to utilize my skills to serve the residents of the 54th Assembly District. The people of this area need a voice in the Assembly that is willing to stand up and speak for businesses, families, and individuals that want and deserve better from their state government leadership.
What is the role of the State government as opposed to the roles of local (city/county) and federal governments? Part of the problems we have in government in our country is with the federal and state government creeping into areas where it does not belong. This includes an invasion of personal freedoms, free enterprise, and open competition but it also means that federal and state governments are too large and involved in local government issues.
The role of the federal government should be very limited and stick to within the enumerated powers of Congress such as the Supreme Law (i.e. interstate commerce issue) and civil rights protection State government needs to focus on funding programs to the local city/county/special district governments that provide services such as health care, education, public safety, infrastructure repair and maintenance, transportation, environmental protection. State government should provide support service programs where individuals cannot support or help themselves. I believe control and implementation of most programs should be determined at the local level.
State government should be involved in corrections and rehabilitation, which could use substantial improvement. It is also appropriate for the state to be involved in water supply issues since local governments would have difficulty managing this on their own.
Most importantly, state government needs to cut back on their unfunded mandates and allow the local governments to do their jobs and businesses to run their businesses. Local knows best.
If Betty Karnette was not being forced out of office because of term limits would you have entered the race and run against her? Yes. My intention was to run against the nominees from the other political parties.
What specific strengths would you bring to the Assembly that your opponents do not appear to possess? My background includes professional work experience as a registered nurse and teacher, involvement in the startup and running of a medical practice and outpatient endoscopy center (my husband is a Gastroenterologist in private practice in the South Bay) as well as having formal education in nursing, accounting, business, health and administrative law. I understand first hand what it means to be an employee and the issues of benefits and working conditions; what it means to start up a business, meeting payroll, managing budgets as well as my extensive public governance experience with 8 years on a local school board and 6 years on a Los Angeles County Commission. I am able to identify issues, formulate and implement solutions and provide leadership as evidenced by my past public record. I am a thoughtful problem solver and intend to articulate my views on policy issues. I will truly be an advocate for the 54th district in the Assembly including an open door policy where residents and interested parties would be welcome into my office to see me personally about their issues and concerns.
How would the city of Long Beach specifically benefit by electing you to the State Assembly? The people of Long Beach would elect an independent voice for the community. I am not tied to one particular family or political machine. I will be representing the best interests of Long Beach as well as all areas of the 54th Assembly District.
What would be your top legislative priority as a freshman member of the Assembly? Budget, budget, budget. The state needs to get their spending under control. At this point that needs to be the focus of the Legislature and the Governor and those first steps toward financial stability. I would focus on such things as fraud control (such as the $3 billion per year Medi-Cal fraud) and other wasteful government spending which are too numerous to list here.
What specific cost cutting measures would you propose to provide solutions to our mounting budget deficit? The state should have entered a hiring freeze a year ago. Inaction on that front has cost months or time and billions of dollars. Fraud of government dollars runs rampant in this state (as I mentioned with the estimated $3 billion Medi-Cal fraud). The key issue here is that I am willing to look at every program in state government for reductions and efficiency improvements. Different programs have different priority levels and should be viewed individually and not as cookie cutter cuts straight across the board. When legislators start protecting individual programs from scrutiny then government will continue to be stagnant, run deficits and the risk of increased expense to the taxpayers.
What is the bigger obstacle to a balanced budget in California, too little revenue or too much spending; please choose one option and explain why. It is clearly too much spending. That is not even in question. I do not support tax increases on California families. Right now Sacramento acts in a way that simply redistributes wealth without any sort of spending behavior change. We need to demand accountability for our money, particularly in the way it is spent.
What do you consider your most important endorsement and why? My most important endorsements are those from local elected office holders and residents in the district. They know that California state government needs some serious change and that I am the one to bring those changes in order to give taxpayers a smaller and more efficient government
Please answer the following questions with just a “yes” or a “no”, please note that only “yes” and “no” answers will be printed to these questions without any explanations you may give so please confine your answer to “yes” or “no”:
Do you support the proposal to have retired judges sit as an independent panel to redistrict the state for the State Legislature and Congressional Districts? NO
Recently, a California judge ruled that parents who home school their children must be credentialed. Do you agree with this decision? NO
Do you support same sex marriage being legal in the State of California? NO
Do you support the State of California issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens? NO
Do you support the proposal currently in the Legislature to eliminate the state income tax deduction for interest paid on a primary residence? NO
Thank you for taking the time to participate in this E-Interview and allowing the readers of the Long Beach Post to know your position on some important issues.
Your thoughts welcome, click here to email me or on “Leave A Comment” below for public response.