Monday, June 1, 1998
California candidates vie for congressional seats
ELECTIONS: Local winners from 29th Congressional District will
advance to general November elections
By Christy Lin
Daily Bruin Contributor
The top vote-getters from each political party for the U.S.
Senate and House of Representatives races will advance to the
general elections, which will be held on Nov. 3. The top three
candidates for the office of U.S. senator are Barbara Boxer, Matt
Fong and Darrell Issa. The top three candidates for the U.S. House
of Representatives for the 29th Congressional District, the
district UCLA is in, are incumbent Henry Waxman, David Churchman,
and Mike Gottlieb.
SENATE
Barbara Boxer
As the incumbent, Democrat Barbara Boxer is expected to be a
winner in the primaries and move on to the general election without
a second thought. Boxer first began her political career as a
member of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, the county in
which she and her husband have lived in for the past 30 years.
A mother of two grown children, Boxer originally entered
politics because she had concerns about the kind of world her
children would inherit.
With six years of experience in the U.S. Senate, Boxer has
supported the Brady Bill, which established a five-day waiting
period before the purchase of a handgun and a national criminal
background check system to be used by firearm dealers before the
transfer of any firearm.
Boxer also wrote the Computer Donation Incentive Act of 1996,
which provides an increased tax deduction for companies that donate
new and nearly-new computers to elementary and secondary schools
for educational purposes. The act was signed into law as part of
the 1997 balanced budget agreement.
Another act Boxer has introduced is the After School Education
and Safety Act of 1997. The legislation would create pilot
after-school enrichment programs such as mentoring programs and
drug prevention programs for students from kindergarten to high
school.
Matt Fong
Republican Matt Fong, Issa’s close competitor, is currently the
California State Treasurer. A Southern California local who lives
in Hacienda Heights, Fong holds a MBA from Pepperdine University
and a law degree from Southwestern University School of Law.
From being an independent businessman to commercial pilot to a
Member of the State Board of Equalization, Fong has been involved
in many different sectors of society.
As state treasurer, he has allocated $170 million to bonds for
college loans, helping 60,000 students attend college.
Fong supports capital punishment. He states: "Crimes such as
blowing up public buildings and murder deserve the death penalty.
Society has a right to take ultimate justice."
Adopted as an infant, Fong opposes abortion rights.
"My birth mother’s alternative to my birth – abortion – has a
very personal meaning for me," Fong said. "You can see why I think
the right choice is for life."
As Senator, Fong wants adoption tax credits and an end to
partial-birth abortions. He will also vote against taxpayer funding
for abortions.
Darrell Issa
A native of Ohio now living in Vista, CA, Republican Darrell
Issa is running a close race against Fong in the primary
elections.
As a young man fresh out of high school, he served in the U.S.
Army for 10 years and spent some time as a bomb disposal expert
assigned to President Richard Nixon.
After leaving the army, Issa became a successful businessman. He
started Directed Electronics Inc. (DEI), the world’s leading
manufacturer of consumer auto security systems. Issa won Inc.
Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1994.
As co-chair of the California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI),
more commonly known as Proposition 209, Issa strongly believes in
eliminating affirmative action.
"The idea behind CCRI, that it’s wrong to grant preferences
based on race and gender, is so fundamentally correct that I had to
get involved," Issa remarked.
As a U.S. Senator, Issa will take this issue to Washington and
"join the battle to dismantle the racial and gender preferences
that divide our nation. Discrimination is wrong regardless of who
benefits."
Issa also opposes bilingual education, which he describes as "a
dead-end that victimizes those it purports to assist."
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
David Churchman
Republican David Churchman, previously an infantry officer, has
been a professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills
since 1976 and has had several achievements in the field of
education in California.
Churchman initiated one of the first graduate degrees in
conflict management and made it available statewide through the
Internet and television.
Churchman also helped to begin the California Academy of
Mathematics and Sciences (CAMS), an acclaimed magnet high school
located at the Dominguez Hills campus.
As an environmental activist, Churchman co-founded Wildlife on
Wheels (WOW), which educates over 100,000 students annually with
its environmental programs. WOW also sponsored bird rescues during
the Exxon oil spill.
Churchman has visited over 100 countries, and believes this
experience increased his respect for people and their cultures, his
understanding of geopolitical realities, and his appreciation of
America’s national interests abroad.
Churchman approves of Proposition 226, the initiative that
requires labor unions to acquire the written consent of its members
before using dues to pay for political contributions.
"There is nothing more totalitarian than forcing an individual
to pay to promulgate opinions with which they disagree," Churchman
said.
As for Proposition 227, the initiative that will eliminate
bilingual education, Churchman also votes yes, saying, "Bilingual
education is a failure; immersion generally is a more successful
approach to teaching English. Although flawed, this is an
initiative statute rather than a constitutional amendment, so (it)
can be repaired by the legislature."
Mike Gottlieb
A UCLA alumnus and Republican, Mike Gottlieb is also running to
represent the 29th Congressional District.
He supports "a modified form of affirmative action," which would
consider the prior quality of education of minority students, but
not penalize students who were able to attend better schools.
He believes that education should be controlled by a balance of
regulation from both the state and local levels.
"Regions can differ greatly across the country, so the federal
government should be involved at the ‘macro’ level by setting
general guidelines," Gottlieb said.
Gottlieb believes that the business community must play an
active role in identifying the problems in its community and take
steps toward solving those problems.
As a congressman, Gottlieb plans to intertwine his background in
economics with congressional politics in order to create a stronger
connection between Angeleno interests and Congress.
Gottlieb plans to strengthen the pathways of communication
between Los Angeles and Washington by implementing focus groups on
health care, education and businesses.
Gottlieb was also a co-founder of the Westcoast Sports
Associates (WSA) in 1995.
WSA is a charitable organization of members with diverse
business and personal backgrounds involved with sports, whose goal
is to raise money for underprivileged youth sports programs.
Henry A. Waxman
Currently the incumbent, Democrat Henry Waxman is another UCLA
alumnus. Both his undergraduate degree in political science and his
law degree are from UCLA.
As the U.S. Representative, Waxman chaired the Commerce
Committee’s Subcommittee on Health and the Environment from 1979 to
1994 and was the Subcommittee’s senior Democrat from 1994 to 1995.
He is currently the senior Democrat on the House Government Reform
and Oversight Committee.
Prior to becoming a U.S. Representative, Waxman served three
terms on the California State Assembly.
Since entering Congress, Waxman has earned the reputation of
being an expert on Middle East policy and an effective proponent of
American aid to guarantee Israel’s security and survival.
Waxman wants more tobacco-control legislation. "There is no
greater threat to public health than tobacco products," he
said.
Waxman wants everyone to remember three facts when dealing with
tobacco: First, that tobacco is a lethal and addictive drug.
Secondly, it is the only product that produces harm when used as
directed. Lastly, Waxman believes tobacco companies have lied to
consumers for the past 40 years.