Forum puts Assembly, Congress candidates under microscope

Over 300 attend Acorn/CLU event



FOR CONGRESS—From left, Rafael Dagnesses, Jeff Gorell and Douglas Kmiec at the May 10 candidates forum.

FOR CONGRESS—From left, Rafael Dagnesses, Jeff Gorell and Douglas Kmiec at the May 10 candidates forum.

Candidates vying for a pair of key political offices looked to score points with voters at a May 10 candidates forum hosted by the Acorn Newspapers and Cal Lutheran University inside the school’s basketball gym.

With three weeks until the June 3 primary, six office-seekers— three for state Assembly and three for Congress—took part in the forum on the campus of CLU.

The event drew 300 people.

Assembly race

Candidates seeking to represent the 44th District, which includes most of southern Ventura County and Westlake Village, are Thousand Oaks City Councilmember Jacqui Irwin, a Democrat, and Thousand Oaks pastor Rob McCoy and Camarillo businessman Mario de la Piedra, both Republicans.

All three candidates agreed the state needs more water storage. Irwin favors passage of a water bond to support infrastructure, but McCoy does not.

“We are burdened; we don’t need any more bonds,” McCoy said.

Irwin worried about fracking in California and said she would not support the practice if it uses too much water or pollutes groundwater.

De la Piedra and McCoy support the oil extraction method.

“I think that this government has to prioritize our jobs and our economy first. The oil industry creates a lot of jobs for California,” de la Piedra said.

McCoy called fracking “a great opportunity.”

“We have all of the natural resources available to get this economy rolling and we’ve stifled our own citizens by not allowing access to those natural resources,” McCoy said. “I don’t want to destroy (California) with this hyperenvironmentalism that is causing us to fallow our own ground and destroy our own crops over fish, when our people are going hungry and they’re unemployed.”

Since 2007, an estimated 11,000 private-sector jobs in Ventura County have been lost, and when asked for ideas to bring more employment to the area, Mc- Coy said he favors incentives for businesses.

De la Piedra suggested lowering taxes and decreasing regulation and “frivolous lawsuits.”

“That alone would increase jobs,” he said,

Irwin said that California is not the “land of despair” that it’s made out to be.

She said the state remains one of the biggest economies in the world, with California and Texas adding an equal number of jobs since the recession ended.

“ To talk about everybody moving to Texas is blatantly untrue,” Irwin said. “Obviously, we are overregulated here. . . . But to talk about dropping all regulations, that is really not an acceptable solution.”

Irwin suggested hosting job fairs in cities and creating a business advisory council with local leaders.

The candidates were asked about their positions on Proposition 13, the 1978 voter-approved law that caps property taxes. Irwin said she wants to eliminate the loophole that allows businesses to sell properties without being reassessed at a higher value.

Regarding gay marriage, de la Piedra said he supports anyone’s right to have a family. Irwin said she is in favor of marriage equality.

“What we have to do is make sure we have more tolerance on that issue,” Irwin said.

McCoy said he recognizes the same-sex marriage of his sister but he took issue with a judge’s overturning Proposition 8, which banned the practice.

“There’s either going to be a restriction on religious liberty or there’s going to be an infringement on the rights of the citizens when they vote,” McCoy said. “It was a great burden to me that a single judge overrode the will of the people.”

Irwin was asked why she has supported staunch conservatives over Democrats in partisan races, a question that has dogged her throughout her campaign. She said she collaborated with Republicans to obtain funding for projects such as the pool at CLU and the 101/23 freeway expansion.

“I pride myself on working with everyone to get things done for our residents,” she said.

The conservative McCoy was asked how he would win over voters in a district toward the center of the political spectrum.

“My desire is to help,” he said. “I’m not running for the office, I’m running for the job.”

Congressional race

The 26th Congressional District race also came under the microscope.

Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo), Republican Rafael Dagnesses and independent Douglas Kmiec are competing in a district that includes most of Ventura County and Westlake Village.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Thousand Oaks) declined an invitation to attend the forum, leaving her opponents to answer questions on the economy, the Affordable Care Act and money in politics.

Both Dagnesses and Gorell said they would repeal the national healthcare legislation.

Dagnesses called it “the unaffordable care act,” but Kmiec applauded the president for passing the law, although he said the government still needs to reduce healthcare costs, such as the “enormous fees” that doctors pass on to their patients.

Gorell said he would vote against raising the federal minimum wage.

Dagnesses feels minimumwage jobs aren’t intended to support a family but to motivate young people to work toward higher-paying jobs.

To improve the economy, Kmiec said, top income earners should pay higher taxes.

Gorell said he would support the regional economy by working to protect Naval Base Ventura County and securing more water for farmers.

Dagnesses favors fewer government regulations.

“The bigger the government, the poorer we are,” Dagnesses said.

Though Dagnesses is a Cuban immigrant who came to the U.S. when he was a child, he said he doesn’t support amnesty for undocumented immigrants.

Gorell and Kmiec both support comprehensive immigration reform.

Kmiec said it is “unconscionable” that the House of Representatives hasn’t taken up an immigration reform bill passed by the Senate last year.

“It is an embarrassment that this do-nothing Congress is unable to handle an issue that has been laid before them and worked out so capably,” Kmiec said.

All three candidates agreed that big-money donations have sullied the election process.

Kmiec said the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to lift certain caps on campaign donations put public offices up for sale. Dagnesses said he met “slimy people” in politics during his campaign who told him that unless he had half a million dollars, he shouldn’t run.

Gorell, who raised more than Kmiec and Dagnesses in campaign donations, said he feels the country is moving in a direction where money equals political speech.

“Big labor, big corporations and big government are gaming the system and we need to push back,” Gorell said.

Kmiec and Gorell shared a brief exchange on military spending and national security.

Gorell said the U.S. is vulnerable to terrorist groups on multiple global fronts.

Kmiec, a former ambassador to Malta under the Obama administration, disagreed with Gorell and said many countries, such as Malta, love and respect America.

Gorell said Malta has little in common with Pakistan and Iran, two countries known to harbor terrorists.

“I don’t disagree with Jeff about the importance of our military,” Kmiec said. “I just want to make sure that when a president makes a decision to send young men and women in uniform to a country, he knows what the objective is and whether it’s achievable and consistent with American interests.”

When pressed on where he stands on social issues, Gorell said he is a pro-choice Republican who also believes marriage is between one man and one woman.

Saffana Hijaz, a 19-year-old student at Moorpark College, said although she doesn’t really follow politics, she attended the forum because she wanted to become more informed.

“I wish more young people would’ve come out and gave up their Saturday to try and get educated,” Hijaz said.

Mike Jay, a Camarillo resident who supports Gorell, said he appreciated hearing where each candidate stands on important issues.

The top two vote-getters for each race in the June 3 primary will advance to the November election.


FOR ASSEMBLY—Mario de la Piedra, Jacqui Irwin and Rob McCoy.

FOR ASSEMBLY—Mario de la Piedra, Jacqui Irwin and Rob McCoy.

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