There are two candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot running for a two-year term to represent this Assembly district: Republican Assembly member/business owner Laurie Davies and Democratic San Clemente City Council member/U.S. Marine Corps liaison Chris Duncan. Here are Davies’ answers to a 14-question survey The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board emailed candidates.

Q: Why do you want this job and what would be your top priority?

A: I believe I have something to offer our district and our state. I believe in civil service and serving those in your community. I was on the Laguna Niguel City Council for eight years and served as mayor as well because I wanted to help my community move forward. I think we’d all agree that California is a great place to live, but the state also has some growing problems that haven’t been addressed and are getting worse. If re-elected, fighting inflation and the cost of living will continue to be my top priority. It starts by eliminating or at least pausing the state’s gas tax. It also means making sure we are building affordable housing and getting burdensome regulations out of the way so cities and developers can properly plan. Lastly, it means working on our clean energy infrastructure, so your utility bills don’t skyrocket year after year.

There are two candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot running for a two-year term to represent this Assembly district: Democratic San Clemente City Council member/U.S. Marine Corps liaison Chris Duncan and Republican Assembly member/business owner Laurie Davies.

Between now and early October when voting gets underway, The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board is planning to publish dozens of candidate Q&As and nearly two dozen commentaries connected to a handful of San Diego city ballot measures and seven state propositions on the Nov. 8 election. Keep checking back as we fill in this voter guide.

Q: What is the biggest accomplishment of your career?

A: In my small business career, it was starting a business from scratch, and growing so that I could hire more people and help make my family self-sufficient. In the Legislature, I have so far been able to get 11 bills signed into law (with two more awaiting a signature). These have ranged from legalizing testing equipment for dangerous drugs, such as fentanyl and ketamine (a key ingredient of a date-rape drug), so people may know if drinks or products they get are laced with dangerous chemicals. They have also been on reforms such as ensuring college students have the resources they need to prevent food insecurity.

Q: Assess what the state is doing now to address the changing climate. What would you support to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California?

A: California has been on the forefront of fighting climate change, serving as an example to other states and countries. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we need an all-of-the-above approach to our energy and business principles. Locally, to help our ecological system, it starts with funding sand retention/replenishment programs to stave off coastal erosion problems. Statewide, I was proud to support Senate Bill 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. This bill mandates minimum content requirements for single-use packaging and food service source reduction requirements. Incorporating new requirements will save our oceans, but also help reduce greenhouse gases from the manufacturers who make these products. In addition, we need to educate the next generation about what it means to be environmentally conscious. That is why I was proud to be one of only three Republicans to support Assembly Bill 1939, which would add information on our environmental challenges into the existing K-12 science course curriculum.

Q: Assess what the state is doing now to address the drought. What would you do differently?

A: Sacramento has dropped the ball when it comes to addressing drought. Voters in 2014 approved billions for more water storage and conveyance with Proposition 1, but the Democratic majority in Sacramento has failed to act. We need to build more water storage, build conveyance so that we can get the water from where we have it to where we don’t, and lastly, build more desalination plants. One of my first acts if re-elected would be to request an audit of Proposition 1 funds to determine where those funds are and why they have not been used yet.

Q: The California Air Resources Board has adopted a policy that would ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035. What would you do to ease the transition to electric vehicles and ensure affordability, equity and practicality?

A: In theory, moving to all electric vehicles is a great idea. However, if we do that, we must make sure we have abundant, cheap energy production. That means doubling down on clean, green energy technology and production. Most electric cars are also more expensive, which adds to the financial burden of millions of Californians who are already struggling financially. One idea to increase affordability is to repeal a provision from the 2017 Senate Bill 1 gas tax legislation that requires all owners of zero-emission vehicle model year 2020 or later to pay an additional annual fee of $100. If we want low-income and middle-class Californians to be able to afford these vehicles, we need to remove the financial roadblocks. However, prior to all of this, we have to guarantee that our infrastructure can handle the idea of millions of electric vehicles. During this recent heat wave, the California Independent System Operator put out flex alerts, and one suggestion to conserve energy was to avoid using charging stations. It would be a catastrophe if we moved to all electric vehicles and our energy systems and grid were not capable of handling all the usage during extreme weather events.

Q: What can the state do to get more people to use public transit?

A: Most of California is not built like Manhattan or Chicago. We need to make sure we continue to upgrade our freeways and local roads so that average Californians aren’t stuck in gridlocked traffic for hours. That was a priority of mine when I sat on the Orange County Transportation Authority. We’ve built very few new freeway lanes in the last decade, and our roads continue to be full of potholes. At the same time, we should offer public transportation like trains or buses that make it easy for suburban commuters to use them.

One way to do this would be to work with private sector industries to offer stipends or tax credits to employees who use public transportation. Additionally, if we want people to use public transportation, it must be safe. That is why I was proud to support Senate Bill 1161, which will conduct research and public testimony to determine what new mechanisms California can implement to increase rider safety and tamp down on rider harassment.

Q: Housing affordability is a huge issue in California. What can you do to help renters or homeowners who are struggling now?

A: The issue of our housing crisis is two-pronged. First, with regard to renters, I was proud to co-author legislation this year that would have increased the renters’ tax credit to keep up with inflation. Unfortunately, Sacramento Democrats watered the bill down to essentially a study bill, but if we want to help renters, we need to make sure they have money in their pockets to be able to make payments.

With regard to building more housing, California needs to get out of its own way. We have so many labor and environmental regulations, it’s no wonder why developers don’t want to build here. To help with this, I recently supported Assembly Bill 2011, the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022. This bill would create a streamlined method for developers to build housing in unused commercial zones, as well as attract new workers into the construction industry by incentivizing the use of apprenticeships on these projects.

As we know, for years, cities have sometimes blocked any new developments and with this bill, we can ensure localities make good-faith efforts to actually provide spaces for developers to build new housing. This will give localities a seat at the table and the flexibility to work with state partners to fit the needs of their communities. Orange and San Diego counties are not San Francisco, and our housing plans do not need to mirror that. A one-size-fits-all approach does not work.

I also vow to protect Proposition 13 to keep our existing housing affordable and safe from property tax hikes.

Q: More and more resources are being dedicated to the homelessness issue, yet California has more homeless people than ever. Do you see progress? What solutions are working?

A: Homelessness is getting worse, not better. There is no progress, only more money. The majority in the Legislature and in the big cities will not accept the truth: Until we have more shelters and require people to use them, the problem will get worse. Concurrently, we must build more drug treatment centers and teach people how to manage and cope with their addictions. I believe the time is now to throw the kitchen sink at this issue. To that end, I was proud to support the governor’s CARE Court proposal to get folks on the street into treatment programs and ensure resources are truly devoted to them instead of going through bureaucratic hurdles.

Republicans in the state Assembly have also requested audits of current housing programs to determine where changes could be made, and I promise to continue to support those. Our tax dollars should be working the way they are intended. Lastly, as with many issues, homelessness has to do a lot with mental health and the complex issue of conservatorships. Many efforts were made in the Legislature this year on the subject, but as someone who has been a conservator for a family member, I can tell you more needs to be done. For example, properly labeling individuals with mental health disorders into existing statutory definitions will make them eligible for more programs and resources. I look forward to working on that next year.

Q: California’s crime rate is going up. Do you blame recent criminal justice reforms, other factors or some combination? How would you keep Californians safe?

A: I absolutely blame recent reforms for the state of our criminal justice system. Propositions 47 and 57 have been a disaster. We have all seen the videos and news articles about the increase in smash-and-grab cases only for us to also see that those caught are almost immediately released with a simple slap on the wrist. Sacramento Democrats have adopted a “criminal first, victim last” mentality, and it needs to change. We can have compassionate reforms for those who are nonviolent offenders, but we also need to be stricter on those who commit felonies or have a history of committing multiple crimes. It’s why I authored and successfully passed Assembly Bill 419, which tells witnesses and victims of crimes we will protect your identity and personal information if you come forward and help with the investigation of a crime.

Q: How would you help California students who suffered from learning loss associated with the COVID-19 pandemic?

A: First, many students never came back to school after the COVID-19 closures, and many of them went back to schools that were failing before the COVID-19 pandemic. California has the 44th-ranked K-12 education system in the country. This is a national disgrace, and it impacts Hispanic and Black students more than other students. The people who pay the price are the students who can’t read or write. As to COVID-19 learning loss — we need to significantly increase after-school and online learning catch-up classes immediately, and make sure parents know about them. Many of these catch-up classes already exist. We don’t have to take years for the government to reinvent the wheel.

One tool we can equip our parents with to help students who are struggling at their school post-COVID-19 is the ability of school choice. This year, I introduced Assembly Bill 1786 which would have created a mechanism for parents to transfer their children out of a poor-performing school and place them in another school inside or outside their home district. Your child’s educational opportunity should not be held hostage by districts that only want bodies in chairs (even at poor-performing schools) simply for academic daily attendance state funding.

Q: The state has had giant surpluses in recent years yet there are worries about a potential recession. How would you ensure the state is prepared to weather an economic downturn? What will you do for Californians who are struggling economically now?

A: There will always be recessions. Meanwhile, Sacramento takes every opportunity to take the surplus and spend it, so that we will have an even worse problem when the recession comes. We need to audit the state government — to focus on things we must do like education, public safety and environmental protection, and get rid of spending that is duplicative or that we don’t need.

We need to keep the state rainy day fund full. If we are looking for areas to cut funding, I would say the easy answer is to stop funding anything related to the failed high-speed rail project. Sacramento Democrats this year alone allocated $4.2 billion of funds to the project. In addition, to help suffering Californians, I voted multiple times to try and bring up for a vote a temporary suspension of the state’s gax tax. At peak times when our communities were paying $6 a gallon, sometimes $7 a gallon, saving them 50 cents a gallon at the pump was common sense. I will support more tax reforms next year that save Californians money.

Q: California has the nation’s most strict gun laws and among its lowest gun death rates. What is your philosophy toward gun legislation? Have you or your family been directly affected by gun violence?

A: My basic philosophy on gun legislation is that as the state with the toughest gun laws in the country, we need to focus on taking firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. Our problem isn’t the law-abiding gun owner, but rather illegal guns and people who should never have access to guns to start with. I continue to support increased budgetary funding for our Armed & Prohibited Persons System so local law enforcement knows who is not supposed to possess a firearm. There is a backlog of over 20,000 people in that system, and it needs increased funding. However, as a responsible firearm owner, I also know commonsense reforms are needed.

That’s why I stood up to industry and was one of three Republicans to support Assembly Bill 1621, which finally cracked down on unserialized firearm parts and gun traffickers. I also supported Assembly Bill 2870 to update our state’s gun violence restraining order laws to include dating partners and roommates as those eligible to request protection. Dating violence is domestic violence, and I will always stand up and protect vulnerable individuals. Lastly, I support increasing penalties on criminals who use firearms during a crime.

Q: What is your position on Proposition 1, which would establish the rights for Californians to an abortion and to contraceptives in the state Constitution?

A: I understand how important this issue is, and I respect that people have different opinions. California’s law and Supreme Court already codify the right of a woman to have an abortion, and this will not change. While I cannot support Proposition 1, that doesn’t mean we can’t have commonsense reforms to birth control. I was proud to be one of the few Republicans who voted to support Senate Bill 523, the Contraceptive Equity Act of 2022. This measure would require health plans to cover contraceptives and vasectomies. The Republican Party cannot be the party of “no” to everything. We have to provide alternatives and access to birth control and health care services to women and their families.

Q: Why should voters elect you over your opponent?

A: California has a growing list of problems, and we are becoming a one-political party state. This isn’t healthy for our democracy. My opponent is more of the same. There is literally no difference between his positions and the positions that are already not working. I have new ideas, new solutions and a track record of being able to work across party lines to get those ideas passed into law with both Democrat and Republican support.

In just one term, I have 11 pieces of legislation signed, with two more on the governor’s desk (as of this writing). Additionally, I was able to help secure $16.9 million for the Orange County Fire Authority to help combat the devastation we saw from the Coast Fire in Laguna Niguel earlier this summer. I can deliver for our community.

Hearkening back to my time on City Council and leading our city during the COVID-19 pandemic, people of every party, every background, recognize that while we might not always agree, I am independent, I am solution-oriented and, most importantly, I believe in results, not rhetoric.

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