[May 10, 2008]

State Senate candidates offer budget solutions

(The Marin Independent Journal Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 10--Solving the state budget morass was among key topics addressed Friday by the three Democratic candidates for the 3rd District state Senate seat.

Incumbent state Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, appeared along side challengers San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno and former Marin Assemblyman Joe Nation at a Marin Bar Association forum in San Rafael.

The three, who will square off in the June 3 election, discussed a range of issues including education, the environment, taxes and property rights.

On how to solve short- and long-term budget problems, Migden suggested among other measures the state should reinstate the vehicle license fee increase, which was rescinded by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003. She also suggested savings could be had by granting the early release of non-violent prison inmates.

Nation agreed, saying he believed that spending more on the state prison system than on higher education was wrong.

"That in and of itself is a crime," he said.

He also suggested broadening the sales tax and creating a "green" vehicle license fee that would charge more for gas guzzlers and provide incentives to drivers to purchase higher fuel-efficient cars.

Leno disagreed with the notion of expanding the sales tax, calling the scheme "regressive," despite Nation's insistence that the move could be made without putting the burden on lower-income earners.

Nation rejected the notion of tampering with Proposition 13, the measure that caps property taxes.

But Leno suggested that commercial properties could be reassessed.

"Disneyland is still paying the same property taxes they were decades ago," Leno said.

On the environment, the candidates agreed that alternative energy to reduce fossil fuel dependency was critical. Greater incentives and fewer barriers for homeowners to go solar also were called for.

"I think we can lead the world on that issue," Nation said of climate change initiatives.

Two ballot measures on eminent domain reform, Propositions 98 and 99, drew strong feelings from the candidates, who agreed that voters should vote "no" on 98, which also eliminates rent control, and "yes" on 99.

"It's kind of a devil in disguise," Migden said of Proposition 98. "I favor rent control, of course."

All agreed that education funding equalization to ensure all districts receive adequate funding is a priority, although Leno noted it would be an uphill battle because of the state budget deficit.

"It's going to be a zero-sum game unless we get more money," he said.

Migden blamed the governor, saying education would not be a target had the vehicle license fee been kept intact.

"It's saving motorists a few pennies that led to a disastrous cut in education," she said.

The session, which was held at the Rafael Theater, was informational for the bar association, which will not endorse any of the candidates, said Ed Berberian, Marin's district attorney and bar association president.

Read more San Rafael stories at the IJ's San Rafael page.

Contact Jennifer Upshaw via e-mail at jupshaw@marinij.com

To see more of The Marin Independent Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.marinij.com/.

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