ELECTIONS ASSEMBLY : A Guide to District 40’s Candidates and Issues

Overview

Environmentalist Glenn Bailey is attempting to wrest control of the heavily Democratic 40th State Assembly District from Assemblyman Tom Bane, a powerful player in the state Legislature. Bailey has raised less than $1,000, stressing his fresh outlook and environmental qualifications in a grass-roots campaign. Bane has a huge campaign finance reserve, estimated at close to $1 million, and solid name recognition among voters built up over eight consecutive terms. However, Bane may suffer repercussions from recent controversies surrounding grants made to one of his contributors by Bane’s wife, as chairwoman of the state Lupus Appropriations Board.

Contenders

Glenn Bailey, 34, of Encino, has been a regional coordinator for statewide wildlife and environmental ballot initiatives for the past three years. He also works as an administrative assistant for summer school programs and reading clinics at Cal State Northridge. Raised in the San Fernando Valley, he received an associate degree in life and earth sciences from Pierce College, and attended CSUN, majoring in political science. He previously was elected to the Northwestern Los Angeles Resource Conservancy District board, and in 1988 ran unsuccessfully for the Board of Supervisors seat held by Mike Antonovich.

Tom Bane, 76, of Tarzana is in his 10th term in the Assembly, where, as a close ally of Speaker Willie Brown, he serves as chairman of the influential Rules Committee. He was first elected in 1958, ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1962 and returned to the Assembly in 1974. Bane graduated from Burbank High School, and attended Los Angeles Community College for two years. He also attended night school at Southwestern Law School and USC. A former national trade association manager, Bane served as a commissioner on the Los Angeles City Employees Retirement Board and the L.A. City-County Government Consolidation Study committee. His wife’s name is Marlene, and he has one son and two grandchildren.

Helen R. Gabriel, a Republican, and John Vernon, a Libertarian, are unopposed in their primaries. Their names will appear on the general election ballot in November.

Questionnaire

Questionnaires were distributed to candidates and were returned this month. Answers have been edited to fit the available space.

Q. Under recently introduced legislation, state sales taxes would be raised by a quarter-cent for 10 years to help finance school construction. Do you favor an increase in sales taxes to underwrite new school construction?

Bailey: No. Sales taxes disproportionately burden working people. We should continue using bond financing for school construction.

Bane: Yes.

Q. A measure on the June ballot would raise taxes on gasoline sales by 9 cents a gallon to finance highway projects. Do you support the concept of higher gas taxes to underwrite road construction?

Bailey: No. I support higher gasoline taxes to promote fuel conservation and rapid transit, but not to build new highways.

Bane: Yes.

Q. Do you support a woman’s unrestricted right to an abortion within the first three months of pregnancy? Bailey: Yes.

Bane: Yes.

Q. Do you support capital punishment? Bailey: Yes.

Bane: Yes.

Q. Do you support the idea of breaking up the Los Angeles Unified School District into smaller districts? Bailey: Yes.

Bane: Left unanswered. Said this still requires further study and cost projections.

Q. Under current law, the state Legislature is responsible for redrawing state legislative and congressional district boundaries. Do you believe this system should be changed? Bailey: No. But districts should be compact, should not divide communities, and should not be gerrymandered.

Bane: Yes. Although I would agree to a nonpartisan alternate method of redistricting, I do not believe Propositions 118 and 119 are viable solutions.

Q. Do you support the so-called “Big Green” ballot initiative, which would eliminate ozone-depleting chemicals by the year 2000, phase out pesticides known to cause cancer and require that trees be planted in all new developments? Bailey: Yes.

Bane: Yes.

Q. Do you think the state should require private employers to subsidize day-care services for employees who request them? Bailey: Yes. Day-care centers should be required in all new large commercial and industrial projects.

Bane: Yes. The state should not mandate. However, employers of large numbers of employees would probably have access to higher caliber employees and greater productivity by offering day care. Every other country provides such service.

Q. Do you support the state’s efforts to build prisons in Lancaster and East Los Angeles? Bailey: No. Neither prisons nor dumps belong in residential areas.

Bane: Yes.

Q. Proposition 112 on the June ballot would ban speaking fees and limit gifts to state legislators while creating a commission that could pave the way for higher legislative salaries. Do you support this ballot initiative? Bailey: No. Ethics reform should not be tied to salary increases. Proposition 112, placed on the ballot by the legislators, would financially reward them for being corrupt.

Bane: Yes. I support the ban on honoraria and a limit on gifts. I would have preferred a ceiling on salaries. I support a citizens commission to determine salaries.

Q. Do you support Gov. Deukmejian’s proposed constitutional changes that would require state prison inmates to work in privately sponsored industries to pay for their incarceration? Bailey: Yes, provided that prevailing wages are paid, and these monies go to the state.

Bane: No. I do support prisoners working within the prisons to feed, clothe and support themselves.

Q. Do you believe our present system of criminal prosecution, interdiction of supplies and imprisonment of users and dealers will ever significantly reduce the level of drug use in the United States? If no, what should be done? Bailey: No. Take the profit out of the drug business by reducing demand through peer pressure and significant economic investment in depressed areas.

Bane: No. Tougher penalties for providers. Federal government should give a higher priority to border protection and prosecution.

Q. Would you consider the possibility of decriminalizing the use of drugs? Bailey: Yes, but not the sale of drugs.

Bane: No.

Q. Do you support raising sales or other taxes to finance anti-drug law enforcement efforts and/or anti-drug education programs? If yes, by how much? Bailey: Yes. Raise taxes on legalized drugs--tobacco and alcohol--as is necessary.

Bane: No.

Q. Do you support full or partial public funding of political campaigns? Bailey: Yes. The Legislature is a puppet of the special interests that finance their campaigns. Corporate and PAC monies should be outlawed. Since the last election, the incumbent in this race has received $1 million in special interest campaign contributions, almost none of which was from this district.

Bane: No. No explanation given.

Q. A ballot initiative now in circulation would prohibit foreign individuals and corporations from owning land in California. Do you support this? Bailey: No answer checked. Said he would support a 49% foreign ownership limit of any property in California.

Bane: Yes.

Q. Rising property values in the Santa Monica Mountains have made it more difficult for state and federal parks agencies to buy land for public use. Land prices have escalated in part because local officials have allowed developers to build more houses than provided for under zoning laws. To keep property prices more affordable to parks agencies, should governments in Los Angeles and Ventura counties refuse such so-called “upzoning”? Bailey: Yes. Another example of the influence of campaign contributions from developers. The general plan should be the maximum density allowed, rather than the base.

Bane: Yes. No explanation given.

Q. Are you willing to publicly release your tax returns and those of your spouse before the election? Bailey: Yes.

Bane: Yes.

Q. A development project called Porter Ranch would create 3,395 residential units and nearly 6 million square feet of commercial office space in the Chatsworth hills. Opponents say it is too big. Proponents say it represents orderly growth. Do you support the project at this size? Bailey: No. Century City North does not belong in our foothills.

Bane: No.

Q. Do you support limits on the number of terms state legislators can serve? If yes, how long should they be? Bailey: Yes. Eight years: two terms for senators, four terms for assembly members.

Bane: No.

Q. A ballot initiative now in circulation would prohibit the spraying of pesticides on private property without the written consent of the owner. Do you support this measure? Bailey: Yes. I am circulating the petition.

Bane: Yes.