* What is the most pressing issue...

* What is the most pressing issue in the state? In Huntington Beach?

I believe the most pressing issue for the state, for Huntington

Beach and for the country is healthcare. Costs are increasing over

15% on an annual basis and we spend over 13% of our gross domestic

product on health. A single-payer health plan along the lines of

those in every other industrialized country would reduce our costs in

terms of GDP and reduce administrative costs considerably. Those who

criticize this approach attempt to squelch the debate by calling it

“socialized medicine” and pointing to the waits for elective surgery

in Canada as reasons we should not have a national dialogue on this

important issue that we all face in this country. I hope to help us

summon the collective political will to change the system we

presently have.

* How will you be able to address the concerns of Huntington Beach

in Washington?

I plan on being extremely accessible to the voting public. I will

visit every public school in my first term and I will have a

state-of-the-art website so voters may see my positions, my votes and

my rationale for those votes.

* What makes you the best person for the job?

I am the best person for the job because I am not a politician. I

am a concerned citizen that believes that the citizens of this

country should speak up and take a stand when government is not

responsive to their needs. I am an honest working man that will

always remember that I represent the people of the district, not the

moneyed special interests.

* What one thing would you hope to accomplish while in office?

Healthcare reform would be a huge accomplishment. I believe the

political will is building to make the changes to our system. I will

forcefully advocate those changes.

* How do you rate the federal government’s handling of homeland

security? What else can be done, if anything, to make the U.S. more

secure from terrorism?

For our district, we need to focus on better port security. We

need to have better monitoring of container shipments at home and

abroad. We also need to focus on how skillfully we integrated customs

and immigration and ensure that the new agency functions better than

the two old ones. Threats to our homeland begin with mistrust and

hatred of the U.S. abroad. The Islamic world does not see the U.S. as

an honest and even-handed broker for peace in the Middle East. We

should endeavor to seek a just and lasting peace for all peoples in

Palestine and Israel. That is a keystone issue that needs focus from

both the White House and Congress. We also must increase our foreign

aid so that our culture, history and democratic ideals are well

understood in the rest of the world.

* What’s your opinion of the president’s proposed guest worker

program? How should the federal government address illegal

immigration?

My initial reaction to the president’s proposal was that it was a

long overdue beginning to the national debate over illegal

immigration. We must come to a national consensus on this issue. The

main objection I have to the president’s proposal is that it ties

guest workers to particular employers. This could lead to abuse and

exploitation of workers. We should instead focus on streamlining the

process for legal immigration, tightening border security with more

funding and personnel, and cracking down on employers that hire

undocumented workers. If the jobs weren’t available to illegal

immigrants, they wouldn’t come.

* Is there too much spending in the president’s budget proposal?

How can the deficit be reduced, and should Americans be concerned

about it?

The last omnibus spending bill was loaded with pork for nearly

every congressional district. I hope the people of the 46th District

will join with me to try to stop this budget-busting game that’s

played every fiscal year. Most of the president’s tax cuts had little

to do with fiscal stimulus and ignored the middle class. Those tax

cuts should be rescinded or allowed to expire. The increase in the

child tax credit should be retained. The marriage penalty should be

eliminated. The estate tax should be retained. The dividend tax

should be reinstated. We need to balance the budget and once again

begin to pay down the debt. Then, after our fiscal house is once

again in order, we can look to broad-based tax relief.