• Clean Air – Unregulated Major Sources of Toxic Emissions Can and Should Be Addressed
  There are more sources of pollution today than ever before – the most significant threats to public health are posed by cars, trucks, ships, trains, buses, pesticides, and even cows. By 2025, trade in California is expected to triple, which means the pollution coming from ships, trucks and trains carrying consumer products may grow by leaps and bounds. I support putting reasonable pollution control technology in place to address what are presently completely unregulated, major sources of air pollution. Additionally, I support investment in improved public transit options around the state – large majorities of the public support having more transit options, and such options have worked to relieve both traffic congestion and air pollution in my district.
• The Santa Monica Bay – An Irreplaceable Resource
  I will do everything in my power to ensure that the Santa Monica Bay is protected. We continue to make progress, but we are still a long way from solving urban runoff problems and repairing degraded habitats. By keeping in regular contact with the organizations and individuals who are concerned about the Bay, by exhibiting political leadership in Sacramento and by using the bully pulpit of my position to educate constituents, I will do my part to continue the work of healing and restoring the Bay.

Energy
As our population and economy expand, California needs more energy, and needs to figure out how to use its energy more efficiently. Currently, our energy consumption grows at about 2 percent a year. At certain times of the year, California is a net importer of electricity. And nearly a third of our power plants are more than 40 years old, which impacts reliability when plants are shut down for maintenance.

California should be focusing its resources on increasing energy conservation and efficiency and investing in the use of alternative, especially renewable, energy sources. The least expensive electricity to produce is the power we don’t have to generate in the first place because demand has been reduced.

Traffic
Transportation agencies face the challenge of providing mobility and access, managing congestion, and attaining air quality goals in a far different environment from the era of freeway expansion in the 1950s and 1960s. Real costs of building highway lanes have more than tripled since then, and the value of traditional roadway user fees – gas taxes – has eroded through inflation and higher fuel efficiency. In today’s environment, our traffic problems require a combination of building more roads and getting more cars off the road. The greatest potential lies in strategic investments to relieve bottlenecks and to encourage drivers to carpool, modulate their travel schedules, and use transit alternatives.

I hope to improve traffic flow and safety in the more congested areas of the district through:

• Improved traffic management, including signalization;
• Increased use of remote control of traffic signals;
• Better addressing slope slides and slippage problems;
• More "real time" information on traffic conditions available through e-mail alerts and changeable message boards when alternative routes should be used;
• Better separation between highway traffic from bikers and pedestrians; and
• Improved public transit options.

I also will work to ensure that adequate funds are allocated to build the necessary roads and infrastructure in the rapidly growing areas of Northwest Los Angeles County and Ventura County.

Education
There is nothing more vital to the future of California than the educational opportunities we provide -- from universal preschool to kindergarten, elementary and secondary schools, and to public colleges and universities -- and no greater investment we can make.

• Fully Fund Our Public Schools
  All students deserve high-quality teachers, yet our teachers are underpaid and underappreciated. The challenge lies in, attracting and retaining quality teachers, increasing teacher salaries and empowering teachers -- and parents -- with the resources they need to succeed. California should continue to relieve overcrowded classrooms and repair old schools. We need to ensure that schools are equipped to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow. Fully funding education is one of my top priorities.
• Local Control of Our Schools
  Education decisions are best made by parents and teachers at the community level, not by mandates from Sacramento or the Federal Government. The legislature should be empowering our schools to spend categorical funds as they see fit. Every school has different needs, I want to give local districts the flexibility they need to meet performance goals.
• A College Opportunity for All
  I will work to ensure that every one has the educational opportunity they deserve in a world-class school system. As a teacher at Cal State Channel Islands, I know the importance of keeping college tuition costs at a reasonable level and ensuring that more students have access to California colleges and universities. The Cal Grants that pay a portion of living expenses currently have an unacceptable income ceiling of $36,600. We need to raise that ceiling to make college more affordable for middle-class families.