Congressional candidates debate immigration

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published May 16, 2006 at 9:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 18 years ago.

With three weeks to go until the June Primary election, the four candidates running to complete the term of convicted San Diego Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham debated Immigration reform last night

With three weeks to go until the June Primary election, the four candidates running to complete the term of convicted San Diego Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham debated Immigration reform last night on a local radio station. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

The main issue, immigration, set the candidates apart. Republican Brian Bilbray advocated for more border enforcement and cracking down on employers employing illegal workers, while democrat Francine Busby supported the McCain Kennedy bill to give immigrants a chance at a work visa.

Bilbray called those who would remove the Mount Soledad Cross activists and extremists, while Busby says she'd support the veterans association who want to end litigation and find another symbol for the memorial.

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Bilbray was not the only candidate laying claim to conservative voters. The republican party has been unable to rally the troops behind him, and millionaire Bill Hauf has said he'll campaign against him in the primary.

Independent Will Griffith who's in the June Runoff to complete Cunningham's term, also offered to fill that role, saying he's the most conservative candidate in the race, threatening Bilbray's ability to beat Busby in what is normally a safe republican seat.
Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.