The two candidates vying for Republican support in the California governor’s race spoke today at a forum put on by San Diego’s Regional Economic Development Corporation. They differ sharply on how to deal with California's water problems. Water is a key issue for San Diego, which is at the end of the pipeline.
Steve Poizner, currently California’s Insurance Commissioner, says he opposes the plan to issue an $11 billion water bond because, he says, the state already pays 10 cents of every taxpayer dollar to repay debt. Poizner proposes to challenge the judicial ruling that restricts water use to protect the delta smelt.
"This water crisis is man made," Poizner said. "There’s one unelected federal judge that’s taken over the water supply of the State of California. I think that’s wrong, I think that’s illegal. I think we should be able to control our own water supply. As governor I will appeal all the way up the U.S. Supreme Court."
Meg Whitman, who turned eBay into a mult-billion dollar company, takes a different position.
"I am a fan, actually, of the water bill. It’s not a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination. There’s $2 to $3 billion of pork in this bill. As governor, I will blue-line as much as I can of that pork spending before it gets funded, but I think we will be very sorry if we don’t take this agreed-upon plan and execute."
Both candidates propose to cut taxes to improve the business climate in California. Poizner wants to cut taxes across the board, while Whitman would target cuts she believes will create jobs.
Poizner says if he becomes governor, he would fight illegal immigration by working to stop all benefits for the undocumented, sanction employers who employ them, and beef up the border fence. Whitman says she does not support amnesty; she would hold employers accountable, and work with the federal government to build a better virtual fence
The winner in the June primary will run against Democratic candidate Jerry Brown in November.
