Buchanan and Wilson spar on taxes and schools

ALAMO -- The candidates in what may be the Bay Area's most hotly contested state legislative district faced off in a debate Friday, touching on issues such as jobs, schools, taxes, water and their track records.

Incumbent Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, said she has been an effective advocate for the 15th Assembly District in her first term, and vowed to work to create jobs and support local businesses; oppose more education cuts; enact performance-based budgeting; and protect the Delta's ecology and Northern California's water rights.ALAMO -- The candidates in what may be the Bay Area's most hotly contested state legislative district faced off in a debate Friday, touching on issues such as jobs, schools, taxes, water and their track records. Incumbent Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan...

Republican nominee Abram Wilson said that in his eight years as San Ramon's mayor, he has turned around that city's structural deficit, inadequate cash reserves and poor relations with its business community, and he'd now like to do the same for the 15th District and the rest of California.

The two met before about 70 members of the Contra Costa Council -- a business-based public policy advocacy group -- at a luncheon in the Round Hill Country Club, moderated by Bay Area News Group's Lisa Vorderbrueggen.

Wilson -- whom Buchanan defeated for the Assembly seat two years ago -- went on the attack early, noting she voted for tax increases.

"My opponent says it's performance, not politics," he said, "but for the last two years she has only shown us politics."

Wilson called for implementing a state spending cap and "sunsetting" all state programs so lawmakers can review their cost-effectiveness, with no sacred cows; he didn't provide specifics on how that could be accomplished. But he said it's crucial to defend the two-thirds majority legislative votes needed for taxes and budgets.

"It should be difficult to raise taxes," he said.

Buchanan noted Proposition 25 on November's ballot would eliminate the two-thirds requirement for budgets but not for taxes; passing a budget earlier in the year would mean more certainty and stability for school districts and local governments, she said.

She also called for a "pay-go" system in which lawmakers must explain how they'll pay for whatever they spend.

Buchanan said it's crucial to avoid further cuts to education spending because California can't have a strong economy without a well-educated work force. Wilson said rather than raising any new revenues, the state should re-examine how money is spent, giving districts more latitude to spend it in classrooms.

Asked what each would do to bring the district's voice to negotiations on use and protection of the Delta, Wilson said only that he'd bring everyone to the table.

"There isn't a magic solution to this," he said.

Buchanan said she and Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, recently urged the state and federal governments to open up the negotiations so that they're not unduly influenced by water-company interests. Buchanan said she opposes Prop. 23, the measure to roll back the state's landmark greenhouse gas emissions law, because global warming and dependency on foreign oil are real threats that must be addressed -- though California businesses must be protected, too, she added.

Wilson said he supports the measure, lest the existing law "chase businesses out of California." Buchanan said the Legislature recently passed a bill to streamline the process by which new businesses are permitted, and must work harder to ensure that small businesses have access to credit. Wilson called for eliminating the capital-gains tax and giving tax credits to businesses hiring new employees.

Wilson called the state's high-speed rail plans "one of the biggest boondoggles we've ever had, and we should stop it now." Buchanan noted it is illegal to spend voter-approved bond funds for any purpose other than that for which they were approved, but said that while she would love to see high-speed rail work, "it's questionable whether it's going to come together" given the federal funding and local funding and partnerships required.

Contra Costa Television recorded the debate on video. Reruns will air at 8 p.m. Sept. 21; 7 p.m. Sept. 29; and 4 p.m. Sept. 30.

Excerpted from: www.insidebayarea.com.