Forward of the November common election, the Southern California Information Group compiled an inventory of inquiries to pose to the candidates who want to characterize you. You’ll find the total questionnaire beneath. Questionnaires might have been edited for spelling, grammar, size and, in some cases, to take away hate speech and offensive language.
MORE: Read all the candidate responses in our Voter Guide
Title: Laura Friedman
Present job title: Assemblymember
Political social gathering affiliation: Democrat
Incumbent: No
Different political positions held: California State Assemblymember, District 44/43, 2016-present; Glendale Metropolis Councilmember, 2009-2016; Mayor of Glendale, 2011-2012; Former Board Member, Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority; Former Board Member, LA League of Cities, Former Board of Administrators, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Former President, Unbiased Cities Affiliation; Previous Chair, Arroyo Verdugo Council of Governments Steering Committee; Previous Chair, Glendale Design Evaluation Board 2004-2009.
Metropolis the place you reside: Glendale
Marketing campaign web site or social media: https://www.lauraforcongress.org/
Californians will determine on a proposition this November that will cut back a few of Proposition 47, a 2014 voter-approved measure that lowered penalties for sure theft and drug offenses. What’s a method the federal authorities might assist states like California steadiness prison justice reform with implementing the regulation? (Please be particular along with your proposal, and hold your reply to 200 phrases or much less.)
Everybody deserves to be protected. Criminals have to be held accountable, and people who’ve proven themselves to be a hazard to the general public shouldn’t be allowed to stay in communities. Most of our prison justice insurance policies are enacted by state and native governments, however there are methods the Federal Authorities might help hold our state protected. The Federal Authorities ought to assist fund regulation enforcement coaching, and put money into services akin to they’ve finished with the DNA crime lab in Glendale. I’ll totally assist the President’s request that Congress make investments $37 billion to assist regulation enforcement and crime prevention, together with funding extra cops, increasing group violence intervention, including disaster responders, extra dispatchers, and habit remedy and psychological well being infrastructure. The Federal Authorities ought to enhance funding for coordinated joint federal and native efforts that concentrate on organized crime. They need to assist fund wanted anti-recidivism packages in order that previously incarcerated folks could have an opportunity to succeed. The Federal Authorities ought to direct funding into traditionally underserved communities by focusing on spending on supporting foster youth assist, job coaching, small enterprise, parks, faculties, group establishments. We have to cut back hopelessness, deep poverty, and trauma if we wish to cut back crime.
Current efforts to increase the federal deduction for state and native taxes, known as SALT, have failed. What modifications would you prefer to see, if any, to SALT? (Please hold your reply to 200 phrases or much less.)
The SALT Deduction protects residents from paying double taxation to the State and Federal governments. Sadly, former President Trump positioned a strict and low cap on this deduction throughout his presidency which resulted in Californians having to pay a disproportionately larger share of Federal taxes. I totally assist elevating the cap on the SALT Deduction in order that our residents should not penalized and might retain extra of their earnings. Given the excessive value of dwelling in Los Angeles, the overwhelming majority of residents ought to have the ability to declare the total SALT Deduction with none caps. This may put a reimbursement within the pocket of Californians.
President Joe Biden has known as for an overhaul of the U.S. Supreme Court docket, together with necessary ethics guidelines. What reforms, if any, do you consider the Supreme Court docket wants, and the way would they be enforced? (Please be particular along with your proposal, and hold your reply to 250 phrases or much less.)
Guaranteeing an moral authorities is extraordinarily vital to me. Democracy is in danger if we lose religion within the credibility and impartiality of our courts. After the revelations about critical sexual harassment dedicated by legislators, I stood up and lead the legislature in making significant, strong sexual harassment insurance policies that turned a mannequin across the nation. These insurance policies concerned an impartial workplace to analyze and adjudicate accusations of impropriety, and necessary reporting out to the press of sustained allegations. The Supreme Court docket must be held to the identical moral requirements across the taking of items and reporting to the general public as different elected officers. We’d like an impartial ethics workplace made up of Federal judges and different stakeholders to analyze claims of improper conduct. This physique must be empowered to make suggestions based mostly on predetermined repercussions for these breaking moral guidelines. There must be full transparency for the press and the general public round related conduct, such because the taking of items, by Supreme Court docket members. Members of the Supreme Court docket must be anticipated to observe moral guidelines like different public officers and they need to face related penalties, together with being faraway from workplace, for breaking these guidelines.
Ought to there be an age restrict imposed on presidential candidates? What about Congress or Senate? If that’s the case, what’s that restrict?
I don’t consider there must be an age restrict for candidates. There are people who at 75 are sharper then some folks of their 50s. We maintain elections, with public debates and appearances, in order that voters can decide the psychological health of candidates and vote accordingly. Age limits cut back voter selection.
Would you assist laws that protects ladies’s entry to in vitro fertilization and different fertility therapies nationwide? Why or why not? (Please be particular in your reply, and restrict your response to 200 phrases.)
My mom and the ladies of her era fought onerous for reproductive selection. However their a long time of labor have been erased final yr by the Supreme Court docket within the Dobbs Choice. Presently ladies’s proper to reproductive well being care and abortion has been totally erased in lots of states. And we all know that abortion entry even in California will probably be underneath risk underneath a Republican administration. Make no mistake: the identical extremists who’ve restricted ladies’s rights to reproductive healthcare, the identical folks forcing their very own private viewpoints on ladies and their docs throughout the nation, are precisely the identical ones now making an attempt to limit entry to in vitro fertilization. It is because it’s unimaginable to justify IVF pregnancies if one believes that life begins at conception as a result of fertilized eggs are discarded within the IVF course of. That is why Senate Republicans blocked laws that will have made it a proper nationwide for ladies to entry in vitro fertilization and different fertility therapies, and why the Republican Social gathering can’t be trusted to defend IVF the identical means it’s now clear that they need a nationwide abortion ban. I’ll at all times defend a girl’s proper to full reproductive healthcare and in vitro fertilization.
The Republican Social gathering’s platform, following the summer season conference, requires the “largest deportation effort in American historical past.” Is that this one thing you assist? If that’s the case, what would such an effort appear like? If not, how would you assuage issues about border safety? (Please be particular in your response, and hold it to 250 phrases or much less.)
I don’t assist mass deportations. They’d traumatize our group whereas additionally devastating our native economic system. Right here in Los Angeles we see the inhumane outcomes of our failed immigration insurance policies. Households are torn aside by deporation, undocumented kids can not entry the assist they have to be profitable adults, undocumented employees are exploited by companies within the underground economic system and used to unfairly compete with reliable companies. I assist a effectively funded course of to assist immigrants search asylum in the US in a extra humane and streamlined vogue, and extra supportive insurance policies and packages for refugees fleeing battle and oppression. Nevertheless, we additionally have to safe our border to maintain out violent criminals and shut loopholes which have allowed cartels to use the system. I’ll assist H.R.2, the bipartisan Safe the Border Act of 2023, which might have totally resourced border operations, helped safe the border, strengthened the asylum course of, clarified eligibility necessities for work visas, and added due course of protections and assist for kids.
Price of dwelling is excessive on the record of issues amongst voters, significantly amongst youthful folks. What’s one bipartisan proposal it’s important to alleviate issues about excessive costs or value of dwelling? (Please be particular in your response, and restrict it to 200 phrases.)
The largest two value of-living drivers I hear about regionally are the price of housing and healthcare. Lack of entry to inexpensive healthcare makes folks sicker and drives them into poverty. Medical bankruptcies, lack of entry to routine healthcare ,and unaffordable prescribed drugs are too widespread. I’ll push for nationwide well being care reform to shore up our medical infrastructure whereas placing {dollars} in pockets and offering higher well being. To handle the skyrocketing value of housing we have to construct sufficient inexpensive housing to cut back the value of lease. The Federal authorities ought to develop a nationwide technique that evaluates progressive packages akin to social housing, and contains tax code reform to encourage constructing for low and average earnings households. I’ve efficiently labored with teams like Habitat for Humanity to take away obstacles to creating possession models for low and average earnings people. There are lots of packages on the federal stage that are solely obtainable for the creation of rental models. I’ll try and increase these in order that they can be utilized for the constructing of workforce possession housing. I’ll develop tax insurance policies which discourage funding funds and different business enterprises from competing towards households for single household properties.
Californians proceed to level to housing affordability as considered one of their prime issues. What’s one thing the federal authorities might do to reduce the monetary burden folks really feel, whether or not that’s with renting or shopping for a home? (Please be particular in your reply, and restrict it to 200 phrases or much less.)
Eradicating the cap for the SALT Deduction would enable CA taxpayers to deduct extra of their housing prices. Including a rental tax deduction would assist relieve the price of paying lease, and would disproportionately assist decrease earnings residents. I might battle to guard and increase the Nationwide Housing Belief Fund and different inexpensive housing packages in order that extra assets can be found to create new inexpensive housing. We have to repair the Part 8 housing program, but in addition increase it in order that many extra eligible people can entry this system. Federal funding ought to enhance for packages just like the Housing Alternative Voucher program, which helps low earnings people take in lease will increase. If the Federal Authorities put more cash immediately into supporting city infrastructure enhancements akin to water, sewer, energy and public transportation upgrades, it could be simpler for Los Angeles to construct the housing it wants in areas greatest fitted to infill improvement with out burdening town’s common fund or present residents. The Authorities can enhance its help to first time and decrease earnings homebuyers, and focus related incentives on on the market new properties because it does on rental properties.
What do you see the federal authorities’s position as in serving to native municipalities sort out homelessness? (Please be particular in your reply, and restrict it to 200 phrases or much less.)
The easiest way to finish homelessness is to expend the assets wanted to maintain susceptible residents housed and to create sufficient housing for each homeless particular person. For each 100 folks needing inexpensive housing, there are roughly 16 obtainable models, inflicting susceptible people to slide into homelessness. Compounding the dearth of entry to housing is a disaster of accessible psychological well being remedy and quick access to extremely addictive medicine. I’ve authored laws to permit for essentially the most mentally unwell people to be taken off the streets and positioned into conservatorships, however there’s a hole between obtainable state and native funding for brand new psychological well being services and the massive want. The Federal authorities ought to assist fund habit counseling, psychological well being assets, and job coaching. The federal authorities ought to develop strong nationwide housing methods that deal with the disaster as an emergency. I’ll push to extend the provision of Part 8 vouchers and repair this system in order that extra landlords will take part. I assist funding for packages which assist susceptible residents keep housed. We should retain and create SROs, board and care services, new psychological well being services and different types of housing that target our most susceptible residents.
After Tesla chief government Elon Musk shared an AI-generated video purporting to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ voice, Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to enact laws to make it unlawful to control somebody’s voice in an advert. What’s one thing the federal authorities might do to guard folks from deep-fakes, or false AI-generated photos, movies and audio? (Please be particular in your response, and hold your reply to 200 phrases or much less.)
I’m extraordinarily involved by the rise of misinformation and the impacts that AI and deep fakes are already having on Democracy and public engagement. I assist a lot better accountability by social media corporations, and robust regulation round AI. Some expertise corporations are actively working to fight the specter of deep fakes by creating strategies for content material verification. The federal government ought to proceed to companion with the non-public sector on options. I supported the latest California invoice AB2655: Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024, which “would require a big on-line platform, as outlined, to dam the posting of materially misleading content material associated to elections in California, throughout specified intervals earlier than and after an election. ” I’ll actively work for the same federal regulation in order that the general public can have extra religion within the data they’re receiving about candidates and elections. If the general public loses religion of their elections or feels that they can’t belief any data, our Democracy will probably be threatened.
What’s one native infrastructure undertaking you’ll push to safe funds for within the federal price range? (Please be particular in your reply.)
With the Olympics coming to Los Angeles, and with our well-known visitors congestion nearing essential mass, my primary native infrastructure undertaking can be extra assets for public transportation. I’ll battle to place extra federal cash into inter and intra-city rail, higher bus infrastructure, and extra lively transportation infrastructure in order that we are able to transfer folks round in additional equitable, safer, sustainable and handy methods. I can even search assets to make our present transit system safer, cleaner and working with extra frequency. Offering extra mass transit choices won’t solely assist take in the influence of the Olympics, tasks such because the 405 free rail line from the West San Fernando Valley to LAX will actually relieve congestion and take away a few of the public’s largest objections to new housing improvement: visitors and parking impacts. Los Angeles will solely be a world class metropolis when it fixes its mobility points. Once I was the Chair of the Meeting Transportation Committee, I helped safe over $1 billion in extra funds within the California price range for statewide transit investments. I’ve confirmed success and expertise with transportation difficulty and can make them a prime precedence.
What’s one setting or local weather coverage you’d champion if elected? (Please be particular along with your coverage proposal, and hold your reply to 200 phrases or much less.)
Local weather change is an existential risk, and we’re already seeing its influence with drought, excessive warmth and wildfire. Combating world warming will probably be considered one of my missions, because it has been in my 8 years as a legislator. I’ll deal with phasing out fossil gasoline manufacturing in the US and incentivizing renewable power infrastructure. I’ll push for funding to help states with new renewable era, grid hardening and upgrades to permit for elevated electrification whereas reducing our too-high electrical charges. I’ll battle to nvest federal funds in needed infrastructure to transition off fossil fuels with out shifting prices to ratepayers. I’ll push for a fast decarbonization of our power sector, the constructing sector, heavy trade, and transportation. I’ve efficiently authored landmark laws to maneuver California in direction of zero emission buildings and sustainable strategies of transportation, and I’ll carry these options to Washington as mandates, earmarks and tax incentives. I cannot assist new offshore drilling or fracking. It’s previous time to maneuver past fossils and shift quickly to renewable power akin to offshore and onshore wind, photo voltaic, and inexperienced hydrogen. All this may be finished whereas creating expert union jobs.
What’s the No. 1 music in your playlist when you’re on the marketing campaign path?
“”We’re Having A lot Extra Enjoyable,”” by X
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