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# Tony Dolz on Immigration and National Security
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/060306-story-20060603-2/
- Published: 2006-06-03T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T18:14:30.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Name: Julia Brownley Party: Democrat Campaign Web site: www.juliabrownley.com City of Residence: Santa Monica Age: 53 Marital status: Separated Number of kids: Two Profession: School Board President HAVE YOU EVER HELD PUBLIC OFFICE BEFORE?

Yes, three terms as a school board member.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ARRESTED? IF YES, FOR WHAT?

No WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? VOLVO PET PEEVE?

Intolerance PHILOSOPHY ON LIFE?

You only live once.

HOW DO YOU RELIEVE STRESS?

A walk on the beach at low tide. 1\. Concerning the pollution and bacteria levels in santa monica bay, what programs do you believe have been effective and which have not? What can be done differently? How, as an assembly member, do you plan on securing more funding for clean-up efforts?

Santa Monicans have been leaders for years in developing strategies to reduce pollution in Santa Monica Bay. Heal the Bay began here and the creation of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission was an achievement of our own Sen. Sheila Kuehl. We have forced the clean-up of the major polluters, such as the Hyperion and LA County sewage treatment facilities. Now we must take care of runoff from our storm drains. This pollution originates from many communities miles inland, as well as our own, and from many non-point sources. It will require a regional effort.

Prevention is a key, since much of the pollution comes from individuals who use storm drains as waste receptacles. Environmental education in our schools is a key in the long-term. Land use policies that expand permeable surfaces so rain water can seep into the ground and not carry pollution to the bay are critical. Frequent street cleaning of our streets is important. We must also find systems that filter trash and pollutants from the urban runoff. The most difficult will be hydrocarbon, chemical, bacterial and viral pollutants.

The State of California needs to ensure there are enforceable standards for hydrocarbons as well as the currently regulated pollutants and give Regional Water Quality Boards sufficient resources to do their job. The state can also facilitate local bond measures to help finance cleanup measures by providing matching funds and by reducing to 55% the vote required to approve such bonds. I will strive to achieve these goals. 2\. CALIFORNIA RANKS AS ONE OF THE WORST STATES IN PER-PUPIL SPENDING. WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO INCREASE PER-PUPIL SPENDING? WOULD YOU CUT PROGRAMS FROM THE STATE BUDGET? IF SO, WHICH ONES? OR WOULD YOU INCREASE TAXES? IF SO, WHERE?

According to RAND, California's public education system now ranks near the bottom in nearly every objective category. Education Week found that California ranks only 44th in the nation in per-pupil spending.

Ensuring our schools have the resources they need to provide an excellent education to all our children is my priority number one.Voters can be sure: I will fight to ensure full funding for California’s schools.

Meeting this objective will require not one, but a series of measures. Certainly, we should ensure that our schools properly benefit from economic growth, by treating Proposition 98 commitments as voters intended, as the “floor” not the “ceiling” for school funding. The legislature should enhance education’s share of the state budget as our economy grows.

Reducing to 55 percent the threshold for local voter approval for parcel taxes should be an early element. It permits tax-shy state legislators to support it without supporting taxes themselves: Let local voters decide. A similar approach to school bonds has been a boon for school construction, especially in urban school districts like LAUSD.

Appropriate support for our schools may well require tax increases, and I would examine options with an eye to the stability of the revenue and fairness to all taxpayers. Of course, a responsible legislator examines the whole budget first to see if funds can be shifted. But in the final analysis, how well we educate our children will determine how well we prosper as a state. We should not shy away from this challenge. 3\. SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT THE WESTSIDE OF LOS ANGELES HAS BEEN NEGLECTED IN TERMS OF FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION. WHAT STRATEGY WOULD YOU USE TO GET MORE FUNDING? WHAT PROJECT WOULD SOLVE THE IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS AND HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

The Governor proposed, but had rejected, bond measures several months ago that typify the problem that Southern California urban areas face when trying to gain a fair share of transportation funds. Urban communities provide the tax base to create transportation funds, but the state’s investments continue to emphasize freeways to the suburbs rather than public transportation in the cities. These skewed priorities must be challenged.

The state should emphasize its role as a source for matching local transportation funding, thus giving preferences to communities that commit to raising more local dollars. For us, local funding sources, such as county voter approved Proposition A & C funds are the mainstay of our transportation funding. Changing the approval requirements for local transportation bonds to 55 percent (as has occurred with school bonds) will create even greater local transportation resources as well. This then could help improve our region’s access to state and federal dollars where local match is required.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 3, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/060306.pdf?ref=smdp.com)