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Candidates vie for 23rd state Senate District seat

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Ameenah Fuller (64891)
Ameenah Fuller

Located directly east of Los Angeles, the Inland Empire is a formidable metropolitan area in its own right, boasting a land mass of some 28,000 square miles, and a population expected to reach upwards of 4.9 million citizens by 2015. The 23rd Senate District specifically cuts a wide swath across Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, and as such reflects much of the same demographic shift witnessed in the United States as a whole. A few short years ago, the region was largely White; with the arrival of the millennium, Hispanics have taken the majority, with a sizable population of African Americans (an estimated 4.6 percent of the voting aged population, out of a total of 899,067 residents according to the 2010 Census), largely fueled by migration from the L.A. metropolitan area.

The district presently is in a unique position as a special election approaches on March 25, with five candidates vying for the seat vacated by Bill Emmerson, who abruptly resigned his position in December of 2013, citing frustration with bi-partisan bickering that impeeded his ability to effect change through the legislative process.

Ameenah Fuller Democrat

Maybe the third try will be the charm. Ameenah Fuller is running on the democratic ticket for the state’s 23rd district. She is the only candidate endorsed by the state democratic party and ran for the 31st state senate seat in 2008 and tried again for the 25th seat in 2012. She said she can best serve the district by promoting job creation via “green” tax credits that would apply to teachers, medical personnel and to veterans. The other democrat in the race is Ronald J. O’Donnell, a lawyer and anti-forclosure activist from Highland.

Fuller, from Rancho Cucamonga,  said she is running this year to promote good policies for small businesses and displaced workers. Tax credits, she said, can be extended to homeowners who install solar energy panels, and these credits can spur new jobs and economic development. She has received endorsements from many voters in the 31st senate district and even Emmerson in 2008 told her to continue her political quest noting he’d  like to see her “…in the future of the California state senate.”

If elected, Fuller said she will propose immediate legislation for the “green” tax credits. “We can get people into affordable homes and reverse the economic blight,” said Fuller, a health care/government consultant who began her political climb 20 years ago while a college student in Oklahoma where she worked briefly as a legislative aid. “We can promote a more global presence in the Inland Empire by building attractive cities and bring in more events to promote small business.”

As a government consultant, Fuller in 2012 helped return $140 million to the Medicare fund and she champions the efforts to root out fraud, waste and abuse of government programs. She also worked in a state senator’s office researching legislative issues regarding housing, economic growth, education and healthcare. While working to resolve constituent issues relating to education, healthcare and housing, Fuller once received a commendation for her accomplishments. She has a Master of Arts in Public Policy.

Education reform is where Fuller has invested much of her political acumen. “As state senator, I will protect education by introducing legislation to promote a quality education for all Californians,” she said. “I will introduce legislation to promote preventative healthcare and nutrition programs, which reduce the overall cost of healthcare. Our children and teachers will suffer if we allow our representatives to cut education funding.” Fuller wants to boost worker education in healthcare fields to allow more people to train for occupational therapy positions and other health care-related jobs.

An ardent supporter of the Affordable Care Act, Fuller says more healthcare workers are needed in a field that will “increase tremendously” if programs and policies are enacted and enforced to expand so-called “distant learning education” in high schools and colleges. “It would be cost effective,” she said, “and more jobs will be made available in the healthcare field. This is where more young people can carve out enriching careers and provide a valuable service to their respective community. We have 16 percent unemployment in San Bernardino and that must stop. We have to train a new generation of healthcare workers not only for the present day, but for the future of California.”

At a candidate’s forum last week in Calimesa, Fuller said if more Inland Empire residents—particularly in San Bernardino—can be retrained and earn certificates in the healthcare industry, the result would be an increase in the marketability of workers. “We have the city of San Bernardino that is in crisis; unemployment figures are double the national average. San Bernardino is in crisis because of poor leadership. We must select good leaders that bring results and action for Senate District 23. Without it, we will fall into the worst ranking in the nation.”

Fuller advocates more proposals for construction projects in the 23rd district, and also believes the nearby mountain communities (Big Bear, Running Springs, Wrightwood) need more tourism.

Crystal Ruiz Republican

Crystal Ruiz (65141)

Married with four children, current San Jacinto councilwoman and Mayor Pro-Tem Crystal Ruiz presents herself as “the working class alternative” to fellow Republican and State Assemblyman Mike Morrell, with whom she is vying for the 23rd State Senate seat. She backs up her view of Morrell as an out of touch elitist, by pointing to his doing nothing to reach out to the masses before he implemented a hotline at the tail end of 2013, right before the coming election. This lack of grassroots relatability, she said, ultimately hurts the working class which comprises the bulk of the voting public.

“We need to get back to our roots and take back our American pride,” she states flatly.

Tracing her lineage on both sides of her family back to the Revolutionary War, she is an unabashed patriot who remembers her own political awakening back to then President Jimmy Carter’s signing away the Panama Canal when she was seven. Her father encouraged her to channel her anger by writing a letter to the commander in chief, starting a precedent of correspondence with each succeeding chief executive ever since.

Ruiz’ personal political hero is Ronald Reagan, for his economic ideology and his stance on the Berlin Wall. She notes that his 1981 success in freeing 52 Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis “was the pivotal point for me,” in cementing her commitment to the Republican Party.

She explains her party affiliation through her conviction that “the Republican Party has always been looking out for the little guy.”

Ruiz’ political career began in earnest when she lost her job as a high paying general manager in the restaurant industry. A freak work accident and a resulting fall put her in a wheel chair for five years, during which she lost her executive salary and became handicapped and homeless. The struggle for rehabilitation depleted her life savings in six months, and the process of getting her life back on track shaped her entire outlook on the governmental process.

First and foremost on her to-do list is addressing unemployment (the city of San Bernardino trails Detroit as the second poorest city in America). Ruiz plans to start by luring film and television production back into the Inland Empire to stem the flow of location shooting to other states. Aside from tax incentives, she believes the trick is to “look at it through the perspective of the clientele to be reached,” the film production apparatus.

As everyone within the realm of politics knows, the centermost topic of discussion currently is the pros and cons of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, labeled in the media as “Obamacare.” Ruiz feels she is in a unique position to weigh in on this controversial subject through her employment at Kaiser Permanente. She notes that one million Californians lost their healthcare coverage after Obamacare (under its statewide incarnation dubbed “Covered California”) was enacted. While not committed to its being completely thrown out, she stresses that a determination must be made to whether the cost to overhaul Covered California/Obamacare is worth it.

Expressing her admiration for the man she seeks to replace, she intends to overcome Bill Emmerson’s difficulties in forging cross-party alliances by emphasizing the commonalties her political colleagues share. In spite of ideological differences, “we have very similar values,” she insists.

“I talk to them as Americans and not as Republicans or Democrats.”

Another hot button topic is of course, the subject of immigration and the security of our borders. Ruiz believes the problem can be resolved without an ironclad doctrine of exclusion to all foreigners.

“Everyone of us has been an immigrant,” she notes. “We can’t just shut our doors. That’s not what America is about,” she says.

Looming on the horizon, the present Secretary of Defense and fellow Republican, Chuck Hagel, has proposed drastic cuts across the board for America’s military. With Air Force March Air Base, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Center, and hundreds of defense contractors located out in the Inland Empire, this belt tightening will surely impact the area’s economy and employment prospects for years to come.

Ruiz vows to fight these and any other potential cuts, stating they would not only hurt the economy but put national security in peril as well.

Jeff Hewett Libertarian

Jeff Hewett (65146)

Jeff Hewett believes California’s 23rd senatorial district needs a stronger voice from the people. Not a transplant to the area who is seeking office for mere political aggrandizement, but someone, he said, who knows the history of the region and is willing to fight against the “status-quo” in Sacramento to bring about positive economic change.

Hewett, mayor pro-tem of the little town of Calimesa in Riverside County, is competing for the senate seat vacated last year by Bill Emmerson. A libertarian, Hewett is a lifetime resident of the Inland Empire and operates a successful pool contracting business. He believes his experience on the city council for the past three years—preceeded by six years on the planning commission—has provided him with the experience and unique insight into the region to make him the logical choice for the state legislature.

“If elected, though I will be in Sacramento, all of my energy will be focused on improving the quality of life in the 23rd district,” Hewett said this month. “In politics, the status-quo just is not working. California must start turning a profit; the policies we see put in place are not serving the people. California is losing ground in areas where it used to be dominant—education, manufacturing, business start-ups—in terms of innovation and profitability.”

The democratic monopoly in Sacramento, Hewett said, has resulted in fiscal irresponsibility. The proposed high-speed rail, he said, does not help Inland Empire residents get back to work, primarily because the route really doesn’t come anywhere near his district. “How does this help people get back to work?” he asked. “Sure, you want to modernize transportation, but this idea is far too expensive and is not practical.” Prison realignment, he said, is only going to “work against” quality of life for his constituents. “We’ve got hundreds of inmates being let out near Riverside; the sheriff there has actually been forced to select the ‘best from the worst’ among criminals.”

Hewett wants to bring attention to the state’s 20 percent of prisoners who are illegal immigrants, but who cost the taxpayers $60,000 per inmate per year. “This is unsustainable. They get free services that people just can’t pay for anymore without cutting deeply into their household budget,” he said.

He slams the Affordable Care Act as another reason why so many physicians have had to either curtail their patient load, or leave the state entirely. “Obamacare has resulted in too many doctors shutting down their practice and moving elsewhere, and we still don’t have enough people who have signed up to make it a success,” he explained.

Sometimes it is the “little” laws that can result in the most harm to the entrepreneur, Hewett explained. He pointed out a law passed in the Inland Empire that now prohibits home breweries from distributing their product at private functions. Though such issues usually don’t make the state or national news headlines, Hewett said entrepreneurs are punished by such ordinances that limit their earning potential. “This is another example of an infringement on personal liberty,” he said. “Everyone wants government to get out of their lives, whether that be a local start-up business or the government tapping our phone lines. My platform is one of personal liberty and I have something to offer both to republicans and democrats in Sacramento. I have earned a reputation of  bringing together both sides on the Calimesa City Council, and I can do the same in Sacramento. Right now, it’s too one-sided up there. You can’t gain trust among your colleagues when too much power is constituted on one side.”

“Smarter, not more” spending on education is the way to close the achievement gap among California students. Citing that the state is among the bottom 10 nationwide in test scores, Hewett says better classroom discipline and a curtailment of power within the various teacher’s unions can be effective ways of producing more competitive young people into the work world. “The good teachers should get the incentive, and the bad ones need to be let go,” he said. “Likewise with the kids. Bad, disruptive students hurt the ones who are there to learn.”

Knowing that a libertarian victory will be an uphill battle, Hewett is not discouraged by critics who say his political views may fall far outside of the mainstream. “It’s the ‘mainstream,’” he said, “that has gotten California and the nation into the mess we’re in. Tax money should be spent in a sacred way—more efficient spending—to get the best bang for our buck. Listen, if I win as a libertarian, it will be historic. I just want government to get out of the way of business.

Mike Morrell Republican

Mike Morrell (65147)

Mike Morrell has served in the State Assembly representing District 40, which includes Highland, Loma Linda, Lyttle Creek, Mentone, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands and San Bernardino since 2010. He is the vice-chair of the assembly’s Banking and Finance Committee, as well as the vice-chair of the Labor and Employment Committee.

Morrell, 61, has lived in the Inland Empire for more than 35 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of La Verne and for the past 25 years he has owned Provident Real Estate.

Staying true to his conservative principles, Morrell says he wants to lower taxes and reduce bureaucratic red tape.

Morrell also pinpoints the need for improvement in education stating that he is dissatisfied with the way politicians in the capitol are handling the education budget.

“It starts in Sacramento, like about $12,000 per student, and by the time it works its way through the bureaucratic pipeline and all the administrative things that go with that, and it works its way into the county and then the various school boards, classrooms, in my district, it runs anywhere from $4,100 to maybe $5,500 per student. I’d like to know where that money is going,” Morrell said.

Morrell has described the situation as “both an economic and a moral problem.”

“How can $12,000 get washed down to five grand? That’s a lot of money,” Morrell said. “We want the majority of that money going into the classrooms. I would like to reduce the money that Sacramento gets and have the majority of the money, along with the accountability and the responsibility, to come back to the local school boards, the local municipalities,” he continued. “ Because I believe that the parents, the teachers, the administrators, the principals are just as capable of managing those dollars, if not more so than the politicians in Sacramento. And when money is being diverted going other places other than the classroom, I think there is a moral equation there…and we have a responsibility to get our students educated so they can compete in a global economy.”

Part of Morrell’s solution to fixing the education problem is a piece of legislation that he is co-authoring. Assembly Bill 51 would allow students majoring in STEM fields to receive a bachelor’s degree in three years at no more than $14,000.

“There are jobs available in that field, it’s a growing field,” Morrell said. “But we’re not able to produce these types of students in California. So, in that way, we would be able to get them through college quick at a reduced fee.”

Morrell says the he has spoken with business owners who are having trouble finding local college graduates to hire. He feels that this bill would help both businesses and students.

“This would keep the tuition low, but also what it would do, it would get young people out of college soon and into really good-paying jobs, which would satisfy them, but also the needs of some of these manufacturers,” Morrell said. “So it’s win for business and it’s a win for education.”

Morrell has come under fire in the past for his voting record in the assembly, including a nay vote on a bill that would increase minimum wage, and a nay vote on a bill that would expand labor laws for domestic workers. He’s also been criticized for his votes on legislation relating to immigration, including a nay vote on a bill that would authorize drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants. However, Morrell says that he supports immigration.

“I’m for it, I just want it to be legal,” Morrell said. “Immigrants are what made America great, we’re all from somewhere. I’m for immigration, I just don’t want to go contrary to the rule of law. And I want people to pledge their allegiance to our great country. That’s all I ask, really.”

Some of Morrell’s critics have described him as being out of touch with regular, working class citizens, a criticism that Morrell disputes.

“All I’ve done is work since I was 14 years old,” Morrell said. “The truth is I am working class myself.”

Ronald J. O’Donnell  Democrat

Ronald J. O’Donnell (65149)

Ronald J. O’Donnell has spent 40 years helping out others economically, and now he’s looking to do it on a much larger scale.  If elected to the 23rd State Senate seat, his plan is to support the residents of the district through higher wages and fair living conditions.

O’Donnell has a doctorate degree in law from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton. Before that he received a degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh, and he also holds a degree in economics from Allegheny Country Community College.

O’Donnell has been self employed for the majority his professional career, with a focus in real estate law, principles, practices, finance, economics, and appraisal.  He has never run for an office before, but after the financial crisis of 2007, where six million Americans were evicted from their homes, he knew that he had to step up to help people. Over the past seven years he has dedicated himself to helping people who find themselves in a financial bind.

“We’re saving people’s homes across America, one at a time,” O’Donnell said.

As a democrat, O’Donnell feels that he is working in favor of the public’s well being.

“I’m backing the working families against the republicans who are paid for by the banks,” O’Donnell said.  “I’m stepping in, after six years of misery, to help the home owners, and the tenants, to have a roof over their heads.”

For O’Donnell, it is the home owners versus the banks, but he does not only side with people from the Democrat Party.

“It’s a non-party issue, whether you’re a democrat or republican,” O’Donnell said.  “When you’re getting evicted from your home, and somebody is stealing your house from right out from under you, I don’t think that your party affiliation counts, or really matters at that time.”

O’Donnell has strong opinions on a number of issues, but he is focusing his campaign on economics, which he feels is more impactful than anything else.

“No other issue matters if all of your furniture is pushed out onto the sidewalk and you’re homeless,” O’Donnell said.  “You’re done having issues. You can’t even vote because you can’t receive any mail. You have nowhere to live.  So yeah, there’s tons of issues.”

Equal pay is also high on O’Donnell’s list of issues to tackle.  He believes that the minimum wage should be doubled—raising it to $15—so that everybody can live above the poverty level.  He also believes that wages should not be attached to the color of a person’s skin, as he is in favor of racial equality.

Gregg Reese, Merdies Hayes, Robert Gillard and Jason Lewis contributed to this article

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