Second of two parts
See “Saundra Davis Trying to Break Through Wall of Inertia”
[img]397|left|Saundra Davis||no_popup[/img] Running for her first state office after almost 8 years as the most-often-noticed member of the School Board in Culver City, Saundra Davis introduces herself to inquisitive audiences with three numbers that none of her seven opponents can come close to matching:
A wife for 33 years.
A mother of 8.
A resident of the 26th State Senate District for more than 40 years.
That may not make her the favorite over a fractious field in the Tuesday, March 24, special election for the Senate seat vacated by County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
But for sheer stability, these may leave strong marks on voters.
Then Ms. Davis tells audiences, “I went back to school to get my Bachelor’s and a Master’s degrees while raising my children. I’m an educator and advocate for rebuilding the economic, educational and social structure of our communities.
“I am Vice President of the School Board. I am a certificated and credentialed parent education teacher, and formerly I taught for LAUSD.
“I am the Chief Executive Officer of Community Centers, Inc., a constituent- driven WorkSource center dedicated to empowering the community and the family through high quality education, training employment services and economic development.”
1. What is your opinion of the new state budget? Which 2 parts do you like best? Please explain.
The removal of categorical funding in K-12 schools provides more flexibility in a smaller district although that same flexibility could prove detrimental in a larger district. A large portion of California's school funding has been strictly designated for categories such as textbooks, teacher training, administrator training, tutoring. As a School Board member I know of the problems associated with having needs in one area, but the money we have is committed to another program that is underutilized or unnecessary. This will help school districts meet their students’ needs. The second part I like is that we can continue more than the $5 billion worth of construction work and have hundreds of thousands of people working on projects that were halted.
2. To which parts pf the budget do you object? Please explain.
The cuts to education are the hardest to take, the loss of school funding and the pending layoff of teachers and the increase in class sizes will be devastating. $2.4 million is too much to lose and continue to provide the best educational services for our students. It will get worse next year when we lose an additional $400 million.
3. Why are you running?
My top priorities are: jobs, healthcare, education, crime, the environment and reversing our rising tide of foreclosures. I will be a champion for working families and a voice for women and for children’s issues. I will fight to improve the quality of life for all residents of the 26th Senate District.
4. What are the main underpinnings of your platform?
I am committed to my role in the community as an elected School Board member and community activist. I realize that now is the time for me to utilize my talents beyond Culver City, to touch even more lives, to use my skills and knowledge to serve a greater population as your State Senator.
My plans as your Senator include working as a non-partisan representative in the Senate to reach consensus, ensuring that you, the people, are always at the forefront of my decisions, especially on matters such as the state budget.
I’m the most qualified and capable of the six (Democratic) candidates seeking election to the 26th District Senate seat. I’m a wife and mother of eight children. I’m an educator and advocate for rebuilding the economic, educational and social structure of our communities. The most critical concern for people living in the 26th Senate District is unemployment or the threat of being unemployed in the near future.
Unemployment intervention is what I do for the people of Los Angeles. With health care being another major concern in the 26th Senate District, I continue working with a team to establish a diabetes and obesity program for children and adults. I support a single-payer health care plan to ensure sufficient affordable and accessible health care for families, seniors and students. Education is at the base of the triangle of the major concerns for the 26th Senate District. With the threat of programs being cut and class sizes increasing, we need to refocus our priorities. I still don’t understand how this budget has chosen to fund horse racing over funding education.
5. What has your experience on the School Board taught you about the way an effective politician should conduct himself?
Transparency is a key component. I’ve learned to listen more to all sides and to talk less. Teamwork is important as well as give and take. It’s most important to remember that it’s about the people, not about me. Working as a team is of ultimate importance to be effective in building consensus
6. Give 4 reasons that passive or ambiguous supporters of your rivals, probably mainly Curren Price and Mike Davis, should vote for you.
I’m not one of the recycled group of individuals who, over the years, have rotated from elective office to office. Neither one is married and neither one has children. How can you represent families if you don’t understand family life?
I am a CHANGE. I am a new face with new ideas and new energy. I’m committed to serving the full term of this office. I am knowledgeable, courageous, honest, trustworthy and personable.
I am the woman in the 26th Senate race, and with your vote I will be the first woman to be elected to the 26th Senate District seat in many years. We need people in Sacramento who understand family life—getting kids to school, putting food on the table, taking a sick child to the hospital, helping them with their homework, going to their sporting or other extra curricular events.
7. How do you answer voters who ask your stance on Prop. 8? Please explain.
My personal stance is unimportant. I do believe civil rights should be protected and people who have rights given to them by the courts or the Constitution should not have those rights taken away.
8. According to your research, what adjustments will you have to make in transitioning from a hometown politician to a state politician?
I would be traveling, being away from the family, maintaining a separate residence, interacting with more colleagues in an effort to attain the votes for issues that we may not agree on, and maintaining a trained, dedicated staff of my own that I don’t share with others. Since we are voting on California’s issues, I must be aware of more issues that affect the whole state, which includes other senate districts. This means that I must be able to reach across the aisle in an effort to understand the issues and balance the concerns of the people with the needs of the state.
9. Describe your method of campaigning and how you believe you are faring — and why you are doing well or in a deadlock.
My name ID is not the best outside of Culver City, but women voters are tired of single men with no sense of childrearing representing their interests in Sacramento. I am making a concerted effort to get my name out by a variety of methods. I will target specific voters and follow up on their commitment and likelihood of voting.
10. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass boasts that Gov. Schwarzenegger has signed 17 of her foster-family bills. Is that why she was sent to Sacramento?
Karen is providing a level of leadership beyond what was expected of her. Beyond the foster care issue, she has been responsible for shaping every piece of legislation covering a broad range of issues since being elected Speaker. That speaks more to her overall accomplishments since being elected.
11. As a rookie, how can you be effective from the start in Sacramento?
All political positions are rookie positions in the first year. I understand there is a learning curve. Even with that, I will hit the ground running, knowing that I have the pulse of the voters at heart. Many of the issues that are near and dear to the people, the constituents, are subjects I deal with already.
Unemployment/jobs, health care, education, environment, animal rights are at the top of these concerns. As the CEO of the largest WorkSource Centers in the city of Los Angeles, I deal with the issue of economic development on a daily basis. According to major polls, the No. 1 concern in California is unemployment. I’m proud to say that we at Community Centers Inc. just received an award from the city of Los Angeles for receiving the highest rating possible, a four-star rating for performance. We at Community Centers Inc. continue to work as a team to reach out and touch those in need of jobs, training and/or placement. I take pride in my position as CEO/Executive Director of CCI for all the lives we have touched and the many lives I will touch in a positive way as the next 26th District Senator. CCI provides training and assistance to over 200 job seekers each day.
Ms. Davis’s website is saundradavisforsenate.com
