Thursday, October 22, 1998
Crowded race for lieutenant governor
STATE: Representatives of 7 different parties vie for No. 2 job
in Sacramento
By Teresa Jun
Daily Bruin Contributor
This November, seven candidates will compete for the hardly
glamorous  but still important  post of state
lieutenant governor.
As the next-in-line to the governor of California, the elected
official will preside over the State Senate with a tie-breaking
vote, serve on the boards of the California university systems, and
assume the role of governor when the governor leaves the state.
Cruz Bustamante and Tim Leslie, the respective Democratic and
Republican candidates, are closely tied for the lead in recent
polls.
Bustamante, a Democratic assemblyman for more than five years
and Assembly speaker for 14 months, wrote the law that allows the
attorney general to sue tobacco companies.
This self-proclaimed "moderate Democrat" supports the death
penalty and has pushed for stricter gun legislation during his
years in the Assembly.
Bustamante, according to his official candidate statement, said
he has also worked with Democrats to cut college tuition.
During last year’s English Department marathon reading of
"Invisible Man," Bustamante came to UCLA to proclaim Ralph Ellison
Day in the state of California.
"Most likely I will vote for (Bustamante)," said Nikolai
Ingistov-Garcia, a fifth-year Chicano/a studies and political
science student.
"His issues and views on immigration, affirmative action, and
welfare are in touch with our community," he said, referring to the
Latino/a population.
Bustamante’s strongly conservative opponent, Leslie, has also
created legislation of his own.
Leslie co-authored the Three Strikes law, the Class Size
Reduction Act, and the recent bill establishing stricter safety
measures for teen-aged drivers.
One of Leslie’s goals, if elected, will be to "cross those
borders" of neighboring countries to meet personally with various
trade commissions, a duty past lieutenant governors have often
delegated to subordinate staff members, said Jane Barnett, Leslie’s
campaign manager.
For Melissa Bullard, the external vice-chairwoman of the Bruin
Republicans, the choice at the voting booth will be easy.
Leslie is her choice because "he adequately represents the
Republican voters and I agree with his view," she said, citing a
pro-life stance, lower taxes, and the state of the economy as
important issues to her.
Come election time, voters will not be limited to candidates
from the two dominant political parties.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Jaime Luis Gomez represents
the Peace and Freedom party. He supports a "high-quality, low-cost
college education" for everyone, even undocumented residents.
"A fully educated population can only be an asset to the state,"
he said, explaining his unconventional view.
Having taught undocumented residents at an adult school, Gomez
said he saw "such talent and struggle to survive" that it was
"disheartening to see their opportunities just diminishing."
Sara Amir, a member of the Green party, hopes her campaign for
lieutenant governor will further the party’s progressive
movement.
If elected, she said she wants to reallocate money for building
prisons to supporting state universities instead.
"Right now, education is so expensive," she said. "Before
graduates even start their careers, they’re already in debt. It’s
not fair."
An environmental scientist, Amir also focuses on a variety of
ecological and environmental issues, such as pollution, hazardous
waste laws, and drilling along the California coast.
Thomas Tryon, the Libertarian candidate, is a firm believer in
the liberties protected by the Constitution, especially the Bill of
Rights.
"I don’t think it’s the government’s place to come in and take
your property because it doesn’t like what you’re doing to
yourself," said the opponent of the war on drugs and seat belt and
bicycle helmet laws.
"The state should be a servant to the citizen," and not the
other way around, he said, adding that the government should not
look out for our personal well-being, but simply make sure we don’t
impinge on each other’s civil liberties.
The Reform party’s James Mangia plans to overturn the "two party
monopoly" with this year’s election.
"We can’t get all the reforms we need in health care, education,
and the environment because of the two-party monopoly," he said,
citing that the dominant parties potentially tend to favor the big
financial sponsors usually backing them
George McCoy of the American Independent party, another
candidate in this race, could not be reached for comment.
He plans to relieve the middle working class of government
burdens, he wrote in his statement.Courtesy the Peace and Freedom
Party
Jaime Luis Gomez
Courtesy the Green Party
Sara Amir
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