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Here is the first response I got from Steve Westley. This is copied word for word.

Dear Erik,



Thank you for your interest in Steve Westly’s policy positions. Steve is a problem-solver with a long history of getting results in both business and government. His successful programs to crack down on tax cheats have brought in $4.8 billion in new and accelerated tax revenues without raising a nickel in taxes. His top priorities are fixing California’s education system and cleaning up California’s environment. We’re happy to address your questions.



Steve believes that California represents the future and that where Washington has failed, California must lead. Steve’s top priorities are improving public education, protecting the environment, and restoring fiscal discipline.



Too often partisan bickering gets in the way of real problem solving. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would work with members of both parties, but then he pushed a partisan special election attacking teachers, nurses, and firefighters, he cut funding for our schools, and he turned away 20,000 students from the University of California. Steve is running because we need a Governor who can work across the aisle and get things done for the people of California.



Education

California's prosperity depends on a world-class public education system. That's why our schools will be Steve's top priority as Governor. A California native who attended public schools growing up and as the father of a daughter in public school, Steve understands that we need to renew our focus on public education to meet our obligation to our children.



Steve believes very strongly that education policy should be made in consultation with California’s teachers. He opposes any efforts to reduce school funding, expand vouchers, or threaten the integrity of public education. If you are a teacher, Steve would like your help: please sign up for Teachers for Westly here.



Steve’s agenda includes proposals to:



Fully Fund Our Schools. Steve fully supports the voter-approved commitment to public education funding, Proposition 98, which he considers a floor not a ceiling for school spending. When cost-of-living is considered, California still ranks near the bottom in per-pupil spending. That needs to change. Governor Schwarzenegger reneged on his promise to restore school funding and schools are now underfunded by billions of dollars. Although additional resources are not the only way to improve our schools, they are a crucial first step toward reform. Additionally, Steve believes we should fund a system of universal preschool, which is why he supports the preschool initiative headed for the June ballot.


Invest in Our Teachers. Great schools start with great teachers. California must renew its commitment to teachers by giving them the resources they need to succeed. Too many talented individuals leave the profession and that means fewer experienced teachers in our classrooms. Steve will institute a teacher training program including workshops and mentoring to guide teachers through the tough initial years of teaching and beyond. But training and mentoring aren’t enough. Steve will give California teachers the resources they need to excel in the classroom and treat each child as an individual.


Build 21st Century High Schools. California’s high schools need to be reinvented for the new century. They must address the growing drop-out problem, teach students basic reading and writing, and prepare graduates for the careers of tomorrow. That’s why Steve will lead a redesign of high school education, focusing on basic skills and outcomes, community partnerships, and career and technical education. Students who aren’t going to four-year colleges deserve a chance to succeed too.


Expand Local Control. Education decisions are best made by parents and teachers at the community level, not bureaucrats in Washington D.C. or Sacramento. That’s why Steve will empower schools that show improvement in student achievement to spend categorical funds as they see fit. Steve will reduce burdensome state mandates, give local districts the flexibility they need to meet performance goals, and increase the number of charter schools. Steve also supports reducing the threshold for approving new parcel taxes, so local communities can decide to invest more in their schools.


Steve also recently delivered a keynote speech to the Education Trust-West. In it he focused attention on the serious achievement gap in California’s schools and offered some concrete steps to begin to address it. Chief among them is a plan to move the best principals to those schools most in need of improvement. Read Steve’s speech here.



If you haven’t already, check out our Teachers For Westly website where you can learn more and share your ideas, click here.



Budget and Taxes

California suffers from a persistent structural budget deficit. In response, Sacramento politicians offer us only two solutions: raising taxes or cutting essential services. Steve has a better way. He knows that the state doesn’t collect all the tax revenues it is owed, and doesn’t spend the money it has in the most effective way. Until government does a better job of those two tasks, it has no right to tell people they should go without important services or pay higher taxes. Tax increases should be the last resort, not the first.



Based on his experience as a businessman and high-tech innovator, Steve will transform state government for the 21st century. As Governor, Steve will reinvent how government collects and spends money, delivers services, and provides benefits.



§ Collect Money Already on the Books Before We Raise Taxes. Some $6 billion in unpaid taxes is lost every year, money that could fund roads, hospitals, and schools. When fraud artists cheat the state, the rest of us pay more or do with less. That’s why Steve will crack down on the underground economy, empower investigators with new technology to go after tax cheats, expand the successful tax amnesty program, and close tax loopholes. As Controller, Steve is one of the only state officials who has successfully raised revenues without raising taxes through his successful tax amnesty program and voluntary compliance initiative. Together these programs have already brought in $4.8 billion dollars of new and accelerated revenues.



§ Get Smart about Government Reorganization. Everyone agrees California has redundant departments and overlapping agencies, but Governor Schwarzenegger hasn’t shown the political will to get serious about reform. It’s not a job for an action hero pledging to “blow up boxes,” but for a business leader from one of the most successful 21st century companies. Steve will demand every department head in his Cabinet meet tough performance goals, use best practices from the private sector, and consolidate outdated systems.



§ Make Better Use of Technology. As a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Steve understands that technology can transform state government. That’s why Steve will streamline the process for tech procurement, hire talented personnel instead of relying on expensive short-term consultants, and use technology to increase accountability.



§ Audit for Outcomes, Not Just Finances. Too often, the state bureaucracy worries more about how money is spent than whether it’s used effectively. Steve will shift the focus onto measurement and performance. Audits must determine whether the state is using taxpayer money effectively to improve people’s lives.



§ Transform How Government Buys Goods and Services. California should use its market power to get the best deal on goods and services. Too often bureaucratic layers and outdated bidding procedures let private companies take advantage of the state. That’s why Steve will transform the procurement process, consolidate statewide contracts that include multiple departments, and force contractors to meet tough new standards to do business with the state.



Healthcare

Californians should have access to quality, affordable healthcare. Unfortunately, over six million of us have no health insurance. This includes almost 800,000 children. Both the State and the business community have a responsibility to address this shameful situation. Californian also must protect its citizens against public health threats. This is especially important in a time of bird flu and possible terrorist attacks.



Steve’s plan for meeting the healthcare needs of California includes:



§ Insure every child. The Healthy Families program now provides healthcare to over 700,000 low-income children. But too many kids—most of them children of working parents without job-based coverage– don’t have insurance. This is because their families earn too much to be in the low-cost Healthy Families insurance program, but too little to afford coverage of their own. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation that would raise the income threshold for subsidized healthcare and insure coverage for every child in the State. As governor, Steve will call on the legislature to pass that bill again and promptly sign it.



§ Enact a drug discount program. Modern pharmaceuticals have dramatically improved the promise of healthcare. But many people simply can’t afford the drugs they need. Steve is committed to enacting a program that addresses the high cost of drugs by leveraging the buying power of the state for the benefit of its citizens.



§ Require workplace coverage. Seven out of eight companies with at least 50 employees provide insurance coverage to their employees. Taxpayers end up providing a subsidy to those companies that don’t provide coverage when their employees end up in our public healthcare system. Steve supports Senator Migden’s proposed California Fair Share Health Care Act that would require companies with at least 10,000 employees who provide inadequate or no coverage for their employees to contribute to the state’s Medi-Cal system. As governor, he would push to require companies with far fewer than 10,000 employees to provide healthcare benefits.



§ Expand our public health system. Public health must be a priority. We must face risks such as bird flu and bio-terrorist attacks. We must also focus on prevention, health screening, and health education. Prevention is the most cost-effective way to spend our healthcare dollars. It’s cheaper and smarter to keep people healthy in the first place rather than paying for costly acute care in emergency rooms.



Does Steve support a single payer healthcare system? Steve strongly supports the two main objectives of a single payer system: universal coverage and reducing administrative costs. That said, he questions whether a single payer system is politically feasible. SB 840, which passed the Senate, has no funding source. The sponsors acknowledge it would require enactment of about $90 billion in new income and payroll taxes. The Republicans would block any attempt to pass such a massive tax increase.



As a problem solver, Steve wants to focus on providing coverage as soon as possible to some of the six million Californians who have none today, rather than debate the merits of a program that won’t be enacted. That’s why he’s focused on expanding the Healthy Families program to hundreds of thousands of children, and the Migden employer mandate bill to ensure large employers provide coverage or pay the state so we can afford the cost of providing healthcare to their employees.



Environment

Dirty air and toxic water threaten everyone. That’s why protecting California’s environment will be one of Steve’s top priorities as Governor. Steve has a long history of environmental activism, beginning with his first job out of college working on solar energy for Jimmy Carter. He continued his work through the Santa Clara County Land Trust and as the editor of two books on renewable energy.



Because the Bush administration has ignored environmental crises, California must take the lead in addressing climate change, oil dependency, and environmental degradation. Fortunately, California’s economic power, innovative people, and tradition of technology have primed the state for environmental leadership.



Steve’s agenda builds on California’s unique position to:



§ Clean Up Our Air and Water. The progress California has made since the 1970s on air and water pollution is in jeopardy. Particulate pollution clouds our skies, while aging water treatment facilities and nonpoint toxic runoff threaten our water. The Central Valley, for instance, faces the worst air pollution in the country. That’s why Steve will invest in the next generation of pollution control technologies, strengthen the Cal-EPA and air boards, and demand that polluting factories be shut down.



§ Reduce California’s Dependence on Foreign Oil. Our dependence on foreign oil jeopardizes not only our environment, but also our national security. That’s why Steve has laid out an ambitious plan to reduce California’s use of fossil fuels 20% by 2015, and 40% by 2025. Steve’s plan also includes efforts to expand the market for alternative energy, invest in clean technology, and promote conservation through tax incentives and the phase-out of old, inefficient technology.



§ Make California the First State to Directly Address Climate Change. Washington DC has ignored climate change, but California cannot. Steve will cut California’s carbon emissions and make California fully compliant with the Kyoto Treaty. To get there, Steve will demand tough new fuel efficiency standards, invest in green buildings and hybrid car fleets for the state, and increase electricity conservation with ideas like incentives for energy-saving lighting. He’ll also provide leadership on a regional cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions through innovative, market-based solutions.



§ Demand Environmental Justice. Too often, poor and minority communities suffer the greatest burden from toxic soil and water. To ensure all Californians enjoy a clean environment, Steve will redevelop brownfields, improve our monitoring of toxics, and ensure everyone has clean drinking water. He’ll also expand access to public health programs and institute new regulations to reduce childhood asthma, which predominantly strikes African American and Latino children. Steve will make environmental justice a centerpiece of his agenda.



To read the full text of Steve’s keynote address to the Sundance Summit, click here.





Unfortunately, our campaign is in high gear now, so we may not be able to address further follow up questions in a timely fashion. We encourage you to check our website for further updates and information at www.westly2006.com. We thank you for your interest and hope to earn your support.



Sincerely,

Policy Staff

Westly for Governor