Politics & Government

'Leading Candidates' Make Their Case at Chamber Forum

Congressional contenders Debra Bowen, Janice Hahn and Mike Gin share their views Wednesday at an LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce forum at Loyola Marymount.

The LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce pared down the guest list and invited only three of the 16 candidates running in the 36th Congressional District to a forum Wednesday afternoon at Loyola Marymount University.

The chamber represents business interests around Los Angeles International Airport, including Mar Vista. It invited two Democratic candidates, Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, and one Republican candidate, Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin.

The candidates are running to replace longtime Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) who resigned in February to join a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. A special primary election will be held May 17 to represent the district, which includes Marina del Rey, Venice, Mar Vista, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and other communities stretching down to San Pedro. If no one gains more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held July 12.

The forum was hosted by lawyer David Voss, chairman of the chamber's public policy committee.

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An audience of about 50 people listened to the candidates during a 90-minute session that gave ample time for the contenders to present their views. Due to the large field vying for the seat, other forums have drawn more than a dozen candidates with little time for all of them to speak.

Voss congratulated the three for being the "leading candidates" and noted that the Los Angeles Times in a recent endorsement for Hahn wrote that Bowen, Hahn and Gin would make able members of Congress. He did not mention teacher and anti-war activist Marcy Winograd, who gained 41 percent of the vote in the June Democratic primary against Harman.

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The candidates were greeted by LMU President David W. Burcham and then issued opening statements with a five-minute limit.

Bowen, who has represented parts of the 36th Congressional District in the state Assembly and state Senate, reflected on her run for the Assembly in 1992 and how the campaign was about the economy, education and the environment.

"I'm really struck about how much the issues we are dealing with right now are similar to the issues I was dealing with in 1992," Bowen said.

Though the stock market points to signs of recovery, Bowen said her top priority would be strengthening the economy to give people "the opportunity through their own hard work to better themselves."

Improving the economy will depend on improving the public education system, which has been falling in California and the nation, Bowen said. She noted the increasing fees for UC and Cal State students and said today's students would be the economy's drivers in five to 25 years from now.

Bowen also said she believes the economy can grow with environmental regulations in place, such as standards that mandate the use of renewable energy sources.

"The capital will flow once the standards are in place," Bowen said.

Gin opened by talking about his local roots and said that he joined the service organization Key Club while at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale.

"It was really my first time understanding community service and the importance of civic involvement," Gin said.

A keen interest in technology prompted him to study computer science at USC and upon graduating he launched a career in technology starting at TRW. After moving to Redondo Beach, Gin said his interest in civic affairs was renewed and he started joining city committees and then was elected to the Redondo Beach City Council before becoming the city's mayor. He cited his problem-solving skills over the last six years as mayor and said he has been able to bring jobs to Redondo Beach despite miserable economic conditions.

Hahn talked about her last 10 years on the Los Angeles City Council and about her role on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission, which created neighborhood councils that are spread throughout the city.

She highlighted her actions to clean up pollution at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which were major polluters in the area.

"I said, 'I think we should end this debate that we can either have clean air or good jobs; I think we can do both,' " Hahn said.

She said she worked with her brother, James Hahn, who was mayor of the city at the time, to push through the Clean Air Action Plan that banned dirty diesel trucks from hauling in the port and promoted alternative energy uses. She said the move helped create new businesses catering to the Clean Air Action Plan, including a Harbor City company that has developed an electric truck that can move cargo.

Hahn said she would pursue a similar agenda in Congress to foster a new green economy for the district.

"If we move this economy into green, clean technology, not only will we get ourselves off of the dependence of oil, but we will give an opportunity to create new businesses throughout this 36th Congressional District that can focus on green, clean technology. That's what I want to do in Congress and I think this district is perfect to become the new green Silicon Valley."

Voss asked the candidates about plans to move a runway north at LAX to accommodate new fleets of larger planes and asked whether they agreed with L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who opposes the relocation. 

Hahn said she "absolutely" agrees with Rosendahl and said taxiway improvements would help keep the runways safe. She said she favors the plan to move the northern runway south, to prevent moving air traffic closer to Westchester businesses and homes.

Bowen said she's been involved in LAX issues since the 1980s and she, too, opposes moving the runway north. She called for a long-term solution to the problem.

"What has long been needed is a true regional transportation plan that develops air transportation capacity closer to the I-5 corridor where the population is growing," Bowen said "It makes no sense to plan to build larger, heavier aircraft and bring more people from across the entire Los Angeles basin … to LAX. It makes more sense to look at the transportation regionally."

Gin also said he did not support moving the runway north, noting how it would harm local businesses. He also agreed that a regional approach was needed and that other airports needed to pick up the slack.

Hahn added a one-minute rebuttal to highlight that LAX has been an economic engine in the district and that incoming flights add money to the local economy and create jobs.

Voss also quizzed the candidates on issues such as taxation, the federal deficit, job creation, Social Security and national security.

The 36th District skews Democratic with 45 percent of its roughly 345,000 voters registered as Democrats, compared with 27 percent registered as Republican and 22 percent saying they decline to state their party preference, according to the California Secretary of State's office.

The May 17 election will be held under the state's new "top two" primary system. If no candidate earns more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, the top two vote-getters—regardless of party—will face each other in a July 12 special general election. The winner will serve the remainder of the two-year term, which ends Jan. 3, 2013.


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