By Miriam Raftery
October 2, 2024 (Spring Valley) – Audience members offered up in-depth questions for candidates in the 79th Assembly District forum moderated by the League of Women Voters Monday night at the New Seasons Church in Spring Valley.
Educator LaShea Sharp-Collins,PhD and La Mesa Councilmember Colin Parent, both Democrats, agreed on some issues, such as protecting reproductive choice, but diverged on others, such as criminal justice reforms. Each touted their expertise in certain areas (Sharp-Collins on educations and equity issues, Parent on housing and transportation), their experiences preparing them for higher office, and their priorities if elected.
In opening statements, Parent, an attorney, said the biggest challenges facing the district are the high cost of living, especially housing, homelessness, and assuring adequate state funding to fix roads in East County and Southeast San Diego.
“Too many are spending too much for rent, and too few can buy their first home,” he said. touted his experience as director of External Affairs for the California Department of Housing and Community Development and his record of approving new housing, including affordable homes, as a La Mesa Councilman.
Sharp-Collins emphasized that she is the only candidate currently endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party, as well as Assemblymember Akilah Weber and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, PhD.
“I understand the needs of the people,” she said, noting that she was born and raised in the district, growing up in a middle class family in Southeast San Diego. She believes housing, reproductive freedom, and social justice are among the top issues, and said she is running because her community asked her to do so.
Each candidate was given one minute to answer numerous written questions posed by audience members.
Housing
Asked what actions they have taken to protect lower and middle class housing as neighborhoods become gentrified, Sharp-Collins said the state is doing everything it can to expand affordable housing. “I hope the state will open up more state property for housing,” she said, adding that in her job as the County Office of Education’s community engagement specialist, she has been working with school districts to start building homes on school properties, also working with churches to build homes.
Parent said our region has a “housing crisis” and said while it’s important to provide new housing, it’s also important to be sure existing residents are not displaced and that affordability is maintained. He spoke of actions he’s taken in La Mesa, such as championing keeping an affordable homes bonus program, as well as sponsoring several state bills.
The next question asked whether there should be limits on the height of new multi-story housing in existing residential neighborhoods, to avoid overshadowing neighbors’ backyards.
Parent said this is not allowed in La Mesa, adding that La Mesa during his tenure has made it very easy to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs). “We’ve had hundreds of applications,” he said, adding that allowing homeowners to build ADUs helps them “build equity and generational wealth” while also providing housing. “I think that’s the right approach.”
Sharp-Collins noting that in San Diego, housing has been going up that is impacting neighborhoods. “We should have some limits on housing,” she said, adding that it’s also important to assure that there is adequate infrastructure. It’s important to have conversations with the community to “understand the needs and concerns of our constituents,” she added.
Homelessness
Asked how they would address the homelessness problem, Sharp-Collins said, “We need housing with wrap-around services” such as mental health services and substance abuse help for homeless individuals. “We can’t build our way out of this crisis,” she noted, adding that solving this issue will require “hard-fought conversations.”
Parent said of homeless residents, “I don’t like the answer to put them somewhere else. They need homes” and shelter to get out of several weather and be safe, he added. Parent noted that some homeless people are poor and just need help such as first and last month’s rent or job training. Others need help to overcome addiction or treatment for mental health issues. He criticized a long wait list for people who want to get clean and sober. “When someone reaches that point...we need to say yes and help them immediately.”
Healthcare
The next question noted that California’s healthcare costs are $405 billion annually, and asked what steps the next 79th Assemblymember would take to lower those costs.
Parent said that not only cost, but equity is also important. “Many people don’t get healthcare from their employer,” he noted, so they rely on Medicare or private insurance. “We need to invest so that everyone has the same access to healthcare and the same outcomes...I think we can get there.”
Sharp-Collins cited legislation to disclose the actual cost of prescriptions and lower the costs of medications such as insulin, as well as working with the Office of Healthcare Accountability to slow down costs and push for accountability.
Higher education costs
Californians owe $140 billion in student loan debt, the next question noted, then asked candidates what can be done to minimize the cost of higher education.
Sharp-Collins replied, “We have to do everything we can to fund middle class scholarships and provide resources,” as well as help to absorb housings costs and improve the Cal grant program for students attending public schools. She noted that she attended public schools, including getting all three of her degrees from San Diego State University.
Parent, who attended the University of California, San Diego as an undergraduate before getting his law degree, said the UC system provides “great value” to students. He wants the state to tell public colleges and universities to have better accounting of costs, noting that it costs almost twice as much today for a student to attend UCSD as when I went there. “It doesn’t make sense. We need to keep public education accessible for everyone,” he added.
K-12 and secondary education in the 79th Assembly District
How would the candidates improve K-12 and secondary education in the district?
Parent says the state should “absolutely maintain funding for public education” but noted that the state is going through “tough budget years.” He voiced commitment to follow science and best practices to help students learn how to read and write.
Sharp-Collins called for accountability and transparency. She said the state needs to give counties the authority to issue mandates to school districts. She cited concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) impacting students’ ability to read.
Climate change impacts
With climate change fueling more severe wildfires, flooding, coastal erosion and drought, candidates what their priorities would be to address climate change impacts.
Sharp-Collins said Spring Valley was hit hard during the January floods and that her family suffered a loss. She emphasized the importance of bringing resources into the district. With more intense heat waves, she noted, “a lot of people don’t have HVAC” and said it’s important to bring money from the state into the district for infrastructure. “What happened in January should never have happened.”
Parent noted that our region has seen big fires and floods recently in areas such as Lemon Grove and Southcrest. While it’s true that cities didn’t adequately clean out storm drains, he added, “The state funds infrastructure and not enough is going to infrastructure in areas of greatest need. My city, La Mesa, got a grant.” If in the Assembly, he pledged to talk to state agencies about prioritizing communities most vulnerable to climate change.
Sweetwater Reservoir trail
For 30 years, people have advocated for a trail around the Sweetwater Reservoir. Candidates were asked if they would advocate to complete the trail.
Parent said, “Yes.” He noted that with state budget cycles, existing grant programs should be looked at, including transportation grants such as those that “I work on in my day job” as general counsel for Circulate San Diego, an nonprofit that advocates for walkable and bikeable transit. Parent stressed the importance of electing someone who is aware of these types of grants and who is willing to go after them.
Sharp-Collins said, “Yes, I will make this a priority to allocate funds for community trails” adding that outdoor recreation is positive for mental health.
Environmental justice and equity
Noting that Spring Valley has been identified as an environmental justice community, the next questioner asked what policies could help assure access to equitable resources.
Sharp-Collins wants to see HVAC systems brought to older homes with no air conditioning. “A lot of them were built in the ‘50s and have methane gas in them. WE need to fund air purifiers,” she said. “Environmental justice is not just about grass; it’s about socioeconomic justice.”
Parent said environmental measures often have disproportionate impacts on lower income communities. “Spring Valley has industrial facilities next to where people live,” with diesel trucks traveling nearby polluting the air. He wants transit and infrastructure funding to “remedy historic injustice.”
Spring Valley and La Presa
How would candidates assure that Spring Valley and La Presa are prioritized?
Parent promised to go out in the community to meet with residents and to listen to their concerns, noting that his cell phone is on his campaign materials so people can call him. “I will be present in Spring Valley. I’m going door to door,” he said.
Sharp-Collins said she would hire staff who reflect the community and hold meetings in community locations such as libraries and senior centers, including after-hours meetings to “bring our district to you.” She promised an open door policy at her office. “We want to learn from you. .Your voice is powerful,” she said.
Learning from past experiences
Candidates were asked if there is any decision they have made that in hindsight, they would handle differently.
Sharp-Collins said “If there is something I need to change, I would change that,” but noted that her values will never change.
Parent said he’s learned a lot serving in public office and that there are “a bunch of things I’d do differently.” Specifically, he recalled a state grant for a homeless shelter in La Mesa that he supported, but which fell through due to community opposition. He noted that he supported housing for the homeless” at great political cost. “I should have pushed harder to hear community concerns,” he acknowledged. “I probably still would have supported it, but we might have changed some things, and people would have felt better about the process.”
Labor unions
The next question asked candidates their relationship to unions and commitment to rebuild the middle class.
Parent said he is endorsed by the countywide Labor Council. He voiced pride in his vote to support La Mesa’s passage of a project labor agreement to “create good paying middle class jobs” by requiring that contractors for public projects hire local workers and pay prevailing wages “so we can create an economy everyone can be proud of.”
Sharp-Collins said she is a union member raised in a union household. “Unions are there to produce good quality jobs to help both unionized and non-unionized workers,” she noted. “I would not be standing there today without the support of unions.” She is endorsed by education unions and added, “Workers rights are human rights.”
Public comments
Candidates were asked their views on cities’ handling of controversial comments made during La Mesa and San Diego public meetings, which have led to restrictions on remote public comments.
Sharp-Collins asserted, “Everyone deserve to be heard and respected.” She said while everyone should stand on their values and hold people accountable, “I’mnot one to shut down the people’s voice.”
Parent explained that La Mesa’s City Council had “Zoombombers” who took up 20 minutes of public comments with anti-Semitic rants. Since Councilmembers are not allowed to speak during public comments, he left the room in protest. The Council later banned remote public comments as a result. “I am working with our city attorney on how to bring it back,” said Parent, noting that freedom of speech for those with antisemitic views can also limit the ability of others to speak.
Public transit
Spring Valley and La Presa lack adequate public transit. Candidates were asked how they would improve this.
Parent noting that he runs Circulate San Diego and is a leading advocate for public transit, as well as a frequent transit user. “Building a trolley to Spring Valley is expensive” and probably won’t happen anytime soon, he said. “But we could improve the frequency of existing buses,” noting that it takes an hour currently to get to the La Mesa trolley station by bus.
Sharp-Collins said, “We need to increase bus routes” for commuters to East County, South County, and central San Diego. This is a justice issue and an environmental issue, she added. “We need to assure equal access to get to jobs, medical care” and more, she concluded.
Freeway widening
Candidates were asked if they support completion of the State Route 125 and State Route 94 connector.
Sharp-Collins said she will work to assure this is priority to reduce traffic congestion.
Parent said he would support this particular project after studying its impacts and finding them to be “net zero” but that other freeway expansion proposals would be looked at on a case-by-case basis, since freeway expansions “rarely lower traffic congestion and cause greenhouse gas emissions.”
Transparency and communication to voters
Parent said one of his first actions as a La Mesa Councilman was to get Council meetings moved to evenings so a greater diversity of people can attend. He has published his cell phone number and says he is the only member to hold open Council hours.
Sharp-Collins says she has helped build positive, trusting relationships with 22 school districts and would hold meetings in the community to meet people where they reside.
Life experiences
Candidates were asked to describe how their life experiences enable them to understand the needs of the 79th Assembly district.
Sharp-Collins cited growing up in Southeast San Diego and attending SDSU. “I understand the struggles to pay rent and to buy a home” as well as “to walk outside and look over my shoulder as a woman of color.” She cited worries over gun violence and young men not coming home. “I had a friend’s brother murdered in the front yard,” she said, adding, “I can speak truth to power.”
Parent cited his eight years holding public office. “I’m a renter. I understand the challenges” as well as the frustrations of trying to buy a home, he said. “I’m a regular transit rider,” adding that he understands the problems caused when a bus is late and the fear of safety, noting that this district has the highest rate of transit ridership overall.
Reproductive choice
Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and many states have criminalized abortion in most cases, candidates were asked their stances on reproductive rights.
“I’m 100% for choice,” Parent affirmed. “Get the government out of making decisions that should be between a woman and her doctor.” He said he has walked door-to-door for a pro-choice candidate in the past and hopes to see the protections of Roe v. Wade restored at the federal level.
Sharp-Collins also voiced strong support for a woman’s right to choose. “I’ve served on the board of Planned Parenthood,” she said, adding that she will proudly continue to support a woman’s choice on abortion and birth control, as well as protect LGBTQ rights and abortion access to women coming from other states.
Public safety
The next questioner cited concerns over traffic safety and asked what the state can do to improve public safety.
Sharp-Collins said public safety includes issues such as gun violence, child abuse, and elder abuse. She wants to see better training to rebuild communities’ trust in law enforcement and better mental health access.
Parent noted that the state allocates money to local jurisdictions for DUI enforcement, as well as teaching kids bike safety and walking safety tips. “In some areas, more kids are killed in traffic than by homicides.” He wants to see improvements to help everyone get around safely.
Veterans
What policies will the candidates support to help veterans?
Parent noted that San Diego County has many veterans who come here to stay, and that many are homeless, including the nation’s largest population of Iraq War veterans locally. “Veterans Village is in trouble,” he said. “We need funds for these types of programs.”
Sharp-Collins wants to increase support for mental health services such as to help vets with PTSD and military sexual assault trauma. She praised VA benefits that have helped families and wants to assure that they “continue to receive the quality care they deserve.”
Proposition 36 criminal justice reforms
Candidates were asked their views on Prop 36, which would allow longer sentences for certain drug and retail theft crimes. It would also require some people who possess illegal drugs to complete treatment or serve up to three years in prison.
Sharp-Collins said she is “not a fan” of going back to the days of “mass incarceration” before earlier criminal justice reforms. “We need to go back to the root problems” such as poverty and lack of education, she said, as well as break down “system barriers” for “people who are struggling to eat and to survive.”
Parent said, “I’ll be voting for Prop 36, and I voted for Prop 47,” an earlier measure which allowed early release for some criminals and reduced certain sentences at a time when “we had prison overcrowding” and a budget crunch. But times have changed, he noted, citing the high number of fentanyl deaths and a dramatic rise in shoplifting. Parent said he’d hoped the Legislature would have crafted reforms, but since that effort failed, Prop 36 is “not perfect, but we need to be responsive to challenges.”
Racial justice
The next questioner asked candidates their views on helping black men and boys with economic development and mental health support.
Parent state since the state provides funds to counties, these needs should be priorities—not merely relying on nonprofits to help people of color get jobs or buy homes.
Sharp-Collins wants to see the state work with community organizations such as Urban League and Workforce Partnership and come out to K-12 schools. In addition to helping black men and boys, she added, mentors and help are need for “women and girls of color.”
Cannabis
Asked about cannabis equity programs, Sharp-Collins said it’s important for the state to back such efforts to “right the wrongs to the BIPOC community.”
Parent said he supported legalizing cannabis sales in La Mesa to generate tax revenues and wealth for investors. “Yes, I’m supportive of cannabis reformation and equity to be sure everyone has access” to that wealth, he added.
Campaign finance reform and ethics
The last question asked candidates if they support any campaign finance reforms and their views on following ethical standards.
Parent said California is “blessed with robust campaign disclosure” laws. He wants to be sure the Secretary of State has enough funds to continue improving access to such records. “I will hold myself to high standards,” he pledged regarding ethics.
Sharp-Collins says reporting and transparency are key. She wants to monitor how funds are coming into campaigns, tighten regulations and “follow the money” to assure “transparency, accountability, but also integrity.”
Closing statements
Sharp-Collins reiterated her deep roots in the district, as a single mother of two from a middle-class household. “Vote your values,” she urged. “You need someone who is not afraid to fight for your values,” adding that the road will not be easy. “I’m hear to be your voice. You will be heard, not marginalized.” She closed by noting that she has 140 endorsements including the Democratic Party, labor unions, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, Assemblymember Akilah Weber, the Sierra Club, and more. “I hold true to my values,” she concluded.
Parent recalling growing up in the district and earning his Eagle Scout badge as a youth, and indicated his eight years serving on the La Mesa City Council, as well as on state and county governmental organizations working on housing issues, have prepared him for higher office. “This is a wonderful community, but we do have problems,” he said, citing buying a house and affording high rents as key challenges. “It’s not enough to talk” about solutions, he said. “I have experience...I have a background in affordable housing policy. I have championed, at great political cost, housing for the homeless in my own backyard.” He urged people to following him on social media and reach out. “I look forward to talking with you,” he said.
Voter resources
The League of Women Voters urged everyone to be informed voters and visit Vote411, where you can put in your address and get nonpartisan information on all candidates and measures that you will be voting on.