The 29th Congressional District (Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena) race pits Republican Tea Party candidate John Colbert against the Democratic incumbent, Rep. Adam Schiff, who is running for his sixth term.
Schiff has been Congressman for the 29th district since 2001. He was a former federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office and served as State Senator for California’s 21st State Senate District, chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee and several others.
The challenger to his seat, Colbert, served in the U.S. Army, spent 13 years as a law enforcement officer at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, and was the CEO of Guidance Software, Inc., which produced the materials, training and software that supported computer forensic investigations for civilian, government and law enforcement investigators.
One of the main concerns of this unstable economy is unemployment. To address this, Schiff supported the stimulus bill last year, which he claims helped the economy grow 3.5 percent. He also supported additional legislation that prompted many new construction jobs and invested $750 million in competitive grants to support job training for approximately 150,000 workers in high growth and emerging industry sectors.
Colbert sees the solution differently. On his website he explains that the best way to increase employment is to cut expenses. Colbert wants to cut taxes like former president Reagan did.
“Reducing taxes and regulations will give small businesses a chance and that is where the money comes from,” said Colbert. “This gives people more money to spend and circulate in the community.”
However with these rough times, economists predict that people will hold on to their money rather than purchase goods. Another expense that Colbert feels is unnecessary is healthcare. He wants to repeal President Obama’s healthcare reform.
The new health care system provides preventative services at no additional cost. This includes blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol tests, shots and vaccines as well as some pregnancy procedures. Children can stay on their parents’ plan until they are 26. The insured are able to choose their own doctors.
Insurers can no longer deny coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions or cancel policies without proving fraud or deny claims without the chance of appeal. This system costs billions of dollars a year but is designed to make healthcare more available and affordable for everyone.
On Colbert’s website, he says that it is Obama’s plan to maintain a flat budget fee for the military support while increasing entitlement spending by 5 percent.
Entitlements include Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security and Veterans’ benefits. He believes this will weaken America’s position as the world’s preeminent military power.
Both candidates believe that the government is not spending wisely.
Schiff plans to reduce spending on California on prisons since they are 100 percent over capacity.
“California is bankrupting themselves and the education system to pay for incarceration costs,” he said. He wants to adopt strategies that other states are using that cost less.
Another expense is America’s reliance on foreign oil. Both candidates want to pull away from this dependence, but they see different alternatives. Colbert wants to produce oil domestically and says that it will produce more jobs. Schiff wants cleaner and more efficient sources of energy, which will also create jobs.
Schiff supported the American Clean Energy and Security Act passed last June which will take effect in 2012. The bill will cap greenhouse gas emissions and then allow companies to trade their permits to emit so that market encourages the cheapest reductions to be made. Free permits would be distributed to low-income households to reduce energy costs and invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
“We need to develop new clean energy technologies instead of drilling off shore in Santa Barbara,” said Schiff. “This will employ hundreds of Americans.”
Schiff says that the U.S. is falling behind in development of alternative energy technology. “China is the world leader in hydropower and second in wind power.”
Colbert supports many forms of energy alternatives like the use of nuclear energy. The Nuclear Energy Institute says that its power plants use uranium fuel, consisting of solid ceramic pellets, to produce energy through a process called fission instead of burning fuel.
According to the World Nuclear Association, finely divided uranium metal, being pyrophoric, presents a fire hazard. Working with uranium requires the knowledge of the maximum allowable concentrations that may be inhaled or ingested. Recently, the natural presence of uranium in many soils has become of concern to homeowners because of the generation of?radon and other elements.
On Oct. 13 OpenSecrets.org reported that Schiff has $1.8 million on hand for the remainder of the campaign; Colbert has $86,000, but will reportedly receive funding this week from the Republican Party.
The election is Nov. 2. Polls open at 7 a.m. and stay open until 8 p.m.
A current list of polling places can be found on lavote.net. For more information on the California elections and voter information, visit sos.ca.gov/elections.
For more information on the candidates, visit their official websites.
Representative Adam B. Schiff (Democrat)
15 S. Raymond Ave., Suite 204
Pasadena 91105
(626) 583-8581
(626) 583-8591 (FAX)
website: www.schiff4congress.com
e-mail: [email protected]
United States Representative, 29th District
John P. Colbert (Republican)
556 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Suite 101
Pasadena 91105
(626) 398-6456
(626) 628-1778 (FAX)
website: www.colbert2010.com
e-mail: [email protected]
