There are two candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot running for this four-year state Senate term: Republican state Sen./businessman Brian Jones and Democratic Marine Capt./attorney Joseph Rocha. Here are Jones’ answers to a 14-question survey The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board emailed candidates.
Q: Why do you want this job and what would be your top priority?
A: California is a mess. A high cost of living, skyrocketing homelessness, a surging crime wave and a failing education system plague our beautiful state. On so many important issues, government is failing us. As a father, I worry about our kids’ future and the state we are passing down to them. We need bold and bipartisan solutions to bring back a golden California. I’m determined to improve the quality of life in our community. That’s why I’m running for California’s 40th state Senate District.
My top priority is fixing California. I’ll continue to fight fearlessly to lower taxes and make California more affordable, starting with housing costs. With our homelessness crisis spiraling out of control, I’ll champion solutions that compassionately clear homeless encampments and clean up California. In fact, on day one, I will introduce a bill prohibiting homeless encampments near sensitive areas like schools, parks, libraries and day-care centers. Furthermore, I promise to stand up against policies that threaten our public safety, and I will continue to promote commonsense solutions to keep our neighborhoods safe. Finally, I will stand up for our kids and fight to reform our broken educational system.
Q: What is the biggest accomplishment of your career?
A: In my career, I am most proud of my consistent advocacy on behalf of the constituents I represent.
One of the biggest accomplishments of my career was helping over 2,500 families receive the unemployment benefits they were entitled to during the pandemic. When the Employment Development Department wouldn’t answer its phones, my office helped our constituents secure the unemployment benefits they needed to survive.
Additionally, I’m proud to be a voice of reason against some really bad ideas coming out of Sacramento. I do not hesitate to speak out for commonsense alternatives. For example, the governor recently vetoed a bill that would have encouraged drug use by legalizing heroin shooting dens. I believe my outspoken opposition contributed to the governor’s decision. Other examples include forming a consensus for lowering the gas tax, something that I have long advocated for. Additionally, there is a growing consensus that decriminalization of major crimes has failed and that reforms are needed to protect businesses and community.
Finally, I’m thrilled about my accomplishments in San Diego County. By partnering with nonprofits like the Boys and Girls Club and YMCA, we created one of the safest, family friendly communities in the region. Specifically in my hometown Santee, my work to implement pro-business policies set the stage for quality residential, commercial and retail development, and by contracting our services, Santee avoided many of the financial problems that plagued other cities.
Q: Assess what the state is doing now to address the changing climate. What would you support to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California?
A: We need to clean up California and leave it a better place for the next generation.
To take full advantage of new technologies, we must seek bipartisan, science-based solutions to protect our environment on reasonable consumer- and market-based timetables that will not destroy the livelihoods of hard-working Californians.
I’m focused on preventing and stopping wildfires, a major emission source that also threatens our livelihoods. My work on this issue includes bipartisan measures to speed up prescribed burns, increase forest and vegetation management, and add more firefighters, equipment and trucks. I also worked with Senate Democrat budget subcommittee member Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, to ensure that funding for a promised increase in firefighter hires was included in the budget when the Newsom administration was wavering on it. My dedication to this issue is the reason I’m the only candidate for Senate District 40 who is endorsed by firefighters.
Additionally, I was the only Senate Republican to support Senate Bill 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. This bipartisan bill is a strong, meaningful compromise between environmentalists and the industry to make positive changes for our future. I believe bills such as this one will help us create a cleaner environment, thanks to the help of emerging technologies, and will greatly improve quality of life.
Q: Assess what the state is doing now to address the drought. What would you do differently?
A: Actions speak louder than words. Do you know why San Diego County has water infrastructure that helps us hedge against drought? I can point to numerous actions leaders in San Diego have taken that help: the Carlsbad desalination plant and the San Vicente dam raise, among others. I can assure you it is not because of the leadership in Sacramento. It is because we have local water district leaders and a County Water Authority that has been committed to maintaining and developing our infrastructure.
Our state should take a similar approach. First, for the long term, provide funding and California Environmental Quality Act exemptions to build Sites Reservoir in Colusa County and Temperance Flat in the Central Valley. Second, it is beyond time to enact a Twin Tunnels plan with funding and CEQA exemptions. Lastly, in the short term, the state must stop flushing over 50 percent of our water out to sea and explore creative and balanced solutions. Water shouldn’t be a zero-sum game between the environment and California’s legitimate water needs.
Infrastructure funding and CEQA exemptions are not new ideas. In fact, legislators have introduced several bills that have been killed time and time again because the Sacramento majority party leadership has become captive to one side of the argument. We need to return to balanced solutions.
Q: The California Air Resources Board has adopted a policy that would ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035. What would you do to ease the transition to electric vehicles and ensure affordability, equity and practicality?
A: I fundamentally oppose CARB’s mandate banning new gas-powered vehicles. Banning vehicles will not cure all our problems. In fact, it will likely create several unintended consequences. For example, California’s electric grid can hardly handle the current energy demand. How can we expect it to handle millions more electric cars? Furthermore, many Californians can hardly afford a tank of gas, yet the state expects them to buy a $50,000 zero-emission vehicle? This mandate will push many Californians into buying vehicles they simply cannot afford. Ultimately, those who struggle the most financially will bear the worst consequences of this mandate. These are just a few of many of my concerns. Rather than broad, half-baked ideas seeking headlines, we should pursue bipartisan solutions to protect our environment.
With that said, if the state is moving towards the ban, I believe we need to ensure technology neutrality to allow for the most innovation and market-based solutions possible. Not only will this approach create more competition and hopefully lower prices, but it will also allow for technology to develop and improve.
Finally, we need to prepare our current workforce for these changes. We should invest in career training programs that teach our labor force the skills needed for a zero-emission vehicle future.
Q: What can the state do to get more people to use public transit?
A: We should encourage and incentivize proven mass transit systems that are already in existence and are running near or at capacity. We should not be throwing any more tax dollars into the money pit known as high-speed rail.
Q: Housing affordability is a huge issue in California. What can you do to help renters or homeowners who are struggling now?
A: I believe local control is key to community planning. We can create more housing to fix the shortage and affordability crisis while still giving communities control to shape their neighborhoods. Every Californian should be able to attain a home they can afford.
To fix our housing affordability crisis, we must cut regulations and taxes that make it harder to build. For example, CEQA increases building costs and project timelines. I plan to reform CEQA and make it easier to build in California. In fact, I’ve already taken steps to do so during my time in the Senate. This year, I co-authored Assembly Bill 1952 to reform CEQA and help advance affordable housing developments. This bill is an excellent step in the right direction, but much more work still needs to be done.
California renters, and specifically San Diego renters, face one of the most expensive rental markets in the country. With skyrocketing rents, I’m working across the aisle in the Senate to bring renters relief. I’ve co-authored Senate Bill 843, which would increase the renter’s tax credit for the first time in 42 years. The new credit will be up to $1,000. I plan to continue this critical work of bringing relief to renters during my next Senate term.
Q: More and more resources are being dedicated to the homelessness issue, yet California has more homeless people than ever. Do you see progress? What solutions are working?
A: Homelessness in San Diego shot up 10 percent in the last year. Failed Democrat politicians have thrown nearly $20 billion at the issue in the past four years. Their “my way or the highway” approach to homelessness has led to just that — more homeless encampments popping up along our highways, on our streets and in our parks. Next year, I will introduce a bill prohibiting homeless encampments near sensitive areas like schools, parks, libraries, and day-care centers.
Every Californian deserves a path off the streets. We can compassionately clear encampments and provide homeless individuals with services they desperately need. To get this done, I introduced Senate Bill 1006 to fund homeless outreach teams. These teams go into homeless encampments not just to clear the camp, but to assess each homeless person’s mental, behavioral and medical needs, then connect them with proper treatment programs and an appropriate housing facility.
We must increase access to services and address the mental health crisis. California can do this by investing in nonprofits, charities and faith-based programs that emphasize a compassionate assessment of the root causes of homelessness, such as mental health challenges, substance abuse issues and cost of living. This year, I advocated for a $10 billion investment into mental health infrastructure and services to help Californians struggling with mental health and addiction. While Senate Democrats rejected the proposal, I will continue fighting for reform.
Q: California’s crime rate is going up. Do you blame recent criminal justice reforms, other factors or some combination? How would you keep Californians safe?
A: Crime is skyrocketing across our state, including in San Diego. Yet the failed solutions proposed by Sacramento Democrats are to continue decriminalizing violent crimes, defunding the police, releasing criminals early from our jails and dumping sexually violent predators in our neighborhoods. We have a lot of work to do to keep Californians safe, and I’m prepared for the fight. That’s why I’m the only candidate for Senate District 40 who is endorsed by law enforcement.
I have opposed almost all of these so-called criminal justice reforms. While people who commit nonviolent crimes and are trying to turn their lives around may deserve a second chance, those who are career, violent or hardened criminals are too dangerous to turn loose on our streets and must serve their entire sentence.
To keep Californians safe, we must support our law enforcement in every way possible. Instead of defunding the police, we should increase law enforcement resources so officers can safely do their jobs of keeping us safe. Additionally, we should focus on stopping crime before it starts by investing in proven and effective prevention and intervention programs.
Finally, sexually violent predators are being dumped into our communities. I’ve been calling on the Newsom administration to follow in the footsteps of previous administrations and house sexually violent predators in trailers on state prison property. While the best solution is not to release sexually violent predators, if the court orders them released, public safety must be the top priority. I will continue pushing for sexually violent predator reform during my next Senate term.
Q: How would you help California students who suffered from learning loss associated with the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: California’s public schools are ranked nearly last in the nation. It’s no wonder our public schools lost over 110,000 students in the 2021-2022 school year.
Our schools and teachers need everything it takes to lift kids out of the state’s failed educational experiment. We must dramatically improve public schools’ academic and after-school programs so that all kids have a fair shot at success.
Parents are constantly being cut out of their kids’ education. For example, this year, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1100, a measure that restricts the ability of parents to freely speak up and fight for their kids at public school board meetings. We should be encouraging, rather than discouraging, parental involvement in education. That’s why I strongly opposed Senate Bill 1100.
Sacramento Democrats constantly attack and underfund charter and non-traditional schools. I believe parents, not bureaucrat politicians and teacher union bosses, know what’s best for their kids.
Overall, by improving public schools, empowering parents and creating more school choice, I believe we can restore educational excellence in California.
Q: The state has had giant surpluses in recent years yet there are worries about a potential recession. How would you ensure the state is prepared to weather an economic downturn? What will you do for Californians who are struggling economically now?
A: The cost of living in California is out of control, with nearly one-third of Californians living in poverty. Even worse, soaring inflation, out-of-reach housing prices and skyrocketing gas prices are only making our affordability crisis worse.
As a small business owner, I know what it takes to bring jobs and economic growth to our community. In Sacramento, I have fought policies that unjustly cause small businesses to fail, discourage innovation and force California commerce to flee to friendlier states. I will continue to fight against government overreach, so our families can keep more of their hard-earned money, especially in these times of soaring inflation and record-setting gas prices.
Furthermore, I will fight to immediately cut costs for Californians by lowering taxes and fees, reducing unnecessary regulations on small businesses, and ensuring that every Californian can attain a home that is affordable.
Gas prices hit their all-time high this year. We should suspend the state’s $1 taxes and fees on every gallon of gas to bring direct and immediate relief to Californians. I’ve introduced several amendments to suspend the gas tax and will keep pushing for gas price relief.
Q: California has the nation’s most strict gun laws and among its lowest gun death rates. What is your philosophy toward gun legislation? Have you or your family been directly affected by gun violence?
A: Sadly, my family has been directly affected by gun violence. In 2001, there was a school shooting at my old high school, Santana High School in Santee. My brother-in-law was a high school student at the time and was caught in the middle of the shooting. Thankfully, he survived and was not hit, but two of his friends were tragically shot and injured.
As a longtime gun owner myself, I have dedicated my career to guarding and securing law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Ownership and the safe use of a firearm in defense of one’s life and one’s family’s lives are a bedrock of our constitutional rights.
California has over 100 gun control laws on the books, many of them forced through the Legislature on party-line votes. I think a partisan approach on major issues like this one does a disservice to everyone.
That’s why I endorsed Congress’ Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which has been hailed as the most significant gun safety measure to be approved in decades. We need to focus on bipartisan efforts to help get guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them while ensuring the rights of Americans who safely use firearms.
Q: What is your position on Proposition 1, which would establish the rights for Californians to an abortion and to contraceptives in the state Constitution?
A: I have always been open about my pro-life position. I’m not going to suddenly change now. That would be disingenuous. Regardless of my views, Californians will have the opportunity to vote on a ballot measure regarding abortion this November.
Even without Proposition 1, abortion remains legal and guaranteed by the California Constitution. The state attorney general has made clear that “the [U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion] ruling does not change anyone’s rights in California.”
Yet California Democrat politicians are seeking to politicize the court’s decision as a means of distracting voters from their horrific record going into the November elections. Soaring inflation, record unaffordability, rampant homelessness, surging crime and a failing education system are key problems Democrat leaders have caused, and as a state senator from San Diego, I will not be focusing my efforts on abortion but on fixing a broken California.
Q: Why should voters elect you over your opponent?
A: I have the experience and knowledge necessary to be an effective legislator.
As a small business owner, I know what it takes to bring jobs and economic growth to our community. I’ve fought policies that unjustly cause small businesses to fail, discourage innovation and force California commerce to flee to friendlier states. I will continue this fight against government overreach, so our families can keep more of their hard-earned money, especially in these times of soaring inflation.
With decades of public service experience, I’ve dedicated most of my career to improving the lives of San Diegans. Importantly, I’ve had fantastic success. During my time in office, I’ve solved thousands of issues my constituents face with government entities like the Employment Development Department and the Department of Motor Vehicles. I’ve authored dozens of bills that have been signed into law and improve the everyday lives of Californians. I have years of success working across the aisle to get things done in Sacramento.
My opponent is the status-quo candidate. He is supported by the same Sacramento Democrats and out-of-touch special interests who have put California on the path of decline for several decades. His supporters brought Californians higher taxes, more crime, increased homelessness and a failing education system. Should he be elected, San Diegans can expect him to continue his funders’ legacy of failures. If San Diegans, like most Californians, believe California is on the wrong track, I encourage them to vote for me. I pledge to continue fighting every day to make California’s government work for everyone.