Ken Dickson, a Murrieta Valley Unified School District trustee running for the 67th State Assembly District seat, answered readers' questions during a live streaming interview on May 9. These are some of the highlights.
SPB asks: As a conservative I would assume that you are a proponent for States rights. If that is a correct assertion, what do you intend to do on behalf of medical marijuana patients and the illegal use of state resources to close medical marijuana dispensaries? The crackdown on dispensaries has negatively affected thousands of sick Californians in your district who are suffering needlessly and is an affront to any notion of state sovereignty. Would you as an Assemblymen stand up for the State of California's right to enact the laws passed by its citizens and curb the efforts of County DA's who are abusing the power of their office by coordinating with DEA officials to shutter completely legal and law abiding businesses?
Ken Dickson answers: That's a long question and has a lot of premises that I don't agree with… I do believe marijuana is a gateway drug, some people don't, but it's regulated and, properly so, at the federal level. When you start talking about drug use, drug abuse, that's a national issue… California has a law that's in contradiction, in some ways, with the federal law, which does take precedence.
LBV Collins asks: Who would you vote for as President this election cycle, and why: Obama, Romney, or Ron Paul?
Ken Dickson answers: I'm clearly in favor in Romney as president. Ron Paul is great on fiscal responsibility, but he's not as strong by a long shot on international issues… his libertarian tendencies get out of my comfort zone. As for Obama, I have some real issues with the direction he would take the country away from personal accountability, our free enterprise system, the regulatory regimes he has put in place, his short-sighted fiscal policies.
Chris Yelley asks: What do you see is the role of the State Assembly in terms of improving the economic situation in California and specifically Western Riverside county?
Ken Dickson answers: Throughout the county, the issue is jobs, jobs, jobs, I believe private sector jobs. If you think about it, it's the private sector that provides the resources for the government to do everything it needs to do… (California) is a marvelous place for economic potential, but we're strangling it, we are discouraging it, we're running good businesses out of here.
Sue K asks: If elected what do you believe would be the most important accomplishment of your office?
Ken Dickson answers: We've got to get rid of some of these regulations that are just getting in the way.
Temecula Patch asks: What would you have done about the Liberty Quarry plan?
Ken Dickson answers: This gets me taken off some Christmas card lists. The right thing to do was to approve that quarry, because all of the regulators approved it. In legal terms, if the facts support you, you argue the facts, if the law supports you, you argue the law, if neither do, you need to get an emotional argument, maybe attack your opponents. There was a lot of that in the Liberty Quarry, and as a result, we're all going to pay more for the infrastructure that's going to be done.
