Decision ’92 : SPECIAL VOTERS’ GUIDE TO STATE AND LOCAL ELECTIONS : STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT : 35th District

For the past decade, this seat has been held by Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria). Earlier this year, redistricting changed the district’s boundaries, dropping Democratic-leaning sections of Oxnard and picking up all of Ventura, the Ojai Valley and more conservative areas of northern Santa Barbara County. Despite Republican gains with new district lines, voter registration still tips slightly in favor of Democrats.

Jack O’Connell

Age: 41

Party: Democratic

Occupation: Assemblyman

Education: Bachelor’s degree in history from Cal State Fullerton; secondary teaching credential from Cal State Long Beach.

Background: Carpinteria resident; Assembly speaker pro tem, a leadership position; member of Assembly Education, Insurance and the Ways and Means committees. A native of Long Island, N.Y., O’Connell moved to California in the late 1950s; Oxnard High School teacher for four years.

Issues: O’Connell considers himself a moderate Democrat and says he analyzes each issue on its merits. He supports the death penalty for convicted murderers. He has sought to be in the forefront of educational, economic development, animal protection and environmental issues. He opposes offshore oil drilling. He supports abortion rights.

Lanny Ebenstein

Age: 33

Party: Republican

Occupation: Educator

Education: Bachelor’s degrees in political science and economics at UC Santa Barbara; master’s studies in economics at UC Santa Barbara; doctorate in political theory at the London School of Economics.

Background: Santa Barbara resident; member of the Santa Barbara Board of Education for two years; lecturer at Antioch University of Santa Barbara; former instructor at Santa Barbara City College; author of four books on political science; born in Princeton, N.J.; moved to Santa Barbara when he was 3. His father, the late Professor William Ebenstein, was a noted political science professor at Princeton University.

Issues: A fiscal conservative, Ebenstein’s priorities include reforming the workers’ compensation system, enacting welfare reform, supporting term limits and working to reduce the size and scope of government. He supports the death penalty. On abortion, he supports a woman’s right to have an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, but opposes state funding of abortions.

37th Assembly District

For the past decade, this seat has been held by Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), who has decided to run for Congress. Earlier this year, redrawn boundaries made the district more competitive, but Republican voters still hold a 45%-41% advantage over Democrats. The district now encompasses Moorpark, Camarillo, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and most of Thousand Oaks.

David Harner

Age: 40

Party: Libertarian

Occupation: Clinical laboratory scientist.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in biology from Cal State Northridge.

Background: Born in Los Angeles; Newbury Park resident for seven years. He has served as chairman of the Ventura County Libertarian Committee and has been an active party member for 10 years. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for an Assembly seat two years ago.

Issues: Harner believes the government is intrusive and not cost-effective. He believes the private sector could do a better and more efficient job at providing most government services. He wants to phase out most government regulations on businesses. To ensure that taxpayer money is spent directly in the classroom, Harner wants individuals and corporations to pay for the education of students and receive tax credits in return.

Roz McGrath

Age: 45

Party: Democrat

Occupation: Farm manager and schoolteacher.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Dominican College in San Rafael. Master’s degree in early childhood education from San Francisco State University.

Background: Born in Oxnard, she moved to Camarillo at the age of 9 and spent eight years attending colleges in Northern California. McGrath now lives on the historic family farm and has long been involved in efforts to preserve farmland and farm-related jobs. She is a member of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, the Ag-Land Trust Advisory Committee and the Planned Parenthood Advisory Council.

Issues: McGrath seeks to overhaul the workers’ compensation laws, and supports preserving farmland and jobs by easing land use regulations and other red tape. She favors allocating more state dollars to schools, and proposes generating revenue by taxing foreign-owned properties at a higher rate. She supports a statewide drug resistance program in schools and wants to provide more services to victims of violent crimes.

Nao Takasugi

Age: 70

Party: Republican

Occupation: Mayor of Oxnard.

Education: Master’s degree in business administration from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Temple University.

Background: A native of Oxnard, Takasugi was appointed to the city’s Planning Commission in 1974 and served 2 1/2 years. He was elected to the City Council in 1976. In the middle of his second term, he was elected mayor and has served 10 years. He is a longtime member of the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce and the Optimist Club. Last year, Gov. Pete Wilson appointed him state chairman of the United Nations Anniversary celebration.

Issues: Takasugi supports developing and retaining jobs throughout the state by easing environmental and other regulations. He wants to reform the educational system to ensure that less money is spent in Sacramento and more money is spent in classrooms. He also would encourage school districts to be more creative with the money they get, including sharing facilities. He wants to funnel more money to law enforcement to combat gangs and drugs.

38th Assembly District

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court extended the boundaries into Ventura County to pick up the communities of Fillmore, Piru and Simi Valley. The district now straddles the Ventura County line, but remains a GOP stronghold, with 46% of the voters registered as Republicans contrasted with 40% registered as Democrats. Incumbent Paula Boland, a Republican, is seeking a second term in November.

Paula Boland

Age: 52

Party: Republican

Occupation: Assemblywoman

Education: Equivalent of three years college.

Background: A Northridge resident, Boland was elected to the Assembly four years ago. She is a longtime San Fernando Valley resident who owned and operated a real estate brokerage firm and was active with the Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce before her election. She is the vice chairwoman of the Assembly Committee on Public Safety and has spearheaded the effort to remove statute of limitations on child sexual abuse.

Issues: As a self-described conservative, Boland’s priorities include toughening laws against a variety of crimes and rolling back environmental and other regulations that she believes are chilling the state’s business climate. She is also actively trying to change workers’ compensation laws to crack down on fraud and make it more difficult for an employee to substantiate a stress-related injury. Boland opposes abortion except in the cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. She favors giving a $2,500 voucher in state dollars to those parents who send their children to private or religious schools.

Howard Cohen

Age: 29

Party: Democrat

Education: Bachelor of science in public affairs from USC and master’s degree in public administration from USC.

Occupation: Unemployed public affairs consultant.

Background: A resident of North Hills, Cohen led the successful effort to rename his community--a southern portion of Granada Hills--North Hills. He has worked as a city employee in Mayor Tom Bradley’s office and for the city’s commuter services office. He was a research assistant and political consultant in the private sector.

Issues: If elected, Cohen would seek a tax cut for the middle class, and a state tax increase for Californians in the top 1% income group. He supports tax incentives to companies that relocate to California and wants to lower capital gains taxes on long-term investments. He favors reforming workers’ compensation laws and the health-care system to make both more affordable. He also wants the Legislature to roll back state college tuition increases. He favors abortion rights and opposes giving $2,500 vouchers to parents who send a child to private or parochial schools. He considers himself a strong environmentalist and opposes easing regulations to reduce air pollution.

Devin Cutler

Age: 26

Party: Libertarian

Education: Bachelor degree in accounting from USC.

Occupation: Financial executive in the television industry.

Background: A Canoga Park resident, Cutler spent the past five years working for New World Entertainment, which distributes televisions shows such as “Wonder Years” and the drama “Santa Barbara.” He has been an active member of the Libertarian Party, serving as a member of the party’s state executive committee, and as treasurer and a central committee member of the Los Angeles County chapter.

Issues: Cutler’s top priority is to woo business back to California by reducing government-related costs such as taxes and regulations. He favors welfare reform and wants many government services to be turned over to the private sector, including trash collection, public roads and airports. He believes the government’s drug war is misguided in spending money on prosecution. Instead, he supports decriminalizing drugs and focusing on drug education and the treatment of addicts. He supports abortion rights, but opposes any government financing of abortion.