"There is only one clear, local choice for State Assembly"With the Supreme Court set to overturn Roe V. Wade, eliminating federal privacy protections that women have enjoyed for almost 50 years, it will be left for individual states to protect abortion rights. While 77% of adult Californians oppose this move, including 59% of registered Republicans, California State Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares opposes a woman's right to choose. Her views on the subject are so radical that she received a "100% rating" from the California Pro-Life Council. Alternatively, her opponent, Pilar Schiavo, is endorsed by the political arm of Planned Parenthood.
-- Campaign flyer
Given that her position is out of step with California voters, it is not surprising that Valladares would like to obfuscate when it comes to this issue. While her campaign flyer is centered on "choice," it never mentions her radical views on abortion. Instead, it focuses on where the candidates were born and whom Schiavo supported in the Democratic primary. The last attack is particularly strange coming from the Republican who participated in a pro-Trump rally last July, months after the former president had lost his re-election bid.
Valladares used similar diversionary tactics when pointing out that Schiavo supports universal health care. She claims that she was protecting Medi-Cal and Medicare by opposing AB1400, the CalCare Universal Healthcare bill, but ignores the fact that this bill would have expanded healthcare coverage. She states that this bill would have "made your private health coverage illegal," but the fact is that it would have made it unnecessary. For many Californians, health-care coverage would no longer be tied to their employer, giving them greater flexibility in choosing the job that is best for them.
Particularly startling is the complaint that a single-payer, state government-run healthcare program would "eliminate all Medicare, Covered California, and private healthcare options." Valladares' party opposed the creation of Medicare and under Rick Scott's 11-point plan would sunset the program in five years. Similarly, Republicans opposed the Obamacare program that allowed for the creation of Covered California and their last party platform contained a call for it to be repealed and replaced. Private healthcare options increase the cost of healthcare by adding the costs of marketing, executive salaries, and political spending to legally bribe politicians like Valladares.
Valladares is correct about one thing: there is only one clear choice for the person who will represent the values of the 40th California Assembly district. Like the vast majority of Californians, Schiavo supports a woman's right to choose. She supports the values of Bernie Sanders, who won the last presidential primary in California. This includes an expansion of healthcare coverage that is not tied to employers.
The incumbent is a Republican who traffics in Trump's Big Lie. Valladares opposes the right of women to decide when they will become a parent. She also takes credit for blocking CalCare, which would have expanded healthcare coverage to all Californians. On June 7, it is time to end her political career.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for students with special education needs and public education. He is an elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and serves as the Education Chair. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
