Sydney Grossman / Roundup
Hot topics ranging from illegal immigration to global warming, and education to business budgets were discussed in Wednesday’s forum during the Pierce College “Town Hall” meeting with congressional and State Assembly candidates.
With elections nearing, candidates from the district spoke at the Great Hall to address political perspectives from the Democratic Party, Green Party, Libertarian Party, Peace and Freedom Party and the Republican Party.
Illegal immigration seemed to be one of the dominating conversations. Mark Reed, running for U.S. House of Representatives, believes that those who want to come into the state should enter legally.
“I love the SB 1070 law,” Reed said of the Arizona law that enforces to turn illegal immigrants over to the government.
Carlos Rodriguez of the Libertarian Party felt mixed about the situation. He believes that once an illegal family is in the United States, their family should not have to suffer.
The other parties were not in line with Reed and all voted to “hate it” during the lightning round of contemporary issues.
Linda Piera-Avila, a Green Party nominee for the California State Assembly, added more to her “hate it” vote.
“I am against the [SB 1070] law, no person is illegal,” Piera-Avila said.
Following the debate over illegal immigration and global warming, where most parties believed it is a real issue, the audience began to ask questions.
There was a large turnout of students who attended, and many wanted to know how the candidates were going to implement an educational shift if they won the election.
“The Green Party will always be in favor of helping out schools,” said Marlon Stern, the campaign outreach coordinator for John Paul Lindblad. “A lot of these issues are all tied together and it’s burning the Earth into the ground.”
The conversations switched quickly and focused on businesses and taxes. The Republican Party felt the strongest about making a change for this issue.
“The loss of jobs in this state is the biggest issue,” said Kathleen Suzy Evans, the Republican Party candidate for the State Senate. “Jobs are being pushed out of the state and we need to lower the taxes on businesses and become a business friendly state again.”
After the perspectives on current issues were discussed and audience members engaged in a Q & A session, the candidates shared their gratitude and shared some last minute advise.
“Vote for your values, not your fears,” Piera-Avil said.
Elections take place on Nov. 2 and the candidate’s platform information can be found on their individual websites.
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