Both candidates vying to be the next lieutenant governor of California agree that the state and its universities must do more to help students afford college, but are proposing different strategies to reduce the cost of higher education.
Real estate developer Eleni Kounalakis said she would push California’s public universities to provide more affordable student housing and create a clear path to a degree so more students can graduate in four years instead of five or six.
State Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, said California needs to expand access to Cal Grants — the state financial aid program that helps over 300,000 low- and moderate-income students pay for college. He also supports providing more help for costs such as housing and transportation.
While California’s lieutenant governor has very limited powers and responsibilities, whoever wins the office on Nov. 6 will arguably be in position to have more influence on higher education than on any other issue.
That’s because he or she will be an ex officio member on the 26-member University of California Board of Regents and the 25-person California State University Board of Trustees which oversee both systems.
In response to questions from EdSource about their positions on higher education, Kounalakis and Hernandez described how they would use the lieutenant governor’s position to make colleges and universities more affordable. .
Click on the candidates’ photos below to read their full responses.
- Both candidates said they would work to increase state funding for higher education. Kounalakis said she would push for new taxes on oil companies and other businesses to pay for funding increases.
- Both said they would vote against any attempt to raise UC or CSU tuition. Kounalakis said she was “the only candidate in this race to pledge never to vote to raise tuition,” but Hernandez said he too would vote against tuition hikes.
- Citing recent audits of the systems, Hernandez said both UC System President Janet Napolitano and CSU System Chancellor Timothy White “can do more to increase their transparency.” Kounalakis’s response was that she would give White and Napolitano a passing grade on a pass/fail scale.
- Kounalakis said she supports creating a new CSU campus in Stockton as a way to address overcrowding. Hernandez acknowledged the state needs to increase the capacity of its universities, but was skeptical that a new campus is the answer.
- Hernandez committed to attending every meeting of the UC and CSU governing boards if elected. Kounalakis said attending the meetings would be a “TOP priority” but stopped short of committing to perfect attendance. Opponents criticized current Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom during the gubernatorial primary for his spotty attendance of the boards’ meetings.
Kounalakis and Hernandez, both Democrats, advanced to the Nov. 6 election after finishing first and second, respectively, in California’s June primary election. The primary’s two top vote-getters, regardless of party, face each other in the general election.
It addition to their posts on the UC and CSU governing boards, the lieutenant governor has a seat on a handful of other state boards and a tie-breaking vote in the state Senate and becomes governor if the sitting governor dies, resigns, is impeached or becomes incapacitated.
Kounalakis worked for 18 years as a real estate developer before she was appointed by President Obama to be U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 2010 to 2013. Gov. Jerry Brown appointed her chairwoman of the California International Trade and Investment Advisory Council in 2014. She attended Saint Francis High School, a private Catholic school in Sacramento and earned a bachelor’s degree at Dartmouth College and a master of business administration from UC Berkeley.
Obama has endorsed her, as have several other prominent Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein.
Hernandez is an optometrist who has spent the past 12 years representing the 22nd Senate District and before that the 57th Assembly District, both of which include portions of the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. He attended Bassett High School in La Puente, earned a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Fullerton and received a Doctor of Optometry degree from Indiana University.
He has received endorsements from several labor organizations, including the California Teachers Association, the California School Employees Association and the American Federation of Teachers’ University Council.
Click below to read the full responses from Hernandez and Kounalakis to EdSource’s questions.
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