Ahead of the June primary election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below. Questionnaires may have been edited for spelling, grammar, length and, in some instances, to remove hate speech and offensive language.
Name: Ellen Evans
Current job title: President, Doheny Sunset Plaza Neighborhood Association; Vice President for Legislative Affairs, Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council
Political party affiliation: Democratic
Incumbent: No
Other political positions held: Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council
City where you reside: Los Angeles
Campaign website or social media: ellen@ellen4senate.com
Do you believe balancing the state budget should rely more on spending cuts, new revenue streams or a combination? Tell us how you would propose tackling California’s projected budget deficit. (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
Of course, it’s a combination. We have to assess what’s working in the state and what’s not — and budget accordingly, which might mean cutting programs that aren’t working. We have to look for ways to increase revenue. We need to ensure that commercial properties are appropriately reassessed on entity transfer and look closely at corporate tax benefits that don’t have demonstrable public benefit for additional revenue.
California’s tax base is highly dependent on stock market gains taken by wealthy residents. I’m going to work to smooth out our revenue stream by elevating our workforce and increasing the amount of revenue that comes from regular income tax.
This means robustly funding job training programs. We are short of so many critical workers whose jobs can’t be taken by AI: construction workers, electricians, green energy technicians, nurses, teachers, unarmed crisis responders, mental health professionals, and substance use disorder counselors, while at the same time having an unemployment rate higher than average. We should train for these fields, which provide great opportunities, and lock in a better funding stream. I will also work to attract advanced manufacturing to California, which will provide jobs and additional revenue.
For you, what’s a non-starter when talking about budget cuts? Why? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
We need to look at our budget expenditures as investments. Any area where cost reduction hurts revenue or increases costs later should be out of bounds. Cutting these areas is short-sighted.
Education is an investment that provides the bridge to the middle class. We shouldn’t cut access to classrooms in any way, but we can require our public institutions to assess their administrative expenses and determine what’s strictly necessary.
Likewise, cutting MediCal should not be on the chopping block. Restricting access to care, especially early treatment of disease and preventive care, winds up costing us later in emergency room visits and hospital stays.
We should always fund our infrastructure upgrades robustly. It’s too easy to kick the can down the road, and these investments create great jobs, which lead to improved revenue stability.
And finally, we should not cut any wildfire-related funding appropriation because mitigating our fire risk is important for our welfare and our financial well-being. The cost of mitigation is dwarfed by the cost of recovery.
What are the top three most pressing issues facing the state, and what would you propose, as a state legislator, to address them? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
First of all, we have to address the housing crisis. We’re short millions of units, and that drives up the cost of the housing we have. So many people are rent-burdened, and it doesn’t have to be that way. Sacramento has produced a lot of legislation that is meant to build more housing, yet the units don’t get built. I would be focused on what developers tell me keeps them from building — the time it takes to get their shovel in the ground. That’s why I would pass measures that would require agencies and departments to review plans simultaneously and also reform the state’s affordable housing financing regime. It’s just too complicated.
Finally, we should have many more condominiums available in this state, but we don’t. I will reform our construction defect law and strengthen inspection standards.
Climate change is the next topic. We are not prepared to meet our green energy goals. We have interconnection and permitting delays for clean energy projects, and we have a distribution grid that’s outdated, starts fires, and isn’t prepared for widespread vehicle electrification. I will work on hardening our grid, reforming interconnection processes and streamlining permitting for clean energy projects. Finally, we need to address our homelessness and mental health crisis. Our revolving door short-term treatment doesn’t work for anybody. I’ll work to make sure we train workers for the job, build facilities for treatment and measure what actually moves people into stable housing.
What specific policy would you champion in the statehouse to improve the cost of living for residents? Would you see this having an immediate impact on Californians or would it take some time? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
We need both long and short-term solutions.
For short-term fixes, I think MediCal can use its leverage to reduce prescription drug prices.
We can make sure that industry is paying for utility upgrades they require, not consumer ratepayers, and we need to look at our infrastructure financing more generally. Our utility solar is extremely inexpensive to produce, yet our rates continue going up because the upgrade cost is misplaced. We can also put more demand flexibility measures in place that can reduce the overall capacity required in the grid, which can then also reduce costs. Finally, in the long term, we need to reduce the cost of housing. I proposed some fixes as above, but I would also reinstitute redevelopment agencies, which used to produce thousands of affordable units per year.
There have been numerous efforts made in the state legislature to curtail federal immigration enforcement in California, from prohibitions on agents wearing masks to banning federal officers from future employment in a public agency. Do you see any area where the state could better protect its residents from the federal government’s widespread immigration crackdown? Would you prefer the state work more hand-in-hand with the federal government on immigration? Where does the role as a state legislator fall into your beliefs here? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
The manner in which ICE is currently operating in our country is unprecedented, and it’s best characterized as intimidation disguised as enforcement. This behavior means that talking about what constitutes just immigration enforcement is pointless, and working hand in hand with the federal government is out of the question.
Legislators are coming up with creative ways of protecting our residents, with good measures that may impact ICE’s ability to strike fear in our communities. As a legislator, I would ensure that data collected by the state and municipalities is not shared with ICE.
We can also limit the ability of private data companies to share information on an individual’s current and past location. We can require employers to require the presentation of a judicial warrant by ICE before entering, and we can designate spaces such as university and college libraries as private to prevent warrantless enforcement activity there.
Health care costs — like in many other areas — are continuing to rise. What policies, specifically, would you support or like to champion that could lower premiums or out-of-pocket expenses? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
We should use MediCal’s purchasing power to reduce drug prices. Our system is very fragile right now, with hospitals at risk of closing. We need to review MediCal reimbursement of hospitals to keep them solvent. We must ensure the overall health of the system.
Two out-of-pocket cost reduction measures I would champion are allowing nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other trained providers to operate at the top of their licenses and requiring hospitals to have cost transparency in their billing. We should also ensure that the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance have real authority over premiums, including the ability to reject unjustified increases.
Would you support expanding state health care programs to ensure more residents — including those who are not citizens — are covered? How would you propose the state fund such an expansion? Or, how would you propose the people who cannot afford health care still get the necessary care they need without expanding state programs? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
As a society, we pay the costs of health care whether in the budget or not. When hospitals treat uninsured patients, whether citizens or not, they have to recoup the loss in other areas. We should cover all residents who actually live in California, and we should ensure the availability of preventative care as a cost reducer. We can find some cost benefit here by reviewing the voluminous reporting requirements for doctors and hospitals and cutting those that are unnecessary. We need robust funding streams to pay for this. We can reform the entity transfer reassessment for commercial properties. We can also think about income tax increases to balance out the breaks the federal government is giving to the highest earners, with a sunset tied to federal policy.
As part of combating homelessness, elected officials often talk about the need to prevent people from losing their homes in the first place. What policies or programs should the state adopt to make housing more affordable for renters and homeowners? What do you propose the state do to incentivize housing development and expedite such projects? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
I support emergency rent relief programs to protect renters. As with healthcare, an ounce of prevention is the most cost-effective approach. Likewise, the state should offer low-cost loans for those who are at risk of mortgage default.
Insurance costs are increasing across the state, and rising premiums can keep homeowners from being able to stay in their homes. We need to mitigate our fire risk so premiums on homeowners’ policies stabilize and require a meaningful cure period before habitability lawsuits can proceed in order to prevent litigation that drives up rates and rents.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in 2023 authorizing state energy regulators to penalize oil companies making excessive profits. But the California Energy Commission put off imposing the penalties last year after two oil refineries, which represent nearly a fifth of California’s refining capacity, said they would shut down operations. Those announcements prompted many to be concerned about soaring gas prices. What do you think of the commission’s decision? And how would you, as a state legislator, propose balancing California’s climate goals with protecting consumers from high gas prices at the pump? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
We have an execution problem in this state. Often, legislators pass a new law, and regulators sit on that law as though implementing it were optional. This happens over and over again, and as a legislator, I will work to ensure that the gap between legislation and regulation is closed.
In terms of this decision, the legislature had acted, and the Commission should have responded to the threat with regulatory scrutiny, not capitulation. As long as we are dependent on fossil fuels, we are hostages of the oil companies. We see this now with gas companies using the war with Iran to gouge us at the pump. We have no idea what increase is really justified. The oil industry is the most profitable industry in history, and its threats are meant as a means to continue to hold us hostage. Our climate goals will accelerate affordable transportation. Electric cars run on cheaper, cleaner fuel, and we can work toward more affordable electric vehicles as well.
In 2024, voters approved Proposition 36 to increase penalties for certain drug and retail theft crimes and make available a drug treatment option for some who plead guilty to felony drug possession. Would you, as a legislator, demand that more funding for behavioral health treatments be included in the budget? How would you ensure that money is used properly? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
Voters passed Proposition 36 with a mandate for funding, and so we need to fund it. That is the smart and fiscally responsible course of action. Treatment is more effective than incarceration at reducing repeat offenses. We also need to train mental health professionals, so we have a supply to meet demand. We need performance metrics and scrutiny to ensure that the money is being used in the right way. Money needs to get to treatment, and we need to be watchful about overhead and administrative costs.
What role should the state play in ensuring hospitals and doctors are providing gender-affirming care to LGBTQ+ residents? Similarly, what role do you believe the state could play should other states adopt policies that restrict that care? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
Transgender individuals must be able to get care here. Health plans must be held to their legal obligations to fund such care. I would also fight to include Equality California’s ask for $26 million to be added to the state budget to protect access to gender-affirming care, as well as the prohibition on data sharing with out-of-state investigations related to gender-affirming care. We must continue to be a refuge. I also support paying travel expenses for transgender individuals coming from hostile states where care is criminalized, much as we fund similar expenses for abortion care.
Governments around the world are increasingly considering an age ban or other restrictions on social media use among young people, citing mental health and other concerns. Do you believe it’s the state’s responsibility to regulate social media use? Why or why not? And what specific restrictions or safeguards would you propose as a state lawmaker? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
I have young adult children who came of age with Instagram, and the mental health costs of that were clear to me and are clearly documented. I believe it is the state’s responsibility to act when the health and welfare of its residents, especially minors, is in peril. AB 3216 and AB 1008 are good bills passed by the legislature that protect minors. If they are found constitutionally sound, that could mean we have the foundation for additional protections. I’d also ensure that platforms are held accountable for the harm they cause to minors, including liability for documented mental health harm.
Artificial intelligence has become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Yet public concerns remain that there aren’t enough regulations governing when or how AI should be used, and that the technology would replace jobs and leave too many Californians unemployed. How specifically would you balance such concerns with the desire to foster innovation and have California remain a leader in this space? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
We need to be smart about how we adjust to the existence of AI. California can set the standard for responsible AI rollout. AI is taking jobs; I see it in my children’s peer group, where traditional entry-level jobs are scarce. This is why I support workforce development spending for jobs that we need that AI can’t do.
As a nation, we failed when we didn’t support workers whose jobs were sent overseas. We must not fail again. Workers whose jobs are vulnerable must be trained for new jobs. We need to know when AI is at work in our lives. This is why I support transparency around AI use in areas such as hiring, housing, credit and healthcare. We need to have standards for evaluating AI for discrimination and bias.
Finally, we need to have standards for state procurement of AI products.
Statistically, violent crime rates in California is on the decline, but still, residents are not feeling safe or at ease in their communities. How do you see your role in the state legislature in addressing the underlying issues that make Californians feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
Websites and apps that publicize crimes in progress distort our view of risk. What we can do something about is the appearance of lawlessness on our streets. We must treat the mental health and substance use disorders of our unhoused population. This is the visible marker of a broken system, one that raises alarm bells in our residents and makes them feel like they live in a lawless society. We also need to ensure that public safety is resourced, especially for dispatch and unarmed crisis responders.
What’s a hidden talent you have? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
I’m quite good at fixing a flat bike tire, which I honed on many miles of training for and participating in triathlons.