2020 PRIMARY:
12th Assembly District
Paul Akinjo Why are you the best candidate for the seat?
I consider myself the best candidate for the district because I can get things accomplished a lot quicker than my opponent and besides our values are different — I am a Democrat he is a Republican.
What issues set you apart from your opponent(s)?
Approach to transportation, homelessness and health care and Immigration policies.
If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your first 90 days in office?
I am not the governor so I cannot use executive power, but I can work on the existing push for real affordable housing Issues.
Your thoughts on: Homelessness
Homelessness is a national Issue but it has gotten way out of control for the states to manage, especially California. There are three approaches that I see: Mental care, legal constraints availability and building of affordable homes. Until we start to treat the issues of mental health we will continue to have a revolving door on homeless situations
Affordable housing
Affordable Housing is an overused language to describe housing in California. The prices are just too high to qualify for affordable housing, including rental properties.
Cost of higher education
Why a country will saddle their future with debt is still a surprise to me. What are all these ballooning student loans? I believe greed is built into our system that does not allow all young graduates to be independent the first two to three years are for paying student loans. That is ridiculous and that depends on your major. You might have Doctors still paying 10 years after graduation. What is that?
Economic policy
An economy that is concentrated on the upper echelon of our society is bound to fail and cause many of the above discussions. The gap between the rich and the poor gets wider every moment. When you ask my opponent’s party you are labeled as socialist and trying to give things away. They remain adamant and stubborn. Instead of asking the rich to help, they blame the poor. Very sad Indeed.
High-speed rail/ transportation funding
Let’s face it, District 12 is landlocked and Highways 99, I-5, 205 are super congested. I am just tired of hearing where is the money going to come from. We have to make transportation a matter of priority in both San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. This includes the beautiful Port of Stockton and the upgrade to the Stockton Airports. That is why the Valley Link is so much an integral part of the district’s sustainability to get the farmers a quicker access to Transport their goods.
Water issues
State storage is important to help our farmers during dry seasons and capturing during the raining season so our farmers can continue to produce. And looking at desalination is not bad either.
Taxes
Not sure how taxes is now embedded in our culture. We are not even considering the poor when leaders come out with ideas of more taxes. We know where the money is but we are not bold to ask the rich for help. Instead, we over burden the middle class until the middle class is no more.
Minimum wage/ income inequality
Minimum wage is a relative to affordable Housing. The average home price in California with taxes is about 320,000. You need two Income earners to be able to afford the monthly payments with interest. Gross inequality.
Sanctuary laws
As an immigrant that has benefited from all our democratic system, it is quite difficult for me to say close the door on others. Violating the laws is a different issue. Immigrants and natives should try by all means to obey the laws of the land — that is the only way to maintain our prosperity.
State’s role in educational curriculum
When states participate in covering up history of its people that is a grievous offense. Because we have a bad period in our history does not mean the people should not learn about them. Slavery we know was wrong.
Native American history we know we were short changed. Even now the Latino history depends on whom you ask. Who knows what will happen to LGBTQ in our history books. It is our duty as leaders regardless of politics and religion to let future generations know that yes, it happened.
Consumer privacy
I believe the cat is out of the bag on this one. Nevertheless we can still safeguard a little bit of our privacy — an example is this questionnaire. The only thing missing is what I ate or plan to eat tonight. Do we really need my children’s names, my wife’s name, prison record, etc. In the wrong hands it is dangerous so we all need to be careful in our private settings.
Government accountability/transparency
Government that is shrouded in secrecy will always govern with fear because everybody is a suspect. Transparency is the key to efficient government. I know it is easier said than done and expected. In my city it has worked well to the council’s advantage to build trust with our residents.
Development/ smart growth
Long before the housing crunch the Lathrop City Council Instituted a smart growth policy which helped with our recovery during the last recession.
Smart city growth with vision is the key for us. Our foreclosure rate was comparable with other small cities but we beat many cities in our region on how quick we are able to recover.
Access to legalized marijuana
Legalized Marijuana. We sought the advise of our residents concerning the sales, not the arguments of legality of marijuana for medical and personal use. That has been a win-win situation for us in Lathrop.
Civil rights
The country is changing, and so is the world. Whether in the area of human dignity, respect for individuals without race or creed, gender and religion, we are obligated to respect all persons — black, green, orange, brown, red and white in voting and redistricting. The civil rights of any group should be respected.
Climate change policy
It is mandated by our state that climate change should be part of our EIR, especially on major projects like flood control, fire mitigation roads construction and bridges etc. The other side said climate change is a hoax. Not me and my Democratic controlled state. We know the effects of climate change and how dangerous and costly it can be when groups take a careless attitude towards changes in climatic conditions in our state.