DAVID LOZANO: I WOULD IMMEDIATELY EASE HOUSING REGULATIONS
Q:Housing affordability has been a central focus for state lawmakers for years, yet home prices and rents are soaring, and investor speculation is greater than ever. How do you address this?
A:
Making housing
affordable for middle class and low income families is one of my top issues since I announced my candidacy for office. As governor, I would immediately ease state regulations that impose huge costs on housing construction and regulations that stop and/or delay projects and discourage the building of low-priced rental properties. Local officials need to ease zoning and other building regulations, especially in high demand areas that prevent much needed construction of new housing projects or that prevent the conversion of old buildings into residential housing. Entrepreneurs should be encouraged to enter housing markets across the state to provide creative and low-cost solutions to meet consumer demands for housing, thereby eliminating the government-created shortage.
But my specific solutions and innovative ideas come from my 28 years as a federal attorney where I have been fighting the mortgage industry and saving people’s homes from foreclosure. Through these experiences, I have been able to develop a revolutionary program that will allow homeowners to invest in a home that they not only will be able to easily afford the monthly payments, but they will be guaranteed a profitable return on their investment and all contained within a 20-year mortgage loan. Go to lozanoforcalifornia.com and you will discover my plans for affordable housing as it relates to the thousands of Californians who will be moving into the three new state-of-the-art commercial and residential cities that will be built in cooperation with the project called “A New Hope.”
Q:
Homelessness has
exploded statewide despite unprecedented attention and state aid. What should the state be doing that it isn’t? What’s working and what is not working?
A:
I am the only gubernatorial candidate who has a detailed plan to resolve homelessness for the entire state of California. It is called “A New Hope.” The basis of my solution comes from the already successful program out of Finland, called “Housing First.” Many people may not know that Finland has almost solved its entire homeless problem. I have taken the best parts of that program, brought it here to the U.S. and reworked it, adding hundreds of my own ideas specifically for California, and my project is now ready to be implemented. What this means is that every homeless person,
whether they are drugaddicted, alcoholic, mentally ill or financially destitute who today lies on our streets, sidewalks and park benches, in our tents, along our beaches and under our bridges will be housed, fed, cared for and rehabilitated — all 160,000 — in hopes of returning one day back to society.
And for those who do not wish to return back to society, we have a place, a community for them as well, and I can do all of this within two years or less. Yes, I know it sounds impossible, but it is true. And i can prove it! Go to lozanoforcalifornia.com to watch my video and read the details of “A New Hope.”
Q:
How did Gov. Gavin
Newsom handle the COVID-19 pandemic and how would you manage a pandemic as governor?
A:
I personally believe
that questions such as these, “What would I have done ‘if ” ... ?” are somewhat “loaded” because the people asking these questions now have the advantage of knowing what others did not, and therefore have seen what actually worked and what didn’t work.
What I can say is I would not have done anything Newsom did. First, I would not have closed the churches — ever. Second, I would have done everything within my power to ensure that every hospital, health care facility, medical clinic and anything resembling a medical facility would have been fully stocked with supplies, inventory, equipment, food, tools and materials to handle a pandemic for well over a year. Third, I would have brought in doctors, nurses, licensed vocational nurses, nurse assistants and care providers from everywhere out of retirement or military retirement from other states and other countries in foresight for what could be expected. Fourth, I would have prepared the public. There is nothing wrong with preparation because if nothing happens — fine! At least we were prepared. Fifth, I would have never have closed down any California businesses.
In fact, I would have done everything I could to have kept the businesses open and producing more — to generate more for the entire nation if not the world because both the nation and the world needed it — and certainly our California workers needed it — and I would have been right!