Steve Chavez Lodge, retired homicide detective in California’s Gavin Newsom recall election
Name: Steve Chavez Lodge
Political party: Republican
Residence: Orange County
Occupation: Retired homicide detective
Education: Advanced certificate from California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, four years of college
Experience: Military service as an Army Arctic paratrooper, gang homicide detective for the city of Santa Ana, California. Cross-designated federal agent working with the FBI on federal wire tape investigations as the senior lead detective and expert witness. My team prosecuted the first RICO case in the history of Orange County. I served as a city budget commissioner, county waste management commissioner, city police commissioner and city senior public policy adviser. I am currently a small business owner.
Website: lodgeforgovernor.com
What precautions, if any, should California continue to take to cope with COVID-19 and its variants?
All California state emergency orders need to be lifted immediately and normal life and business functions need to resume. Precautions for the elderly and persons with underlying health conditions should still be advised. But its up to each individuals to take what precautions and healthcare options they choose. Government does not possess the authority to lockdown healthy people in a free society. The government handling and protocols of COVID-19 just prolonged the viruses infection rate for the healthy.
California provided significant cash support to individuals and small businesses who suffered during the pandemic, with billions of dollars allocated for rent relief and small-business grants. To what extent should that assistance continue?
It should not continue, nor lasted this long. Businesses are desperate for employees and people are taking advantage of the current Newsom giveaways. Everyone needs to return to work. Again, another bad government policy that wasn’t thought through.
What more would you do to address California’s housing crisis?
Housing crises is again government caused. Restrictions on building, environmental studies that take too many years, the cost of building supplies, increased taxes and fees all contribute to the housing shortages. Get the government out of the way and let the builders to what they do best, build.
What should California do to build up its middle class?
The cost of living in California is the highest in the continental US. Its just too high for the middle class and families trying to obtain the middle class standard of living. The California state government imposes the highest taxes and fees of any other state on its residents and businesses alike. All these higher costs on businesses get passed on to the California consumer. Building the middle class is not the issue, its stopping them from leaving in mass to other states is a bigger issue. Stop taxing them into running to other states that do not punish the middle class.
Would you propose any new policies to address climate change?
New policies? how about stop the strangle hold the current policies have on manufacturing, refineries and power plants. Technology has always been the best at solving environmental issues. The government only makes things worse imposing an albatross on business such as Cap and Trade. Cap and Trade is just a government tax scheme that sells pretend carbon credits that drives up the cost on everything and does nothing for the environment. Businesses are leaving because of the governments added costs of doing business in California.
What should California do in the long term to address wildfire and drought conditions?
The federal government owns 33 million of forest land in California about 57 percent of all the forests in California. They must share the economic burden of management. Cleaning thick under brush and selective logging with help lesson the severity of these fires. Legal clearing of residences in these fire zones must be enforced. Fire prevention must be aggressive since 95 percent of the wildfires are caused by human activity. The prison fire camps must remain operational and expanding the program will help with rehabilitation and work credits.
This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Steve Chavez Lodge, retired homicide detective in California’s Gavin Newsom recall election."