Who is Michael Loebs, candidate in the California governor recall election

Name: Michael Loebs

Political party: California National Party

Residence: San Francisco

Occupation: University Lecturer

Education: Master of arts, San Francisco State University; bachelor of arts, UC Berkeley; associate’s degree, City College of San Francisco

Experience: Political organizer with the California National Party since 2017, served as chairperson since 2019; 8+ years of teaching political science at university level, 20+ years of academic study; lifelong, politically involved Californian

Website: www.loebsforca.com

What precautions, if any, should California continue to take to cope with COVID-19 and its variants?

At this point individual counties, localities, and businesses should make policy based on the information available for their area at the time. While I do not support a statewide mandate for vaccinations or masks unless there are substantially compelling reasons, I strongly support individuals being vaccinated and masked. Scientific data, if demonstrated to be accurate, should be followed but must be taken into account along with economic fallout, human psychology, life-long damage from lack of adequate educational access, and so forth. It’s disappointing that extremes on both sides seem determined to make a potent political symbol out of a public health issue.

California provided cash support to individuals and small businesses during the pandemic. To what extent should that assistance continue?

I would strongly dispute that California provided “significant cash support” during the pandemic. For many of us, especially those in the service industry forced into continual and uncertain unemployment several times during the past year, very little has been done and many are still struggling not only with the expenses of life but a systemically inefficient EDD system which has provided more frustration than help. If workers are thrown out of work by government order, the government should pay them. If businesses are forced to close, the state should support them, not with loans but direct payouts. More support during 2020 would have been far more effective than game show style payments a year later.

What more would you do to address California’s housing crisis?

California indisputably needs more housing, which should be mixed-use areas providing necessary services like shopping, and connected to commercial and employment centers by mass transit. In many places, this kind of development can occur without displacing long-term, existing residents. In already developed areas, similar construction should occur with input from local residents and not dictated from Sacramento. Both sides of the N/YIMBY debate too often argue that negotiation with the other side is impossible which leads to more anger than solutions. Different areas will need to use different techniques, e.g. San Francisco’s need for a vacant apartment tax is not necessarily appropriate in Colusa. Housing is a statewide problem, but that doesn’t mean there is an identical statewide solution applicable to all places.

What should California do to build up its middle class?

“Middle class” means different things in different areas in a place as complex and diverse as California. However, one common factor is the goal of social mobility and a financial existence that is more than living paycheck to paycheck. One key element to achieving this is to have proper social safety nets in place, like UBI/negative income tax, to ensure that all Californians have access to the basic essentials to life. Local regions should be empowered to address the issues in their areas that affect long term economic growth. Places such as the Bay Area should be focusing on making housing affordable, while many areas, especially rural communities, need to focus on establishing new industries to provide local jobs. The first step should be to establish proper, statewide representation to ensure that a strong economy starts with community-appropriate solutions, and not top-down, one-size-fits-all policies generated with only one party at the table.

Would you propose any new policies to address climate change?

Even those rejecting human-made climate change must accept that any study of the physical history of California will show that this is a region that over decades, centuries, and millennia undergoes frequent geological and climatic changes. Those of us whose families have been in California for generations can tell you that already this is not the California of our grandparents. We can’t act as if the California of today will be California forever. While we should act in concert with the international community wherever possible and not rely on the constantly shifting attitudes of the federal government regarding climate change, California is going to get hotter and drier in the next few decades, no matter what is done. Our policies at this point must reflect that reality, emphasizing rational water management, robust wildfire prevention, and in many cases managed retreat from coastlines.

What should California do in the long term to address wildfire and drought conditions?

Wildfires must be taken seriously in California, not as an emergency aberration, but as a predictable disaster such as hurricanes or monsoons are in other places. This means funding professional, year-round emergency services such as fire and paramedics, especially in rural areas which are most directly affected. It means accepting the need for controlled burns to reduce potential kindling and getting the 45% of California under federal control back to us so we can handle our own land management. Likewise, many of our water resources are under federal control and our water sold to multinational corporations for resale in small plastic bottles while we suffer through one of the worst droughts in memory. We need to keep our water for home use and economically incentivize sustainable, small-to-medium scale agriculture with more responsible water usage to assure the livelihood of the next generation of California farmers.

This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Who is Michael Loebs, candidate in the California governor recall election."