Heather Collins, small business owner running in Gavin Newsom recall election

Name: Heather Collins

Political party: Green

Residence: Playa Del Rey

Occupation: Hairstylist/Salon Owner

Education: Some College/Trade school

Experience: No previous political experience but I run a successful business

Website: no political website

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

Continue to wash hands/hand sanitizer, use masks if you are health compromised or are working directly face to face, stay home if you’re sick, be respectful of peoples comfort level with covid. There will always be new variants and we can not continue the severe mandates forever.

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?

A lot of the money was Federal. If the businesses are still under restrictions, then they should continue to receive support.

There are thousands of businesses that are in need of employees and it’s time for people to get back to work, if their previous occupation is now allowed to be back in business then it’s time to get back in the work force and the Unemployment benefits should stop.

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

This is a tough one because this is a free market.

Decades ago, some businesses bought housing close to their location so that they could offer housing to the workers who may not have been able to afford anything close to the business location. At today’s land prices, that may be impossible.

California should look into housing like what they are doing for the homeless now but for people who work at low wage jobs to give them a clean place that is close to jobs for rent at a reasonable percentage of their wages.

What should California do to build up its middle class?

Education is THE key to ending systemic poverty. Education could be college or trade school. Not everyone has to go to a 4 year college. Communities need, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, hairstylists, dental hygienists, etc. When people have a career, that will take them to the middle class.

The pandemic restrictions are making more Californians move out of state making the middle class smaller. I would cancel AB5 (the law that restricts independent contract work). Taking away gig work (session musicians, writers of articles for publications, photographers, actors in community plays, Uber and Lyft drivers) takes away small ways for people to get ahead and make extra money.

California is the most taxed state, let’s look to see where we can cut taxes so that people can keep a little more money in their pockets. Let’s not be #1 in taxes.

Would you propose any new policies to address climate change?

I think we should look into ethanol be a fuel alternative for cars. Electric cars may be great but to get the toxic materials for the batteries you have to mine. Then disposing of the batteries is a challenge and expensive. Plus we don’t have the power grid for what we need now let alone if everyone had electric cars. And don’t forget there are about 800 lbs of petroleum products in every car, gas or electric.

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

Forest management is helpful for mitigating forest fires. Not allowing unpermitted camping in fire prone areas. To alleviate the drought, California could utilize the ocean for water by desalination, like some communities already do. This would put less demand on the water sources that farmers need in the central valley farming areas.

This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Heather Collins, small business owner running in Gavin Newsom recall election."