REGION: Audience members share collective opinions with politicians in forum

By GARY WARTH - Staff Writer | Friday, June 13, 2008 11:13 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- It was part political forum and part game show Friday for three regional political figures at the California Center of the Arts, Escondido.

About 120 guests of the San Diego North Economic Development Council met at the arts center for a lunch-time forum with state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa and County Supervisor Bill Horn.

The trio were asked their views on water, education, immigration and other issues.

No bombshell revelations came from the representatives, but the politicians might have learned something about the audience, which gave its own opinions through real-time electronic polling.

Gary Knight, president and chief executive officer of the council, explained that each lunch table had two electronic devices, which guests used to cast their table's votes after reaching a consensus on multiple-choice questions. The collective answers were projected on a screen after the representatives had given their answers to the same questions.

The format lent for some light-hearted moments, particularly when Issa interrupted moderator Kent Davy, editor of the North County Times, mid-sentence in a question about immigration.

"There's no interest in this question," Issa said. "Let's move on."

Of course there was great interest in the question, and though Issa joked that it was a new issue and he hadn't given it much thought, he answered that he supported more funding for Border Patrol and Homeland Security and a fair guest-worker program. He also stressed that opposing sides should compromise.

"People who want strong borders should not oppose legal immigration and legal work programs," he said. "There is a middle ground."

The audience and panel were asked what steps should be taken to address undocumented immigration. The four choices included increasing Border Patrol and Homeland Security, overhauling a seasonal guest-worker program, no changes because the economy would collapse without the workers, and a fence along all borders.

Of audience members, 83 percent support the guest-worker program and 17 percent wanted a border fence.

"I think we need to secure our border, period," Horn said.

But the supervisor also saw room for improvement in other areas. Horn, an avocado rancher, said he has employed a worker with a green card who has waited 11 years to bring his family to the United States legally.

"I think that's far too long," he said, adding that such obstacles contribute to people wanting to go around the legal system.

Hollingsworth said he supported increasing security funding, a guest-worker program and a border fence.

The panel and audience also were asked about health care. Possible answers included universal health care, mandated employee health insurance, revising the system that requires the uninsured to pay more than the insured, or a health care savings account where Americans take responsibility for their own health care.

Horn said he has seen health-care costs increase because of government intervention, so he supported no change.

"We have the best health care in the world," he said. "Leave it alone."

Hollingsworth said a health care savings account was closest to his position. Issa supported a combination of all choices except universal health care. Issa argued that without employee health insurance, employers would be passing along the cost of their workers health care to emergency rooms.

As for the audience, 45 percent supported universal health care, 45 percent supported a health care savings account and the remainder supported fixing the system.

Addressing the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the panel and audience were asked if they supported helping banks and lending institutions, helping homeowners keep their homes, letting the market correct itself or short-term tax breaks to all homeowners.

"I'm for C (letting the market correct itself without intervention)," Horn said, which promoted the day's biggest applause. "If you're going to lose your house, you're going to lose it. I'm basically for the free market."

It then came as no surprise when the audience showed 88 percent support for option C, with other support going for tax breaks and helping homeowners keep their homes.

Hollingsworth said he supports a free market, but also wanted to help affected homeowners who were taken in by fraud.

Issa said all options except tax breaks had some merit. The congressman supported providing some help to banks and lenders so people who are worthy of credit can still get loans. He said some help to homeowners should be provided because otherwise only people with cash will keep their homes.

On education, Hollings and Issa singled out the California Teachers Association as a problem because of the union's power, and all three panel members supported more local control of schools.

Among the audience, 20 percent said the problem with education was demographics and a lack of accountability by parents, 40 percent said schools should provide career technical education for students not going to college, and 40 percent supported changing the system to allow schools to get rid of ineffective teachers.

Knight said he was pleased with how well the audience polling devices worked, and he plans to use the system next year at another political forum.

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.

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