Before KSBY hosts all three 24th congressional district candidates for a debate this Sunday, we are profile each of them.
Continuing our three part series, Incumbent Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal discusses challenges the district faces, decisions he has made in DC and accusations by one of his challengers.
The closure of Diablo Canyon Power Plant by 20-25 will have a billion dollar a year impact on our economy.
Congressman Carbajal said the key challenge for the 24th district right now is offsetting jobs lost by the closure, which is why he introduced the Energy Opportunity Zone Act, "which provides tax incentives to renewable energy industry to invest in the area to develop wind, solar, wave energy," Carbajal said.
While also introducing legislation to ban offshore oil drilling expansion off the Central Coast, a proposal by President Trump that Carbajal said could very well happen, even though one of his challengers, Republican Justin Fareed, said he does not see that proposal coming to fruition.
"Absolutely, offshore oil drilling could occur if it’s done in traditional platforms," Carbajal said.
Carbajal also voted against President Trump’s budget and tax reform that raised the national debt to more than $20 trillion. "This is reckless irresponsible spending and it’s going to really strap future generations," but did say he would get behind the president’s compromise to grant citizenship to some one-and-a-half million dreamers, or those brought here illegally as children. "I am more than willing to find common ground and support such a measure."
While he touts his bipartisan approach, he is accused by Fareed of playing politics with disaster relief funding.
When asked why Carbajal voted against December’s budget that included Thomas Fire relief funding, Carbajal repeatedly replied, "I have voted for all disaster bills that have come before me that have effectively addressed the challenges of the Central Coast."
He also voted against two fire prevention bills, in favor, he said, of a bill allocating $2.5 billion to the U.S. Forest Service to help fight fires.
Thursday, hear from the other Republican in the race, Morro Bay’s Michael Erin Woody.
You can hear more from the candidates Sunday, May 20, when they square-off, live in a debate on KSBY from 4pm-5pm.
