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LaMalfa, Denney Debate In Shasta County Over The Weekend; Second Debate Scheduled For Monday

Marc Albert

 

The full audio of Sunday's debate is available below. 

About 450 people gathered in Anderson Sunday, watching Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa meet Democratic challenger Audrey Denney in person, for the first of two face to face events.

At the conclusion, both candidates received broad applause and partial standing ovations from the crowd jammed into Anderson High School.

The event, organized by the League of Women Voters of Shasta County, was both cordial and civil. But it also showed the wide contrasts in style and perspective. 

LaMalfa, first elected to Congress in 2010, seemed confident that his votes during his last three terms would carry the day.

“You know me,” LaMalfa said. “You know what I stand for and have stood for and I’ve kept the promises that I made to you, what I said I would do, when I ran for office. And, you know what those things are, it’s about putting the power back in your hands, no the hands of government.”

Newcomer Audrey Denney may lack the name recognition LaMalfa has built up over three terms in the state assembly – one in the state Senate and three in congress – but it’s hard to tell she’s new when watching her connect with voters.

Here’s Denney after being asked if she’d support raising the height of Shasta Dam.

“If raising Shasta Dam would make it rain more, I’d be all for it (audience laughter),” she said. “As it is, the 18.5 foot raising would cost $1.3 billion and yield us, 51,000 more acre feet for water deliveries. That’s .7 percent of the annual water deliveries from the Central Valley Project. And to put that in perspective, eight times that amount of water was saved in three months in the summer of 2015 by urban water users.”

LaMalfa, after being asked the same question seemed to get lost in the weeds. 

“On the raise of Shasta Dam? What I listen to is the locals say that if this happens, please look out for our local interests. And the money has already been put aside to get started on it, they’re up there drilling core samples of the dam to make sure it has the integrity to raise that. Now, conceptually, we need more water storage everywhere. But, as this project is going to have, with 18 and a half more feet, which actually would cause 600,000 more acre feet to be storable there, you know, that’s, some people believe it is one of the easiest projects you can do. But, what I am concerned about is what does it mean to the locals around the lake as well? The people that own property, the people that have the resorts and the marinas and all that that are an important part of the local economy,” LaMalfa said.

Questions veered from the bread and butter of government, forest management, the postal service and veteran’s services to the opioid crisis, health care costs and health care access.

Asked for possible solutions to a local shortage of physicians and nurses, LaMalfa stuck to a familiar theme.

“Well, a very short answer is, make doctoring fun again,” he said. “I mean, with the onerous regulations that people have been in the medical industry have had dumped upon them with coding and all the, all the different paperwork they have to keep track of.”

Denney by contrast said government should take a more active role in recruiting future physicians with educational and financial incentives to serve rural communities.

“Let’s send you to undergrad, let’s help pay for undergrad,” she said. “Let’s help make sure that your student loans are forgiven. And then you come back and you serve in the rural community where you came from for ten years.”

Asked what they could do about the high costs of prescription medication, LaMalfa answered that drug development and research is expensive, blaming government red tape and foreigners.

“FDA makes it very difficult to bring one to market, and then, we have other countries giving away scot-free, riding the backs of our patents in this country. The patent is very valuable,” LaMalfa said.

Denney blamed both the companies and the Washington status quo.

“As long as the people who represent us care more about the profits of those companies than they do about the regular, every day Americans who are living in our districts, we’re going to see Epipens that cost $600,” Denney said. “We’re going to see my acne medication that costs $200, I only bought it once (audience laughter), folks, we have to, have to, have to get a new generation of leaders who refuse to be bought and paid for, and then we have to allow Medicare to negotiate, negotiate, negotiate with them.”

Social Security was another subject where the two disagree. LaMalfa said the system is nearing collapse. He said those currently receiving benefits should not suffer any loss in benefits. But, he said, younger people, who he said lack faith in Social Security, could be moved to 401(k) type investments.

Denney, by contrast said Social Security should be made financially sustainable by no longer exempting income beyond $128,400 from Social Security taxes.

If you missed Sunday’s event, the pair are set for a second and final face off, which is scheduled for Monday Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Graeagle Fire Hall: 7620 Hwy 89 in Graeagle.

Full audio of Sunday's debate. *The full audio is unedited. It's been separated into two segments to allow for web upload. 

091618_LWVAnderson_Part1_mixdown.mp3
Part 1 - Full audio 1st Congressional District candidate debate at Anderson High School on Sept. 16, 2018. Originally published 9/16/18.
091618_LWVAnderson_Part2_mixdown.mp3
Part 2 - Full audio 1st Congressional District at Anderson High School on Sept. 16, 2018. Originally published 9/16/18.

 

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