With a career-long commitment to education that far outrivals her opponent’s, Democratic incumbent Susan Davis is the natural choice to serve as UCSD’s congresswoman in the 53rd district.
Serving on the House Education and Workforce, Armed Services, and Veterans Affairs committees, Davis is already a relatively influential member of the House of Representatives in several areas relevant to students and San Diego residents. During her four years in Congress, Davis has introduced or sponsored legislation that allows college students to consolidate their student loans, gives minority and low-income students equal opportunities to receive higher education and offers incentives for highly qualified teachers to teach.
Her main opponent, Republican Darin Hunzeker, calls for reducing the cost of education by pushing through tax cuts and setting up educational savings accounts. While tax cuts in theory might reduce the cost of providing education, the last four years have shown that the price of education is being driven by increased demand rather than higher costs; as more and more students want to attend college, colleges can continue increasing tuition, while Bush’s tax cuts of the last four years have done nothing to stem rising student fees. In addition, educational savings accounts, in which families can invest money for education tax-free, merely shift risk from the government to individual families. What families really need more of are federal Pell grants and subsidized loans, which would reduce the cost of higher education and increase accessibility without requiring families to put their own money at risk.
Davis, who voted against the constitutional amendment that would outlaw gay marriage, is also more socially moderate than Hunzeker, who has made the curbing of illegal immigration a centerpiece of his campaign. While Davis also supports increased border protection, Hunzeker goes so far as to call for the denial of citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants and the implementation of invasive verification technologies, such as biometric facial scanning and fingerprint systems. Davis’ more moderate views would be a much better fit for San Diegans. Vote Davis for Congress.