Republican Gubernatorial candidate John Cox is visiting the Central Coast.
He visited Farmers Market in downtown San Luis Obispo Thursday night and spoke with potential voters. Cox is visiting about 30 different spots across the state as part of a bus tour leading up to the election.
KSBY spoke with him one-on-one to ask him about the issues that matter to the Central Coast.
“I think the answer for San Luis Obispo, as well as every place else, is to make sure that we have a quality business climate, and also to make sure that affordable housing can be built here, which it can’t now,” said Cox. “We need to do a better job of managing the forests. I know this area, as well as down in Santa Barbara was significantly threatened by forest fires. We are literally dumping millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere from these forest fires. We’re also raising the cost of insurance for everybody in this state as a result of those fires, as well as endangering ourselves and killing firefighters. One of the things I’m going to work on is managing the forest in an intelligent way and using best practices, and I think that’s what people want out of a governor.”
KSBY asked Cox about what he would do to help the local economy when Diablo Canyon is eventually decommissioned, and he said the key is bringing businesses here. “I think we need to cut the red tape and make sure that business can expand here,” said Cox.
Cox is going up against Democratic Gubernatorial candidate and current Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom in the election. There are currently no plans for a televised debate between the two. Cox was critical of the lack of plans. “Mr. Newsom doesn’t want to face me and talk about issues. He’s only agreed to one single, hour-long debate on radio in the Bay Area. That’s it. One, hour-long debate on radio. We’ve got some serious issues in California that we need to address. We’ve got an incredible debt that we’re leaving our children. We have got a tax burden that is the highest in all 50 states We have more people in poverty. We’ve got a homeless situation that’s an absolute disgrace and needs to be addressed. These are important, and Mr. Newsom won’t agree to debate me except for just one hour. I think that’s an insult to the people of this state,” said Cox.
The General Election is coming up on November 6.
