Meet the other recall candidates: James G. Hanink

What experience has prepared you to take over leadership of the world’s fifth-largest economy?
I’ve lived in California for 45 years. I’ve raised my family here and paid off a mortgage. For four decades I taught philosophy, including political philosophy, at the university level. Leadership calls for intellectual vision. Leadership of an economy is, at its core, serving the people that generate the economy; it requires both on the ground experience and political insight.

Do you believe Joe Biden was lawfully elected president?
Yes

Should an ethnic studies course be required for high-school graduation?
Yes

Defund police?
Yes

Should government make any vaccine mandatory, including for polio and smallpox?
Yes

Under California law, low-income women are eligible for taxpayer-funded abortions. Do you support this?
No

Should the governor’s emergency powers be altered, and if so, how?
They should be regularly reviewed by the Legislature.

If you had $25 billion to spend on homelessness, what would you do with it?
I would provide low-cost housing, develop mental health outreach programs, and relentlessly prosecute producers and major distributors of hard drugs.

As governor, would you direct the state to do more to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement?
I would urge the state to have a generous immigration policy, especially for those fleeing poverty and persecution. Enforcement should be discerning, not punitive.

What would you do to decrease the chance of destructive wildfires?
Promote better forest management and call attention to climate change, a change to which we contribute.

What emergency steps would you take during a drought to allocate water usage among Californians?
I would safeguard the water needed for farming and restrict the water used for what have become urban luxuries.

Do you support California’s climate change initiatives. If no, what would you change?
Yes; and they should be more proactive than they are.