(Excerpt) By Miguel Angel Baez, BAKERSFIELD - It didn't take more than a look at the reactions of each of the candidates when they confronted each of the questions to realize their notorious political differences. In separate one-hour sessions, Democratic incumbent Nicole Parra and her Republican opponent for the 30th Assembly District, Bakersfield businessman Dean Gardner, answered several questions on issues that directly affect the Hispanic community such as health, education, housing and quality of life in general.

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The questions were formulated by a group of Latino journalists representing different Hispanic media outlets, among those Noticiero Semanal, The Recorder's Spanish-language newspaper.

Parra emphasized the support she has given to several bills that, she said, benefit the Latino population, as well as her participation in the implementation of health and housing programs aimed at minorities.

She mentioned her family history as public administrators and said that under her leadership she will always work for the benefit of the working class.

In that same tenor, Parra said she voted in favor of Senate Bill 2, approved by the state legislature, which is now facing referendum and will appear on the Nov. 2 election ballot as Proposition 72. If this measure is approved by voters, it will require large- and medium-sized employers in California to either provide health care coverage or pay into a state program to purchase health coverage. Employers with 200 employees or more would have to start in 2006. Employers with 50 to 200 employees would start in 2007.

According to Parra, this measure would help to insure 6 million California residents that do not have health insurance. In the Central Valley, she said, about 140,000 workers would benefit from it.

"We are paying $4.6 billion annually for uninsured Californians," Parra said. "We need to get insurance for those that are working and don't have health insurance."

Gardner expressed different ideas on the health insurance topic.

"I would love to have it (universal health insurance) but who is going to pay for it?" Gardner asked.

He said that if he wins he will promote health insurance at lower cost "so that everybody could pay for it."

"When it's free, everybody wants it," Gardner said. "Everybody who wants insurance must be able to pay for it."

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Source: Porterville Record