Diane Dixon spent 40 years in the private sector as a business executive before being elected to the Newport Beach City Council in 2014. She is serving her second term as Mayor, and has served as Chair of the Water Quality and Tidelands Committee and as Chair of the Finance Committee.
Californians are taxed at higher rates than citizens in almost every other state, yet our state government is a failure in so many ways. As Mayor and City Councilwoman, I’ve helped to deliver budget surpluses and reduce our pension liabilities. I have ensured the implementation of rigorous management practices that have prevented major program cost overruns. My 40-year business career, including 30 years as a senior executive for a Fortune 300 public corporation has provided me deep expertise in disciplined fiscal management, long-term planning, investor responsibility and customer-responsive, quality service.
As your voice in the State Assembly, I will:
AB 109, Prop 47, Prop 57, and other laws that allow the early release of inmates and the reduction of criminal sentences are endangering California families. AB 392 and other bills that make it harder for police to do their jobs simply make it easier for criminals to escape justice.I have a proven track record at City Hall, where I have taken a proactive approach to help our exceptional police and fire departments keep our neighborhoods and communities safe and secure. I have brought residents, business owners and the police together to identify and implement the newest approaches to effective crime prevention and pursuit of offenders, and to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of emergency services, including restoring four police officer positions that were eliminated in the 2008 recession.
We must protect our district’s greatest environmental assets, especially our beaches, harbors, and bay. As a businesswoman and mayor, I understand how to work with businesses and residents develop common-sense solutions that protect our environment without resorting to overly burdensome regulation. Having served as Chair of the City’s Water Quality and Tidelands Management Committee, I have a strong understanding and appreciation of the long-term investment necessary to protect our waters.
California ranks near the bottom when it comes to public education. That is not acceptable.
I’ve served on the boards of educational institutions and child service agencies, so I know how nonprofit organizations can work together with our local school districts to improve our local schools. As a mother and grandmother, I know the importance of parents working closely with teachers to ensure the best possible education for our children.
We must strengthen public schools and allow greater local control because local communities and parents working together with local schools and teachers are the people who best understand the needs of their children. We must hold our public schools to the highest standards while also allowing parents the choice of how best to educate their children.
The state has spent nearly $3 billion over the last two years to address the homeless problem, yet the problem only gets worse. Why? Because the Sacramento politicians refuse to deal with the root causes of homelessness - namely drug abuse, alcohol abuse and mental illness. I support a compassionate approach based on facts and focused on these underlying causes - better treatment, better care, no excuses for criminal activity. Then we can transition people into jobs and permanent housing.
My opponent voted in favor of Assembly Bill 5, which has ended young careers and destroyed the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of hard-working independent Californians. AB 5 was a direct attack on small business people and independent entrepreneurs and it must be repealed.
AB 5 is just the latest bad law from Sacramento. State government has created roadblocks to business growth through high taxes and fees and onerous regulations. Too many job creators have been driven away to other states. Workers have been hurt by state policies that favor big unions and make it difficult to get a professional license and to start a small business.