Candidates For Newly Designed Congressional District Square Off In Placer County
ROCKLIN (CBS13) — Candidates for U.S. Congress squared off at William Jessup University on Friday, but this race comes with a twist: it's a newly-designed district with at least one familiar face in the mix and one who was notably absent.
Democrats Dr. Kermit Jones and David Peterson along with Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones, who is running as a Republican, told the crowd what they would do if elected to Congress.
Assemblyman Kevin Kiley is also running and was invited but did not attend.
Congressional district lines have been re-drawn this year. As a result, there is no incumbent running. The 3rd district runs from Chester in the north to Death Valley in the south. It also includes places like Roseville, Auburn, Folsom and Lake Tahoe.
"Most of the geography is rural," Sheriff Jones said.
"A lot of the issues you see in the northern part of the district, whether it's Plumas for Nevada counties, are the same as the issues we see in Mono or Inyo County," Dr. Jones said.
Candidates took questions from the audience on multiple topics, including fire danger and the need for more water supply.
"Gift tax incentives and tax breaks for individuals as well as organizations to be able to collect their water," Dr. Jones said.
"Encourage water retention. We don't really have a drought or a water problem, we have a water retention problem," Sheriff Jones said.
They were also asked about the economy and rising inflation.
"Raising visibility to it is step one," Peterson said.
"Consider working with the states to pause things like the federal gas tax," Dr. Jones said.
"Stop spending money you don't have. Stop spending money you don't have, stop, stop creating more money and injecting it. Stop giving $1 trillion to this relief fund and $1 billion to this relief fund. Live within your means," Sheriff Jones said.
The forum was organized by the Placer Business Alliance and the hope is that it gives voters a better idea of picking the best candidate.
Despite his absence, Kiley made news over the weekend with this tweet: "If you want to experience freedom but aren't able to fly to Florida, come to Placer County. We've ignored Newsom and done far better than the state with COVID."
As for Sheriff Jones, this is his second attempt to run for Congress. He lost in a tight race back in 2016 to Ami Bera. The primary is June 7.
