Meet the other recall candidates: Dan Kapelovitz

What experience has prepared you to take over leadership of the world’s-fifth largest economy?
As a criminal defense attorney, part of my job is to take complicated problems and find solutions to them. Also, I’ve learned how to find and work with the best people for any given situation. As a Green Party candidate, I have access to some of the greatest minds who have been thinking deeply about all of the issues California faces, including the economy. I will keep some of the current experts, and I will bring in those experts who have been previously shut out of the government by our two-party system.

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?
No

Under California law, low-income women are eligible for taxpayer-funded abortions. Do you support this?
Yes

Should the governor’s emergency powers be altered, and if so, how?
Given the emergency nature of our global climate catastrophe — recently documented in the IPCC 6th Assessment Report, “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis” — the governor should have the power to declare a climate emergency for our state.

If you had $25 billion to spend on homelessness, what would you do with it?
Prevent tenants from being evicted in the first place, and for long-term homeless, create housing that incorporates “wraparound” social services and other support mechanisms. We also need to stop criminalizing homelessness and stop the illegal seizure and destruction of homeless people’s property.

As governor, would you direct the state to do more to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement?
No. I would end ICE transfers from prisons and jails and support the California Values Act, which prevents law enforcement from sharing immigrants’ personal information and transferring them to immigration custody. ICE’s enforcement activities wreak havoc on immigrant communities.

What would you do to decrease the chance of destructive wildfires?
The more we address climate change, the more we will prevent wildfires. We should restore the forests by removing dead trees and brush and by making sure that young trees survive. And all of this must be based on sound scientific ecological principals.

What emergency steps would you take during a drought to allocate water usage among Californians?
Replenish groundwater aquifers. Increase investment in storage of rainwater. Promote local self-reliance to provide flexibility during emergencies. End fracking, which contaminates water quality and results in less clean water to go around. End public subsidies to unsustainable agriculture.

Do you support California’s climate change initiatives. If no, what would you change?
We need to quickly transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy with a comprehensive Green New Deal approach, connecting all parts of economy and introducing greater forms of public decision-making and control. Every dollar we spend wisely today will save us more in the future.