A staunch conservative Republican, Walter supports tough measures for fixing California’s flagging economy and has few positive things to say about his opponent’s record.
Although he’s vying for a spot in a state legislature overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats, Walter is not the least bit coy about his rock-ribbed conservatism: He supports significant cuts to spending, particularly on social services, more domestic oil drilling, lowering taxes, including a drastic reduction in the corporate tax rate and a limited voucher program that would allow parents to shop around for schools. Neither does he soft-pedal his socially conservative positions in an effort to appeal to mainstream voters.
He’s pro-life and anti-gay marriage and opposes a measure that would institute the country’s first ban on gay “conversion” therapy for minors. He is particularly outraged that Williams did not support SB 1530, a proposed law that would have made it easier for school districts to fire teachers in cases of sexual and other egregious misconduct. Walter sees this as one of a series of decisions that proves Williams is beholden to the California Teachers Association, widely considered the state’s most politically influential labor union.
Although he is not fond of the hundreds of bills that glut the governor’s desk every year, he wants to introduce a bill that would create a limited voucher program and expand charter schools and home schooling. “What we have now is the Henry Ford School of marketing,” Walter told the Journal in a recent interview. “You can have any color car you want, as long as it’s black.”
Walter is running for the recently redrawn district encompassing the half of Santa Barbara County – including the Valley – and areas of Ventura County reaching to Oxnard. He advanced past the blanket primary in June, unopposed. He took 44.1% of the vote to Williams’ 55.9%. The district’s party registration breaks down to 45% Democratic, 29.1% Republican, and 20.5% decline-to-state.
Walter, 61, jumped into the race two weeks before the filing deadline after he attended a Republican Central Committee meeting and learned that Williams was running unopposed. He said his decision to enter the race was borne out of a sense of duty and alarm over the direction the state is heading, particularly under leaders like Williams.
“I’ve lived in California for more than 20 years, and I’ve seen how the state is just going downhill, economically, morally, financially,” Walter said. “The state used to be first in a lot of good things and it’s slid in every respect.” “I can’t make anything happen in and of myself, but I can be a voice,” Walter said of his decision to enter the race. “I don’t think we have that voice here presently, and that has not been good for California’s economy, the schools or for any of the things that really matter in this state.
Walter last ran for political office in 1972 in the state of Michigan as a Democrat in a heavily Republican district. Fresh off earning his Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Michigan, Walter, then in his 20s, had identified himself as a “Democratic libertarian.” Soon after, he underwent a conversion to conservatism during his “travels through scripture.”
Walter pastors Valley Harvest Church in Santa Ynez and said his views on social issues and economics come from the Bible.
“There’s certainly deference toward work, toward independence, and a focus on charity, but it’s not government-imposed charity,” he explained. “When Barack Obama talks about being your brother’s keeper, it isn’t because the keeper comes in and confiscates your money. It’s an admonition for people to contribute out of their hearts.” Quoting the Bible, Walter recited a passage that declares that eating must be accompanied by willingness to work – a passage that has influenced his view of government welfare. He then recalled Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s recent signing into law a four-year lifetime limit on cash welfare benefits.
This approach may seem harsh to some, Walter admits, but he contends it’s the most logical and effective way to get people back to work, especially in California, with 12% of the U.S. population, has one-third of the nation’s welfare recipients, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“There’s a sign I saw a month ago at Avila Beach,” he said. “It discouraged people from feeding the squirrels, because doing so will cause them to rely on human provisions, and they’ll no longer be able to provide for themselves. If we can figure that out with the squirrels, then why aren’t we following something similar with people?”
Walter pledges to not take money from unions and casino-based tribes. California, he insisted, needs representatives that care about voter interest and not making special interests happy.
For that reason, he said he supports Proposition 32, which would prohibit the collection of “political funds” from corporate employees and union members via payroll deductions. Critics of the proposal say it indirectly targets unions because corporations get most of their money through the sale of goods and services. “Isn’t there just a fundamental unconstitutional stink to that kind of arrangement that you have to give to something you don’t agree with to get a job?” Walter said. “The freedom to not associate is the flip side of the freedom to associate.”
On gambling, Walter is out-and-out opposed. Within a 30-mile radius of a community where it occurs, there is a spike in crime, divorce and bankruptcy, according to Walter. “Every dollar of tax revenue, if you can call it that, that they provide is dwarfed by $3 spent by the state on the social cost of gambling,” he said.
Walter is also concerned about what he considers onerous tax rates and regulations that are driving the wealthy from the state and businesses, capital and jobs along with them.
“Three out of the four fastest growth states in U.S. – Tennessee, Texas, Florida – don’t even have an income tax,” he noted. “They’re the fastest growth states, right-to-work states and here we’re sucking swamp water with a $15 billion deficit, and we think the answer is to raise taxes.”
Walter pulled his car keys from his pocket and set them on the table. “This is how I can deal with tax increases that penalize me for being a California resident,” he said. “I could leave the state.”
“I’m a business lawyer,” he continued. “It would be malpractice on my part if I did not advise a client who comes in and tells me that he’s selling out-of-state business or an out-of-state piece of real estate to consider leaving California.”
California’s corporate tax rate – 8.84% – puts businesses that set up shop here at a competitive disadvantage, Walter said. For this reason, he wants to reduce it to lure back businesses.
Walter pounced on Williams’ emphasis on pushing for more green jobs. He said that instead of “driving social policy,” the state should let supply-and-demand dictate energy policy. “Das Williams can talk about green jobs – it’s all I ever hear from the guy, but what’s wrong with bronze jobs, black jobs, white jobs, blue jobs,” Walter said. “What’s wrong with the jobs that are the result of business, not government-created careers?”
Critics of reducing or cutting the corporate tax rate note that businesses in California get breaks through specific tax credits and other measures the state has adopted over the years. And whether reducing the state’s corporate tax rate is even remotely passable is another question.
But Walter acknowledged that if elected, he would have no illusions about shaking up Sacramento. “My goal when I go to Sacramento is to plant ideas, and speak unwaveringly to certain ideas,” Walter said. “Change happens incrementally.”
For more information about Rob Walter, visit robwalter2012.com.