Editor’s Note: The 2024 Presidential Election will be Tuesday, November 5. Besides the races for President and the U.S. Senate, to succeed Diane Feinstein, there are many local races which will determine who represents the Hill in the State Assembly and the U.S. Congress.

The Town Crier will be writing about the races for the U.S. Congressional District 41 and California Assembly Districts 36 and 47, and the Idyllwild Water District.

The two candidates seeking California’s District 41 Congressional seat are incumbent Republican Ken Calvert and Democratic challenger Will Rollins.

Ken Calvert, 71, first won election to the U.S. Congress in 1992. Calvert has been on the House Appropriations Committee since 2009. He currently serves as chair of the Defense Appropriation Subcommittee

He is a long-time resident of Riverside County. He graduated from Corona High School and was a small business owner in the restaurant and real estate industries before entering politics.

For Calvert, the economy is the number one issue in the national election as well as here in District 41. He quickly pointed to the prices of foods and goods in the grocery stores as the principal indicator of inflation.

“But state regulations make oil prices higher, too,” he stressed. “I’m opposed to the carbon taxes. Riverside County is the number one commuting county in the State. People can’t tolerate these costs.”

After a reference comparing the state taxes in Texas to California, Calvert pointed the federal tax cuts from 2017, which are to expire in 2025. “People want those extended,” he emphasized. “These get money to the people.”

The decisions to cut or raise taxes and whether to increase or to decrease federal spending create the magnitude of the federal deficit, he acknowledged.

“Mandatory spending, e.g., Medicare and Medicaid, comprises 70% of the Federal budget,” Calvert stated. “Only 30% is discretionary and half of that is national security. Much of the other half is NASA and Veteran’s Affairs.”

His solution is to maintain growth of the economy but find agreement to limit growth of government expenditures at a lower rate.

“We get everyone in the room and come to an agreement to bring down the cost of government,” he urged. “Then the bond market would see the action taking place.”

Calvert recognizes that the fix requires an agreement, a compromise from both sides of the aisle to solve this problem. There are many causes and not a single solution.

“Both sides must come together and make something happen,” he said.

Social security was an example of this process. Many have urged raising the Social Security retirement age in order to extend the fund’s life. Calvert did not oppose this, but he argued that the solution to both Social Security and Medicare need a consensus.

“There are a lot of ideas, but you need agreement,” he highlighted. “A couple of years ago, a bi-partisan commission (Democrats, Republicans, and the White House) raised the payroll tax for Social Security.

“I’ve found anytime you do something hard with lasting value you’ve got to get everybody involved,” he stressed.

At the state level, Calvert pointed to Proposition 36 on the November ballot. It would change some of the criminal penalties which were lessened when Prop 47 was passed in 2014. For example, Prop 36 would increase the penalties for repeat theft and drug crimes that voters rolled back a decade ago, making them felonies again. Many of these are controversial.

He believes that crime, especially against businesses, is underreported in California. Even a recent Federal Bureau of Investigation report found crime declining throughout the country, Calvert said, “If anybody lives here in California, it’s not what I’m feeling! People know crime is out there.”

One of the changes included in Prop 36 is stiffer penalties for petty crimes, and Calvert supports this step.

On Sept. 26, Calvert, along with four other Congressional colleagues, sent a letter to the Scott Tangenberg, the forest supervisor of the Cleveland National Forest. They asked several questions regarding the staffing levels and vacancies in the CNF firefighting staff.

While the background of the letter involved the Orange County Fire Department and the CNF, Calvert is clearly aware of the potential threats posed to residents in and near National Forests, such as the San Bernardino NF.

“They got to get on top of preventing overgrowth of the forest,” he admonished. “More funding needs to go to prevention, maintenance and clear cutting.”

Demonstrating his concern and awareness of forest fires, in August, Calvert and Sen. Alex Padilla helped facility the transfer of a C-130 aircraft to Cal Fire. This was the first of seven aircraft coming to Cal Fire.

“These aircraft will make a real impact in the protection of lives and property in Riverside County and throughout our state,” said Calvert in the press release announcing the transfer. “I’m proud that my bipartisan efforts along with Senator Alex Padilla, and the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, will be making a difference in our ability to confront life-threatening disasters in California.”

His parents lived in Idyllwild for several years before his birth and would return for visits and vacations often as he grew up. Calvert has continued the family’s connection to the Hill.

He can recall visiting 50 years ago, when the Idyllwild Water District’s built the wastewater treatment plant, and the constant fire danger with which the Hill residents live.

“The last time I was in Idyllwild, the people need to be a little more pro-active about trees near buildings and get assistance to remove obvious limbs,” he mentioned. Referring to historic photographs of the area, he noted that there were a lot fewer trees on the Hill a century ago.

In other action, the House of Representatives just passed H.R. 6656, “Stuck on Hold.” Calvert was the author of this bill, which require the Veterans’ Administration to implement a new and improved customer service telephone system that informs callers of their estimated wait times and, if the wait is estimated to be longer than 10 minutes, to give the caller the option of receiving an automated call back when it is their turn in line.

He explained that this bill was the first of several which he will submit requiring other federal agencies, such as the IRS, Social Security, Medicare and others, to implement the same level of customer service. “The taxpayers are customers, this is a trial starting with the VA,” he commented.

He also stressed that he is not in favor of a national abortion ban and does not expect a bill of that purpose to ever become law.

Several times there have been issues raised about Calvert’s ethics as a Congressman. The most recent occurred this summer, bringing back past allegations. He stressed that the House Ethics Committee has reviewed these complaints and cleared him each time. “They are not true and been proven false,” he stated.

Two years ago, the change in the district boundaries did not affect the outcome for him. Calvert has been re-elected to the U.S. Congress 15 times and this is his sixteenth re-election. In 2022, he defeated his opponent this year, Will Rollins, by about 5% of the vote. That is a little closer than his previous five campaigns, but not a nail biter.

Calvert is optimistic about this election. Polls have been close, but he believes the Presidential Election will increase turnout, especially in the western portion of the district, e.g., Menifee, Wildomar and the unincorporated areas, which will favor him.

As of early Sept., the Secretary of State reports that there are about 3,400 more registered Republicans in the District than registered Democrats.

When asked if he planned to schedule a debate with Rollins, Calvert firmly replied “No, He chose to attack me personally. I attack him on the issues. Calling me corrupt is disrespectful. I’ll not give him a platform to go after me more.”