Mike Netter, SD-22 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire

Ahead of the June primary election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below. Questionnaires may have been edited for spelling, grammar, length and, in some instances, to remove hate speech and offensive language.

Name: Mike Netter

Current job title: Small Businessman/Publisher

Political party affiliation: Republican

Incumbent: No

Other political positions held: Proponent in statewide initiatives, well-known political advocate, party delegate

City where you reside: Covina

Campaign website or social media: netter.vote

Do you believe balancing the state budget should rely more on spending cuts, new revenue streams or a combination? Tell us how you would propose tackling California's projected budget deficit. (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

Mainly, spending cuts and cutting taxes to stimulate the economy.

If you cut taxes on those making under $150,000 a year by 28%, the cost to the overall general budget in only about $4-6 billion (out of $318 billion). These savings to each family would result in more disposable income, helping to increase spending and tax revenues to local cities and counties.

Spending cuts need to come from reducing the size of the overall government workforce. When you take a look at the growth of the California government employee base over the last 6-8 years versus services provided, and population served, it doesn’t meet any standard criteria. Obviously, fraud and the unsupervised funneling of funds to NGOs have not worked out well.

For you, what's a non-starter when talking about budget cuts? Why? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

CAOES (California Office of Emergency Services). It’s the government’s main job to be prepared and provide a safe environment and infrastructure. Funding for law enforcement and fire prevention. This includes the $150 million startup and $50-100 million annually for Proposition 36. Also, investment in dams for hydroelectric power.

What are the top three most pressing issues facing the state, and what would you propose, as a state legislator, to address them? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

1. Homelessness: This issue costs the state and local communities. There has to be a single entity in charge of this. Without accountability and metrics, the issue has become a self-serving enterprise. Introduce legislation to combine agencies into a single entity

2. School choice: Our public education system is failing. Legislation needs to be created so parents and educators have options.

3 Housing and employment are intertwined: This means creating jobs and housing that are near each other. This means working with local cities and counties to identify where these areas are.

There are 40 state senators; each of them should be required to meet with local leaders in their district to create an economic impact report on a bi-annual basis (twice in each term), as to what can be done to accomplish this. I would introduce legislation for this. This would help drive legislation to improve the economy, rather than legislation that crushes our economy.

What specific policy would you champion in the statehouse to improve the cost of living for residents? Would you see this having an immediate impact on Californians or would it take some time? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

For California to become more affordable, regulations and legislation must be reduced. Businesses and citizens can’t thrive when they are overtaxed and overregulated. I would ask for a full study of laws on the books and how they can be reduced. Are they even effective? A great example is the recycling system. Where does the money go that is collected? How is it spent? We need to drill in California for oil to bring down the cost of gas. Bring back hydroelectric power for clean, cheap energy, also.

Less taxation, across the board, puts more money in people’s pockets. Fees, income taxes, and other of the many miscellaneous taxes we pay every day need to be reduced.

Government needs to spend less and tax less. A reduction in taxes, this can have an immediate effect on affordability.

There have been numerous efforts made in the state legislature to curtail federal immigration enforcement in California, from prohibitions on agents wearing masks to banning federal officers from future employment in a public agency. Do you see any area where the state could better protect its residents from the federal government's widespread immigration crackdown? Would you prefer the state work more hand-in-hand with the federal government on immigration? Where does the role as a state legislator fall into your beliefs here? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

Our priority needs to be to make the lives of our citizens better. It is not the job of the state to work against federal law enforcement, but to work with them.

As a legislator, it is my job to pass laws that make the lives of Californians better, not pass legislation that is doomed to failure because it violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, costing the state of California tremendous amounts of money to defend losing court cases.

The state’s job is to make lives better for citizens, not to defend all people regardless of immigration status. You have to be a legal citizen to vote and hold office. That is who we represent first and foremost. Local law enforcement must cooperate with the federal government. It’s the law. The illusion of sanctuary must end. It is simply a political talking point that is being used to create mistrust of our own government and stress between law enforcement agencies.

Health care costs - like in many other areas - are continuing to rise. What policies, specifically, would you support or like to champion that could lower premiums or out-of-pocket expenses? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

For those not covered by Medicare, the average Californian spends roughly $881 out of pocket on related expenses annually (2022). The national average is $1,519 annually (2023). The average annual premium for those under Covered California is $820 annually for those receiving financial assistance, approximately 90% of enrollees.

From a top-line glance, that doesn’t seem unreasonable. When compared to the federal healthcare exchange, the programis quite robust. It does, however, cost the state of California $46 billion per year, about 20% of the state's budget. The best way to keep healthcare costs down is to create a better business environment so local doctors, particularly with smaller offices, face less associated regulatory fees and taxes, thus lowering overhead and generating more competition on the local level, especially in poor and underserved communities.

The insurance companies available on the California HealthCare Exchange are picked by criteria set by the Covered California Board. I would propose or champion legislation to change the composition of this board to include more average, smaller medical professional representation.

Would you support expanding state health care programs to ensure more residents - including those who are not citizens - are covered? How would you propose the state fund such an expansion? Or, how would you propose the people who cannot afford health care still get the necessary care they need without expanding state programs? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

California cannot afford to pay for the healthcare of non-citizens. The state simply doesn’t have the money, and continuing to subsidize healthcare for non-citizens simply attracts more to the state, taking advantage of no cost or below-market rates.

Again, the composition of the board of Covered California needs to change so organizations like the Physicians Association of California, which represent the independent physicians and small group medical practices, have their voices heard so they can expand and continue to serve communities where the larger healthcare organizations cannot. The number of independent physicians operating in California has dropped from around 50% of the total to around 33%. Creating an environment where small practices can thrive will create more accessible healthcare and help with costs due to increased competition.

As part of combating homelessness, elected officials often talk about the need to prevent people from losing their homes in the first place. What policies or programs should the state adopt to make housing more affordable for renters and homeowners? What do you propose the state do to incentivize housing development and expedite such projects? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

To make housing more affordable for all, the cost burden of taxes and other fees that owners face must be reduced. This means a cap and rollback on many of the fees local and state governments impose that get passed on to owners, which get passed on then to renters. We need to reduce the cost of doing business for landlords who currently own property in California, where typically 10-15% of the rent is due to taxes and fees.

Incentives need to be offered to the small builders to build on underutilized property. These properties need to have a streamlined system from design to building completion of 12-18 months. Government needs to spend less today to increase future revenues when it comes to housing growth and reducing the cost of housing. Firm defense of original Proposition 13, and the reversal of Proposition 19, will help with that.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in 2023 authorizing state energy regulators to penalize oil companies making excessive profits. But the California Energy Commission put off imposing the penalties last year after two oil refineries, which represent nearly a fifth of California's refining capacity, said they would shut down operations. Those announcements prompted many to be concerned about soaring gas prices. What do you think of the commission's decision? And how would you, as a state legislator, propose balancing California's climate goals with protecting consumers from high gas prices at the pump? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

By any metric, California's energy policies are failing Californians. The California government's attempts to regulate every aspect of the free market have been a disaster. Everyone understands the basic law of economics regarding supply and demand. California needs to start paying attention to the energy needs of its citizens, rather than political rhetoric driving policy.

Politics drives economics in California, and it needs to be the other way around. The CEC had to rescind penalties. Our legislature needs to reverse this ridiculous law. We need to focus on drilling domestically in California to increase supply while simultaneously achieving our climate goals.

The farther crude oil is transported - internationally or domestically, to refineries and point of use - the more pollution it generates. It's time the state's legislature sat down, in good faith, with the remaining oil companies and create legislation that makes it feasible to successfully operate in California. This cannot only include large oil companies but small wells in California represented by the National Association of Royalty Owners. They number over 600,000 throughout the state. The small business folks of oil production can directly increase supply and achieve climate goals. This could help relieve the enormous leverage problem that has developed with the large suppliers. Including input from all parties, I would propose legislation that would balance California's needs.

In 2024, voters approved Proposition 36 to increase penalties for certain drug and retail theft crimes and make available a drug treatment option for some who plead guilty to felony drug possession. Would you, as a legislator, demand that more funding for behavioral health treatments be included in the budget? How would you ensure that money is used properly? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

Yes, when the citizens of California place a proposition like Proposition 36 on the ballot and then overwhelmingly pass it, the government needs to listen and fulfill its obligation to fund it. When it's a small portion of the overall budget, as a priority to voters, there is no excuse. The monies go directly to county DAs and courts for use. They explicitly understand local needs.

What role should the state play in ensuring hospitals and doctors are providing gender-affirming care to LGBTQ+ residents? Similarly, what role do you believe the state could play should other states adopt policies that restrict that care? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

None. Period.

Governments around the world are increasingly considering an age ban or other restrictions on social media use among young people, citing mental health and other concerns. Do you believe it's the state's responsibility to regulate social media use? Why or why not? And what specific restrictions or safeguards would you propose as a state lawmaker? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

No, it's not. The government is maliciously attempting to fill the role of parents. It must be up to parents who understand how to use the tools in place. The government could do a better job of training parents on how to understand and use the safeguards already in place. We should not legislate behavior within reason, but we can create legislation that makes training available for parents and better educate them on how to utilize guardrails.

Artificial intelligence has become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Yet public concerns remain that there aren't enough regulations governing when or how AI should be used, and that the technology would replace jobs and leave too many Californians unemployed. How specifically would you balance such concerns with the desire to foster innovation and have California remain a leader in this space? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

There are an estimated 2.2 million jobs that could be replaced by AI in California. With a tech rebound, AI could create about 400,000 jobs. The California workforce is around 20 million people. This is an area where California is in competition with other states and frankly, the world. AI is here, and nothing the government can do will stop it. We can encourage self-powering data centers to open here. California is in a competitive market. Tech jobs, by definition, can be remote. Making it more attractive economically to live here again, with the solutions discussed, will bring more jobs back here, replacing the ones AI will displace.

Statistically, violent crime rates in California is on the decline, but still, residents are not feeling safe or at ease in their communities. How do you see your role in the state legislature in addressing the underlying issues that make Californians feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

The California Legislature has gone too far in sentence and penalty reform for convicted criminals. It has tied the hands of DAs, judges and law enforcement on local and county levels. We need to increase funding for our cops by roughly $1-3 billion a year and help modernize infrastructure.

Create legislation with a specific plan to fix 911's emergency call system using current tax revenue on cell phone service. This requires oversight.

We must specifically repeal the following legislation:1. Assembly Bill 3233 (2020): Parole Eligibility

It lowered elder parole eligibility from age 60 with 25 years served to age 50 with 20 years served. This dangerously applies to numerous violent criminals, allowing the Parole Board to consider early release for heinous offenders who ought to remain ineligible.

2. Senate Bill 483 (2021): Repeal of Prior Drug Enhancements

This retroactively eliminated 1-year sentence enhancements for prior drug convictions, allowing resentencing petitions for those already incarcerated. This applied not just to nonviolent cases, but several violent cases as well, facilitating the early release of dangerous repeat offenders.

3. Assembly Bill 622 (2025): Good Time Credits for Violent Offenders

These credits have allowed (up to 33–50% off sentences) for violent inmates, including murderers, toward advancing parole eligibility dates.

What's a hidden talent you have? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

It's not really hidden, but maybe not so well-known. My years of corporate and issue advocacy experience have afforded me the ability to organize, incredible resolve, and exceptional communication skills to effectively get the job done. Everything that has been discussed here can be accomplished.

I am mission-oriented and driven to make everyday life better for everyone who lives in this 22nd Senate District, my neighbors in the San Gabriel Valley. I seek to build bridges with others in the state Senate, extending my cooperation and wisdom to get things accomplished and prevent the dangers of what is to come if we don't take immediate action on the things we ought to come together on. Unlike our governor, who has run California like a campaign for president, complete with irresponsible rhetoric and spending.

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