Central Coast congressman, challenger face off in lively debate. Here’s what they said

In the only debate in this election for the 24th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Democratic incumbent Rep. Salud Carbajal and Republican challenger Andy Caldwell engaged in a lively exchange during a virtual forum on Saturday.

The 24th District encompasses Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties along with a portion of Ventura County.

Carbajal is seeking his third term representing the 24th District in the House and will face off against Caldwell in the Nov. 3 election.

Among the topics discussed during Saturday’s forum were the COVID-19 public health crisis, police brutality toward people of color, economic activity, small businesses, oil drilling in the region, farmworkers, the spirit of unity, gun control and mental health services.

The hourlong event was hosted by KEYT and moderated by Scott Hennessee, the evening news anchor for KCOY and KKFX. Hennessee kept control of how much time the candidates spoke and asked the public’s questions.

The candidates answered a range of questions from Noozhawk reporter Josh Molina, political reporter Jerry Roberts of the Newsmakers with Jerry Roberts, and Lisa André, a reporter for the Santa Maria Times, Lompoc Record and Santa Ynez Valley News.

Each candidate had 45 seconds to respond to a question. If either candidate brought up the other candidate in his answer, the event moderator allowed that candidate an extra 30 seconds.

Caldwell took his first jab at Carbajal’s record after less than 10 minutes into the forum.

“Every two years, we have a job interview — an election is a job interview,” Caldwell said. “I have accepted every speaking engagement I have received, where Salud (Carbajal) has turned all of these down.”

Caldwell said his competition “has been hiding from the constituency, and I’ll give him this last two weeks because he had COVID, and I pray for his full recovery.”

Carbajal tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month.

Carbajal said he has been throughout the district on and off since he was elected. He has represented the district in Congress since 2016.

“I visit with all of the different areas of the Central Coast,” Carbajal said. “I’ve spent more time in the northern part of the county and San Luis Obispo County than in the southern part trying to balance equity in terms of my presence.”

Carbajal then called out Caldwell.

“My opponent doesn’t believe in more economic relief for our small businesses on the Central Coast,” Carbajal said.

In response, Caldwell said, “Salud Carbajal wants to spend money the federal government doesn’t have … I agreed with your original relic because we didn’t know what was going to hit us. He is spending money we don’t have — trillions of dollars.”

The event included several back-and-forth exchanges between the candidates.

After less than 20 minutes into the forum, Carbajal addressed Caldwell’s direct remarks.

“Mr. Caldwell is putting forth a lot of misinformation,” Carbajal said.

He also defended his record about 45 minutes into the forum. It came after the candidates were asked how they would describe the nationwide issue of police brutality toward people of color and what can be done to change it.

“I am not for defunding the police,” Carbajal said. “I am for moving forward with reform.”

Caldwell proposed “more police training and more police protection, so they can protect our communities. We do need reform, but we also need to protect the men and women who are risking their lives to keep us safe each and every day.”

In his one-minute opening statement, Carbajal said he is the youngest of seven siblings in his family. When he was 5 years old, he and his family immigrated to the United States. His father worked as a miner and a farmworker. His family lived in public housing.

“I know what it is like to struggle coming from low-income, low-economic means,” Carbajal said. “I know many families today are struggling when you consider the impacts that COVID has had on our nation and on the Central Coast.

“From our public health to our economy, many people are hurting.”

Carbajal said he is “proud” to represent the Central Coast in “fighting for good jobs, addressing climate change and improving our health care.”

He served for 12 years on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors before he was elected to Congress in 2016.

Caldwell grew up on the Central Coast and has lived in the region for 52 years. His father served as a career veteran. Caldwell’s mother was an immigrant, and English was her second language.

“We grew up poor as well because my dad died when I was 9 years old,” Caldwell said. “I have been working since I was 9 years old for my family, and I now work for my family of seven children.”

Caldwell is the executive director of COLAB, the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business.

He said he wants to keep the San Luis Obispo County Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open. The facility is scheduled to shutter in 2025.

“It represents $1 billion to our economy,” Caldwell said, “a quarter-billion dollars in payroll and, most importantly, 10 percent of our state’s electricity supply.”

A top priority is better opportunities for families, he said.

“I was terrified at the calls to defund the police,” Caldwell said. “I have been terrified about the number of jobs we have lost to China. I want public safety, I want law and order, and I want school choice.”

Asked about COVID-19, Carbajal said the key is to listen to public health experts, who have repeatedly stressed the importance of wearing face masks, social distancing and other public health guidance to slow the spread of the virus, as well as adhere to “good, sound” science.

The Central Coast congressman took a jab at President Donald Trump.

“This president has been reckless in polarizing this important issue — wearing masks or not wearing masks,” Carbajal said. “Having super-spreader events. That is not how we are going to get out of this crisis.”

He called for providing more federal funding to small businesses to stay afloat.

“We shouldn’t have to choose between our public health and our economy,” Carbajal said.

In response to the question about COVID-19, Caldwell said part of the problem is the economic shutdown.

“We didn’t shut down Target, Costco or Walmart,” Caldwell said. “We shut down mom-and-pop shops and stores, and that was a huge problem.”

The candidates responded to the following question: “As wildfires escalate, should climate change or forest management be a higher priority for the federal government to address?” The candidates had little common ground.

Carbajal spoke of addressing climate change and providing fire crews with necessary resources to perform “responsible fuels management.”

“I believe we need to address climate change as the priority, but we also need to provide the tools and the funding to our firefighters,” he said.

Caldwell spoke of the perished trees in both California and the United States, and the “hands-off approach” to the forest.

“We allowed these forests to grow at 10 times the normal healthy density because there was no logging, no thinning, no grazing, no mechanical clearing and no controlled burns,” Caldwell said. “I’ve been talking to Salud Carbajal and anybody else who would listen to this for 30 years.”

The debate ended with one-minute closing statements.

Carbajal took a wide swing at Caldwell.

“I believe we need to build on the Affordable Care Act, protect those with pre-existing illnesses, and continue to bring prices for health premiums and prescription drugs down,” Carbajal said. “My opponent doesn’t.

“I believe in protecting a woman’s right to choose and making sure that Roe v. Wade is protected. My opponent doesn’t. He doesn’t even believe in abortion in cases of rape. … He’s also a lobbyist for oil companies. He calls himself a watchdog, but he’s a lobbyist.”

Carbajal added that he is against future offshore oil development along California’s coast.

Caldwell responded: “I should get about five (minutes) considering how many bombs he (Carbajal) just dropped.”

Then, Caldwell made his closing remarks.

The bottom line is, “what we are doing right now is not working,” Caldwell said. He described himself as “a working-class guy” who has been working for the general public, taxpayers and small businesses “my entire adult life.”

“I want to continue that in Congress,” he said.