Press Release: VIRGINIA CHANG KIRALY OUTSHINES IRA RUSKIN IN FINAL CANDIDATES FORUM
In their final debate, Chang Kiraly outperformed Ruskin and easily showed her depth of knowledge on an array of issues important to Assembly District 21.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2006
CONTACT:Jerome Encinas
(714) 417-4407
VIRGINIA CHANG KIRALY OUTSHINES IRA RUSKIN IN FINAL CANDIDATES FORUM
MENLO PARK – Virginia Chang Kiraly, Republican Nominee for California State Assembly, Assembly District 21, and her opponent, Ira Ruskin, faced off in their second and final candidates forum yesterday at the Menlo Park City Council Chambers. With an audience filled with parents, Rotarians, local elected officials, educators, and community leaders, Chang Kiraly outperformed Ruskin and easily showed her depth of knowledge on an array of issues important to Assembly District 21. The forum was televised live and taped for repeated showings by the Media Center in Palo Alto.
Chang Kiraly emphasized fiscal responsibility and managing the cost of government and encouraged public-nonprofit and public-private partnerships as part of the solution. She also spoke about the need for the “innovative companies in Silicon Valley to be the world leaders in environmental technology” but that businesses will not want to be in California if “financial burdens, such as Proposition 89- raising the corporate tax rate to pay for political campaigns- are placed on businesses.” Chang Kiraly also stated that her education priorities are giving more local control to school districts and providing more vocational opportunities to students who are “not on the traditional four-year college track.”
At the beginning of the forum, the two candidates differentiated themselves by stating how they would cast their votes for governor. Chang Kiraly will vote for Governor Schwarzenegger, calling him a “moderate Republican.” Ruskin will vote for Phil Angelides. As questions were asked by the Menlo Park Rotary Club members and the audience, it was apparent that Ruskin’s single issue is the environment. “Silicon Valley is about more than just the environment,” said Kristin Spindt, a parent in the audience. As someone who “represents the moderate majority,” Chang Kiraly believes that “our children’s future is at stake because of the convergence of the rising cost of government, lack of local control in school districts, and burdensome measures that discourage a vibrant business environment worthy of the sixth largest economy in the world.” She further believes that solving the pressing environmental issues “will be our finest moment when the private sector, labor, government, and community work together.”
Virginia Chang Kiraly is the Republican Nominee for State Assembly for the California Legislature in Assembly District 21, which includes the communities of Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, Portola Valley, San Carlos, Woodside, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Almaden Valley in San Jose. A Menlo Park resident, Virginia is a former board member of The Tech Museum of Innovation, Asia America MultiTechnology Association (AAMA), Las Lomitas Education Foundation, and past PTA President of Las Lomitas Elementary School. She is currently on the board of the Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley, and the Las Lomitas PTA. For more information, please visit www.VirginiaChangKiraly.com.
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