Hornet Media and the Fullerton Observer interviewed Josh Newman, running for the California State Senate District 37, at a candidate forum at Fullerton College on Oct. 7, 2024. The Fullerton Observer reached out to all candidates running for this office for the opportunity to take part in a video interview at the forum and interviewed those who responded.

This video series is a joint production of the Fullerton Observer, a volunteer-run community newspaper, and Hornet Media, the student-run media outlets housed in the Fullerton College journalism program. 

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity but have not been independently fact-checked. 

View live coverage of local elections returns on Nov. 5, 2024, at 7 p.m. on Hornet Media’s YouTube channel @fchornetmedia 

Video Transcript:

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

What your top three priorities?   

Josh Newman 

So my top three priorities are education. I’m the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Climate Response, Housing and Mental Health, and all three of those are pressing issues for the state. 

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

Can you expand on what you would do to bolster those priorities? 

Josh Newman 

So as education chair, I guided either my own legislation, other legislation through to make California’s school system from K all the way up through community college to, you know, the Cal State system and UC, make sure they’re properly funded and that we as a state have the right priorities in place. Make sure that every student, to the extent possible, has an opportunity of the very best education all the way up through the system. On climate response, been very involved in conversations about decarbonizing California’s transportation and energy systems, and then on mental health and homelessness, been very involved in those conversations in the legislature, but also successful in securing funds for Orange County for what is now a 12 city collaborative effort to get at the root causes of homelessness, youth violence and post incarceration reentry challenges.  

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

What are your most notable donations or endorsements? 

Josh Newman 

So I guess my most notable endorsement is probably the governor, Gavin Newsom, I have endorsed from the Governor, kind of all the way down ton of elected officials, community leaders, labor unions, especially public sector labor unions, like California Teachers Association, others. So on my website, at Newman for senate.com, there’s a comprehensive list.  

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

What bills have you authored most reflect you as a candidate?  

Josh Newman 

So let me give you a couple. I had a bill last year which creates a baseline standard for recess in California schools make sure that every student gets 30 minutes of unstructured play and can’t be denied recessed for petty disciplinary reasons. Another bill I’m very proud of got passed and the governor signed it earlier this month, is SB 707, which will create a framework for textile recycling California to redirect the vast amounts of textile waste that are currently going to our landfills to create a circular economy to make sure that we better recycle, reuse and repair textiles. SB, 1215 did the same thing for batteries and SB, 760 creates a requirement across California schools to offer a gender neutral bathroom to all students that is unsupervised, unsurveiled, so that any student can use the restroom, you know, without fear of stigmatization or being outed. And then, last in this current cycle, I have a bill that will be a proposition on the 2026 ballot to reform California’s recall process, something I think is necessary. I hope our resources, resources provided for immigrants. So you know, at the state level, we have to be clear that immigration policy is a federal jurisdiction, but for me, as a member of the state legislature, I fully believe that every Californian should be treated equally under the law. No California, irrespective of their immigration status, should live in fear of the law or legal entities, and they are all, for the most part, contributing the same as the rest of us to our economy, and as a result, are fully deserving of not only the protections but the resources that we all enjoy.  

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

What specific policy do you propose to address the rising cost of housing and ensure affordable options for college students and  seniors?  

Josh Newman 

So housing is one of the biggest challenges we face as a state. We are currently behind by some of the order of 3 million units. And so in order to really accelerate the production of housing across every level, every affordability or every price point. I think we need to really revisit the California Environmental Quality Act, and even to the point of waiving it for some time to generate sufficient activity in the housing market, but also on the other side, to review and reform local zoning permitting and fees associated with housing to bring the cost down, but also incentivize the creation of additional housing. And so there’s no one simple solution, but we really need to be as creative and as urgent as possible, so that every California has access to affordable housing 

Hornet Media / Fullerton Observer 

Do you have any plans to help students struggling with student debt, especially at a time when the economy is not in their favor? 

Josh Newman 

So I’m actually very encouraged by the Biden administration’s recent effort on student debt for giving substantial amounts of student debt. Looking forward, California needs to do two things. We need to lower the cost of education, make it more affordable, make it less necessary for students to take on debt, and also allocate sufficient funds in the Cal Grant and other programs to subsidize the cost of education, especially for first generation California learners. All right, thank you guys. Well done. Applause.