'Front Runner' is off and running

I suppose I could have pointed out that not all the candidates were at the particular forum he attended, but I let it ride.

Seriously, George "Front" Runner, 44, wants to help solve many of the problems that both our valleys face when he gets to the Assembly next January.

Transportation is a biggie. He has his sights set on the Assembly Transportation Committee.

"We haven't been getting our fair share of state gas tax money (to build roads)," Runner says. "For too long, cities like Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita have been giving away money to other places. It's incredible, the amount of money that has been sucked up by the subway in Los Angeles."

"The state will need to share with the federal government in the funding of Highway 126, and I intend to protect the priority of the transportation allocations for our district."

While not thoroughly convinced that high-speed rail will be the way to go — there's no way trains can compete with most airlines' low commuter fares right now, Runner says — he wants to make sure the tracks run through the populated areas of the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys if high-speed rail does become a reality under his watch.

Crime issues cross the great Antelope-Santa Clarita Valley divide, too.

"We have a bigger problem with methamphetamine labs than you do, but it's a problem that needs to be solved wherever you live."

Runner notes that under current law, methamphetamine possession is a misdemeanor. He plans to introduce legislation to make it a felony.

"I have a great desire to see it carry the same penalty as cocaine possession. A lot of the child abuse situations we see up here are a result of methamphetamine use."

Runner also wouldn't mind taking his turn on the Assembly Education Committee. As the director of a private Christian school and a supporter of school vouchers, he would bring a somewhat different perspective to the table.

Improving California's business climate is one of Runner's top priorities. He is a strongÔ serves as co-chair of the Antelope Valley Regional Partnership, a clearing house for public- private economic development proposals.

Our own little crosstown rivalry pales in comparison to Lancaster and Palmdale's acrimonious battles over new retail outlets. But the two Antelope Valley municipalities work together and offer the same inducements for new manufacturing start-ups: a $2,000 credit for each new job created by companies that employ 25 or more people.

"We in the Antelope Valley are actively seeking an enterprise zone where manufacturers will get state tax credits for hiring new employees and purchasing new equipment," Runner says. "I think this whole concept should be the way California deals with new business, no matter where it is."

"I'm going to look right away at a corporate tax cut. We just can't compete with the states around us as long as we tax corporations at a higher rate than they do."

George Runner means business . . . missing teeth or no.