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: Maebe Pudlo
Current job title: Silver Lake Neighborhood Councilmember/ Project Manager for a Neighborhood Homeless Coalition
Political party affiliation: Democratic
Incumbent: No
Other political positions held: Silver Lake Neighborhood Councilmember At-Large, Treasurer
City where you reside: Los Angeles
Campaign website or social media: maebeforstatesenate.com
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.)
I support spending cuts that don’t impact social services. Tax the wealthy and cut corporate subsidies. As someone who opposes AI, I support an “AI Tax” for environmental and social services. I support a vacancy tax for corporate landlords and developers. There’s more than enough wealth in this state to guarantee everyone is housed, educated, and has quality healthcare.
For you, what’s a non-starter when talking about budget cuts? Why? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
No budget cuts for healthcare, housing, or education. These are essential areas where working-class people and families are already struggling with affordability. No budget cuts that fiscally impact marginalized communities.
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.)
Affordability, homelessness, and environmental justice.
The rent is too high, and people are struggling to stay housed and fed. I support housing for all measures, public grocery stores, and increased CalFresh/SNAP benefits to ensure people stay housed and fed. There’s no reason the state shouldn’t be able to ensure everyone has guaranteed access to essentials like healthcare, housing, education, food, and transportation. When there are more vacant units than people living on the streets, that’s a problem. Budgets are moral documents, and we both can and should take care of our most vulnerable neighbors.
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.)
My entire platform is centered around economic equity for all Californians, regardless of immigration status. Bringing universal healthcare to California is one of my top policy priorities. This would have an immediate economic impact on impoverished, working-class, middle-class families, immigrant families, and the intersection therein. I also support public banks, public grocery stores, free public transportation, free state college, guaranteed housing access, and increasing CalFresh/Snap benefits for anyone in need, regardless of immigration status.
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.)
We need to keep ICE out of California, and our elected officials need to do everything possible to make that happen.
Municipalities must compel local police departments to enforce prohibitions on federal agents wearing masks or risk defunding from the state. I would prefer the entire state refrain from working with ICE, CBP, and DHS. One of my neighbors of 30+ years was recently detained by violent, masked men, and when LAPD was asked about enforcing the mask ban, they said they “don’t touch that.” This is unacceptable. Abolish ICE.
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.)
I am running to bring universal healthcare to all Californians, regardless of immigration status. I have been an advocate and champion for universal healthcare for almost 20 years. There is no reason why the wealthiest state in the wealthiest nation in the history of humanity can’t afford to provide quality healthcare at no cost for everyone. Healthcare is a human right.
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.)
Yes, I support introducing universal healthcare for all Californians, regardless of immigration status. I support a wealth tax and cutting corporate subsidies to pay for a single-payer model of healthcare.
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.)
I work full-time as the program manager for a local homelessness coalition, overseeing 25 monthly drop-in and outreach programs for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. We can and must house everybody.
On any given night in LA County, more than 72,000 Angelenos experience homelessness, and yet there are only about 16,000 shelter beds available. Meanwhile, there are over 200,000 vacant units in LA County. A moral and just society would not allow this.
To achieve housing for all specifically, I support repealing the Ellis & Costa-Hawkins Acts, creating a statewide vacancy tax for corporate developments, stronger eviction protections, emergency grant funding to keep housed people housed, freezing rents until the minimum wage matches the livable wage by county, building 100,000 units of permanent and supportive housing in Los Angeles, and an additional 100,000 units statewide, and influencing local ordinances such as repealing 41.18 which criminalizes people experiencing homelessness. Zoning laws need to be modified to allow for faster building of high-density housing in urban areas, while ensuring that longtime residents aren’t priced out of their areas.
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.)
I think we need to call “Big Oil” on their bluff, and we need to penalize oil companies making excessive profits. We should be focusing on moving away from fossil fuels and toward renewable and sustainable energy, not bending to the fossil fuel industry. We have maximum access to resources like solar, wind, and hydropower to produce electricity in California. We need to create more infrastructure to support intracity, intercity, and intrastate public transportation, including buses, light rail, and high-speed rail, as well as electric vehicles.
I’ve pledged to reject all corporate donations so the voters can trust I am not beholden to the fossil fuel industry.
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.)
Firstly, I opposed Proposition 36. We can make addiction treatments available without criminalizing addicts through a single-payer, universal healthcare system across the entire state. I, as a legislator, would demand we pass universal healthcare to guarantee this, and I have no qualms about calling out any fellow elected leaders who oppose it.
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.)
Healthcare is a human right and trans rights are human rights, therefore, trans healthcare is a human right. The state should absolutely play a role in ensuring that hospitals offer gender-affirming care without discrimination.
I’m a cofounder of Protect Trans Youth LA, which holds rallies for trans rights centered on access to gender-affirming care. I support the State of California as a sanctuary state for LGBTQIA+ people fleeing persecution, especially from states that have rolled back trans rights. In my role as a Silver Lake Neighborhood Councilmember, I authored the “Resolution to Declare Silver Lake a Safe Haven Neighborhood for Transgender Individuals,” which passed unanimously. I want to see this happen on the state level.
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.)
I am concerned about the negative impact of social media on young people. I would support social media restrictions for people under 14 years old. Preferably, the onus would be on social media companies to ensure young people aren’t exposed to age-inappropriate content, with oversight by the state.
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.)
I personally oppose artificial intelligence for environmental reasons and for potential job losses. I support highly regulating AI. The last thing we want to get caught up in is an “AI Arms Race.”
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.)
It’s true that violent crime is on the decline. Safety concerns are too often related to high levels of homelessness in our state.
This is a symptom of the housing affordability problem, which is why I support housing for all measures. I believe an education campaign dispelling the myths surrounding homelessness would benefit everybody. Many folks believe that unhoused neighbors are dangerous, when in reality, unhoused people are more likely to be victims of violent crime from housed people than perpetrators. I support expanding unarmed ambassadorship programs in place of heavy police presence to make everyone feel safer, including our unhoused neighbors.
What’s a hidden talent you have? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)
I have superior spatial awareness. Basically, a built-in GPS in my brain! I’m also really good at turning numbers from quantitative data into qualitative data. Numbers tell a story.