Art Hodges, 69, a Republican and a Pentecostal bishop, is running for California State Senate in the 18th District representing the South Bay, San Diego County’s entire border region, Imperial County and more.

Hodges is originally from Phoenix but has lived for many years in Chula Vista.

The San Diego Union-Tribune emailed a series of questions to Hodges and other candidates to help inform voters about their positions, priorities and plans if elected.

Hodges said he did not use any AI tools in responding to the Union-Tribune’s questions.

1) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate? (150 words max)

I am appalled by the 16-year one-party rule in California and the 30-year political career of the incumbent, resulting in all the wrong records — highest cost of living, taxes, debt, deficit, gas, utilities, groceries, homelessness, relative poverty, regulatory restrictions, abortions, child transgender transitions, etc.

I’m running to make California golden again for our children and grandchildren. My values are faith, family, freedom and future. I’m married to my high-school sweetheart, with three happily married children, six grandchildren.

The contrast between me and the incumbent could not be greater. He is proud to be the first mayor of a major city in America to come out as gay while in office. He divorced his wife and married a man.

In 2020 I sued the state government in federal court to exercise our U.S. constitutional guarantee of freedom of religious assembly to worship, winning two historic U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

2) What are the top 3 issues facing this district? (150 words max)

Priority ABC 1-2-3

A = Affordability

1) Gas

2) Taxes

3) Housing

B = Border solutions

1) Drugs

2) Pollution

3) Immigration

C = Common sense

1) Education

2) Government

3) Public safety

3) What are the first 3 things you would do in office if elected? (150 words max)

1) Work: to fix the 30-year-old Tijuana sewage polluting our beaches, ocean and air

2) Prioritize: end government waste and fraud

3) Protection: of parental rights; of children from life-altering irreversible elective surgeries; of girls-only safe spaces such as sports teams, locker rooms, restrooms, showers.

4) What should California do to solve its shortage of affordable housing and curb homelessness? Which existing efforts do you believe are working, and which aren’t? (150 words max)

The majority of homelessness is the result of drugs and mental illness. Addressing this should be a priority. As CEO, we successfully operated homes for the homeless, teaching job skills, offering counseling services, restoring faith and hope and reintroducing into society at large as restored, productive citizens. We’ve had amazing success stories…

The shortage of affordable housing is a blight on our beautiful but unaffordable state. The failed policies of one-party state rule is to blame. My three grown, married children cannot afford to buy a home. We need to reduce unnecessary and costly regulations, streamline permitting processes and incentivize first-time home buyers by assisting with down payments and reducing property taxes. 

5) This district and its neighbors are vulnerable to climate change impacts like wildfires, rising seas and extreme heat, and to the health effects of climate-warming emissions. What should California do to improve climate resilience and reduce emissions and fire risk? (150 words max)

We should be good stewards of nature. I led the third-largest Los Angeles wildfire relief effort among nonprofits with Reach Out America, just behind the Red Cross and Samaritan’s Purse. I’ve seen first-hand the devastating effects of mismanagement and/or neglect in stewarding climate change impacts. I’m also intimately involved with discovering and distributing new sources of fresh water for our growing populace and fire abatement.

6) Laws enshrined in California’s Constitution that protect residents from tax increases have also painted local governments into a corner as they seek to fund basic services and have led to chronic underfunding of schools. What would you do about this? For instance, would you support changes to Proposition 13 to remove its protections for commercial properties? (150 words)

My concern with new proposals to eliminate prior tax relief efforts, or adding new taxes, is the abuse, misuse and mismanagement of prior promised results if we agreed to higher, new or novel ways for government to collect money from its citizens.

For example, it seems I remember being told years ago that if we would just approve the new state lottery we’d never have to worry about funding education again, never have a need for future taxes for education. So just where ARE those lottery funds going? Why are the highest gasoline taxes in the nation, in the most populous state in the nation, not fixing the roads? Where are the taxes going?

Until we have accountability and transparency in government, I am not in favor of adding taxes or taking away benefits to hardworking, sacrificially-saving, cautiously-spending citizens. 

7) In light of those constraints, along with federal funding cuts, how should California balance its budget and fund basic services? Where would you seek new revenues or savings? (150 words)

Number one, the same way we citizens have to balance our budgets, don’t spend more than you have. There may well be enough savings in ending fraud and waste to balance the budget, with money left over. Why did California politicians resist DOGE??? As we normal citizens do, the government should look first to cut spending, waste and fraud before considering any new taxes or an increase in existing taxes, or removing tax relief for the citizens.

8) Speaking of spending, Californians consistently rank the cost of living as a big concern. Recent jumps in the costs of fuel, food and other goods — combined with federal cuts to safety-net programs, new limits on certain federal loans and more — are further squeezing residents who were already struggling. What relief would you seek to offer, and how? (150 words max)

As the world’s fourth-largest economy and most beautiful state with the greatest natural resources, California should not be reliant on the federal government. As the world’s fourth-largest economy, with the right leadership we would not need to rely on the federal government; we could and should be self-sufficient. If we had the right leadership, with the right character, integrity and motives, we would be the model for every other state to emulate. There is no excuse to have the number four GDP in the world, yet have the highest relative poverty, gas taxes and prices, income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, DMV fees, regulations, restrictions, grocery prices and housing prices.

Solution: No new taxes, balance the budget, cut fraud and waste. Freeze all state government wages and benefits until the budget is balanced, and do it without raising taxes. 

9) President Trump has made cracking down on immigration a cornerstone of his administration, ordering widespread arrests and detentions of immigrants nationwide and directing military resources to a new military zone along the U.S.-Mexico border. What impact have these actions had on this district? What are your goals on immigrants, immigration and the border, and how would you pursue them in the Legislature? What is your message to constituents who are immigrants? (150 words max)

I am pro-immigration. This nation as we know it now was built by immigrants. The vast majority of our country are, or came from, immigrants. President Trump himself is married to an immigrant. We need a secure border to keep out drugs, cartels and other bad people who will harm America. We need a huge welcoming door (proverbially) for immigrants who will love, respect, honor, contribute, work, defend and sacrifice for making America better. Prioritize deporting criminal immigrants, and create clear paths for law abiding immigrants wanting to assimilate and make America better. We need a fair, equitable, orderly, efficient and legal immigration process. 

10) Health care costs for many Californians are rising — some because of new federal eligibility requirements, some because of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s moves to limit Medi-Cal coverage for some immigrants. How would you rein in costs? Would you vote to reverse the governor’s cuts to immigrant health care coverage? (100 words max)

Legal immigrants should have access to all necessary medical care, treated with hospitality as our guests. We must end waste and fraud in medical care. We must incentivize citizenship and disincentivize breaking the law. Legal immigrants should not be pushed to the back of the line by illegal immigrants. What gets rewarded gets replicated. Let’s incentive legal immigration and disincentivize illegal immigration. 

11) Among the many ballot measures being pursued by lawmakers and citizens for the November ballot are a handful that have drawn much attention and money. Should each of the below measures qualify for the November ballot, would you personally vote for measures that would do the following? (50 words max per measure)

— make ride-hail companies like Uber and Lyft liable for sexual assaults committed in cars?

Yes, if they’re negligent. No, if they’re not negligent. Should be consistent with generally applicable liability standards. Why single out one or two companies for special treatment, either favorable or unfavorable? Those liable for sexual assaults should be those perpetrating or permitting the assaults. 

— require voters to provide a government-issued ID each time they vote?

Anyone legally eligible to vote should be given the opportunity to vote. We must restore public confidence in election integrity. If requiring voter ID causes a net loss in legal votes, I’m against it. If requiring voter ID causes a net gain in legal votes, I’m for it. 

— levy a one-time 5% wealth tax on people with over $1 billion in assets?

I’m pretty sure there has never been a “one-time tax” in the history of California! So the result would most likely be that the billionaires would simply move out of California (some already have) to avoid this tax, resulting in a net loss, not gain, for California, and/or other novel ways to tax new groups of people more or less than others. How about exploring the possibility of an equitable flat, fair tax for everyone?

— pass $10 billion in bonds to fund affordable housing development?

I am definitely in favor of more affordable housing. But short-term fixes too often result in long-term exponential losses and deficits. It’s unconscionable that California is the world’s fourth-largest economy yet has among the highest relative poverty rates in America. Something is wrong here. A significant reason housing is overpriced in California is due to over-regulation, over-taxation and over-inflation. Fix that, and we fix the affordable housing crisis. Spending more is never the only solution. We need to cut back and end waste and fraud. May the voice of reason prevail.