Q&A: 51st Congressional Candidate Denise Moreno Ducheny

IB resident , who's running for the 51st Congressional District, took some time to answer must-know questions about her views on important political stances and tell IB why you should vote for her.

Ducheny is one of seven candidates fighting for the congressional seat, which is currently held by Congressman Bob Filner. Other candidates vying for the seat are John Brooks (D); Michael Crimmins (R); Xanthi Gionis (R); Bernard Portley (R); Daniel Ramirez (D); and Juan Vargas (D).

Check out what Ducheny had to say on bipartisanship, veterans and even U.S.-Mexico relations below.

Patch: What do you think are the top priorities or issues to resolve for the 51st Congressional District and what do you want to work to accomplish if voters send you to Congress?

Denise Moreno Ducheny: I am running for the 51st Congressional seat, because I believe as Congresswoman, I can help make decisions that will improve our economy, bring more jobs to our region, and promote the education of our future generations.

To accomplish this, one of our top priorities must be to invest in the improvement of the border crossings in Calexico and San Ysidro to facilitate cross border traffic and eliminate excessive delays for both vehicle and pedestrians traffic. 

I believe we must continue to implement comprehensive reforms to stabilize the housing market and reverse the housing foreclosure crisis. We must facilitate greater investment in renewable energy projects and incentivize States to leverage their federal funding to provide quality education to keep our economy technologically innovative and globally competitive. 

In addition, we need to stop the war in Afghanistan, bring our brave troops home and use the billions we are spending to invest in America. We need jobs and economic opportunities, adequate and affordable health care, and to protect Medicare and Social Security for our retired senior citizens.

Patch: What is your vision for the 51st District? What is your vision for America?

DMD: My vision for the 51st district is to be a catalyst of economic growth for the state and nation. We need a Congressional Representative that knows how to work with our neighbors to the South to improve our border infrastructure and identify ways to increase the exports and imports of goods and services. My vision for America is to serve the 51st district in D.C. as a consensus builder, breaking the gridlock and dysfunction that is all too prevalent in D.C.

Patch: What votes or actions by Congress in the past term have affirmed or gone against that vision?

DMD: I am fed up with the partisan bickering and a Congress dominated by special interests that are too responsive to the privileged and powerful.  Washington D.C. politics and partisanship are causing voters to become frustrated and apathetic with their elected officials.

Too often elected representatives fail to come back to the district they represent and serve the needs of the community after getting elected. As a State Legislator, I made every effort to meet with constituents both in the District and when they visited Sacramento to listen to their concerns and needs, and to advocate for their needs in Sacramento. I will do the same when serving in Congress. 

In this most recent term, I am most frustrated by Congress’s failure to pass the Bipartisan Transportation Funding Authorization bill for the next 5-year period.  I plan to fight for policies that invest in our infrastructure, increase renewable energy, reward companies who create jobs here, close tax loopholes for millionaires, Wall Street banks and Insurance companies, and invest in America.

Patch: What experiences have most helped shape your points of view or political ideology?

DMD: Living, working, and serving in the communities within the 51st district over the last 30+ years has taught me that people need to be seen and their voices heard. From 1979 when I first moved to San Diego through the 1980s, I was involved in various community organizing projects in the Latino neighborhoods of Sherman and Logan Heights. My husband and I were adult leaders providing constructive, politically empowering, and community improvement involvement for at risk neighborhood youth. The Youth painted murals, raised funds by organizing street fairs and other community events to take field trips and organize neighborhood dances. They petitioned the City to create a community park and community Center.

Starting in 1980, we also organized and participated in the Harborview Community Council whose initial focus was to win recreational Bayfront access for the Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, and Sherman communities. I represented the Council before the Port Commission and the City, my duties including filing and pursuing litigation on a pro bono basis, to increase the acreage devoted to recreational access on the Bay, in attempts to preserve Historic sites, to obtain equal services to neighborhood parks as were given to more affluent communities at that time, and to require the City to consider the cumulative impacts of concentrating homeless facilities to closely together in a single neighborhood.

Patch: If elected, you will represent a district that spans the California-Mexico border. What needs to stay the same and what needs to change along the border and in U.S.-Mexico relations?

DMD: I have extensive experience working on border issues.  I have authored successful legislation to improve cross-border health, facilitate new border crossings, remove scrap tire piles from the Border Region, and improve water quality in both the New and Tijuana River watersheds.

I also spearheaded the development of the Border Legislators Conference – a bi-national mechanism for meetings and discussions among state legislators of the 10 US-Mexico Border States, chairing that group most recently in 2010. 

I also lead the development of the Legislative Forum of the Three Californias to work more closely with State Legislative colleagues from Baja California and Baja California Sur, a group which met 10 times under my leadership from 2003-2010, and most recently continued that work with the founding of the Institute of the Three Californias in co-operation with SDSU and former legislators, local elected officials, and universities in our sister states.

The Council of State Governments and the legislature of Baja California among others have honored me for this border work. I have also been a speaker on Border issues at various forums over the years, including the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center, and in 2011 was the first Co-Chair, along with Baja California Governor Osuna of the Border Innovation Awards Project which honored non-profit and governmental programs which have improved cross-border co-operation. 

I plan to use the aforementioned knowledge, experience, and relationships to help facilitate the funding and construction of border infrastructure projects that have been approved during previous congressional sessions, reduce border crossing wait times, and increase trade opportunities, while maintaining sufficient border security.

Patch: I’m a 52-year-old small business owner, and this economy still has my business on the ropes. Why should I vote for you?

DMD: Throughout my personal and professional career, I have always supported Jobs and Education. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and we need to encourage entrepreneurship, by loosening credit from banks that have stopped lending during this recession.

As state Legislator, I met regularly with groups of small businesses in my district to hear what regulations were affecting them, to hear the possible impacts of proposed legislation, and regularly attended chamber meetings in National City, Chula Vista, San Ysidro, Imperial Beach, Otay, Imperial Valley, and San Diego.

Patch: I’m in my twenties and camped for weeks at Occupy San Diego, protesting a tax system that gives the rich huge breaks. Why should I vote for you?

DMD: Upon being elected to office, I will be working to change the tax system, which punishes the low and middle-income earners of our society and allows wealthy individuals and corporations to exploit tax loopholes. We need to simplify the tax code, eliminating many special tax expenditures in favor of clean, simple, consistent rates for everyone. 

It is time for working families to receive the respect and support they need to move our society forward. 

Additionally, I agree with Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren, that we need stronger oversight of Wall Street Banks and Mortgage companies to ensure the events of late are not repeated in the future.

Patch: I’m 68 and can’t believe how Obama how this country is moving toward a socialist state. Why should I vote for you?

DMD: Government's role is to fund and manage those programs and services that are needed for our society as a whole to prosper "to provide for the general welfare" as the Constitution states. Government plays an important role in providing a public education system, libraries, military and national security, public safety, a respected and impartial court system, the infrastructure which connects us all and promotes the movement of goods and people across the nation, as a steward of our natural resources so they may be enjoyed and appreciated by future generations, and to provide necessary support for vulnerable populations to assist them to become productive citizens.

I do not believe it is necessarily "socialist" to suggest that as a society we provide support to homeless families or veterans, to abused children through our foster care system, or to families in temporary need of assistance, or senior citizens who retire without the necessary resources to maintain an independent life.

While government should not try to prescribe business behavior, it does need to strive to provide a level playing field for appropriate competition and to avoid one group from taking advantage of another through fraud or abusive behavior.

Patch: I’m an unemployed veteran in my late 20s who has just returned from Iraq. I’ve been in combat and seen wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade. Why should I vote for you?

DMD: I believe our veterans deserve support in their return to society following times of war. The military budget currently being used to finance our war in Afghanistan should be reallocated to create jobs, provide transitional services to our veterans as they exit military life, and protect key services (Social Security & Medicare) here in the United States.

In addition, I believe more should be done to support those who have put their life at risk for our great nation, by providing returning servicemen (and women) with necessary physical and mental healthcare, job training, and job placement programs.

Patch: I’m a recent college graduate who is afraid about the prospects of finding a job. Why should I vote for you?

DMD: I have always supported providing quality education and jobs for our present and future generations. I plan to work with our private sectors to identify job-creating opportunities for our graduates and unemployed.

Patch: I’m a member of the AARP and am afraid social security won’t be available for my kids or grandchildren. Why should I vote for you?

DMD: I believe we need to protect and increase funding for Social Security. Social Security is a valuable and necessary program that ensures some form of “survivable wage” for those unable to invest for themselves. The loss of Social Security would have dire consequences on our American population and would truly create a crisis for this nation. One way we could improve the financial stability of the system is to lift the current cap on wages subject to the Social Security Tax.

Patch: I’m a longtime voter and I’m starting to get apathetic. Very little seems to happen in Washington to solve my problems. All I see are the extreme wings of both parties making big promises, blaming each other and getting nothing done. Why should I vote for you?

DMD: I have always worked on both sides of the political aisle to get my work done. In Congress, I will do the same. We need people elected to Congress that represents the people not the special interest groups. In fact, individuals from both major parties have endorsed me.

Please see my website to view my full endorsement list: Denise Moreno Ducheny's Endorsements.