Democrat Rep. Mike Levin has performed well in a couple areas since being elected four years ago. In an interview with our editorial board, he highlighted helping military veterans, repairing the neglect that became a national scandal a decade ago. And he has done important work on solving the problem of nuclear waste.
That’s especially acute with the canisters of waste at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. It’s located in the newly redistricted 49th Congressional District, which stretches from Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel down to northern San Diego County; the boundaries are fairly close to the current 49th District. He also co-founded the bipartisan Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus.
However, this is a time when a recession is staring us down, of unknown duration and depth. Levin voted for President Biden’s $737 billion Inflation Reduction Act, previously called the Build Back Better bill; and in 2021 for the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
Along with President Trump’s $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill of 2020 the total in extra spending comes to $3.5 trillion. This spending binge is undoubtedly a primary driver of the inflation that clocked at an 8.3% annual rate for August, eating away at the earnings and savings of all Americans.
Levin’s opponent is Republican Brian Maryott, a financial planner and former mayor of San Juan Capistrano. We have significant disagreements with Maryott, including his faithful devotion to an interventionist foreign policy and an insufficient skepticism of the military-industrial complex. But Maryott’s financial acumen is what’s needed now in Congress. He would fight to cut spending and taxes. That’s the approach President Reagan used 40 years ago to end the 1970s malaise economy and curb inflation.
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The federal debt has soared to a shocking $31 trillion, and will go up another $1 trillion the next year. That is intolerable. On that front, Maryott has the clear edge over Levin and we believe he will work toward fiscal sanity. The federal debt burden currently stands at $94,000 for every American, including children.
On other issues, Maryott has some other encouraging sensibilities. While he is less certain today than he was two years ago when we last interviewed him, he leans toward supporting the notion of ending federal marijuana prohibition and sending the matter back to the states. On immigration, he would support a permanent fix for DACA recipients, but prefers it to be tied to border security measures.
Overall, though, it’s Maryott’s positioning as a fiscal hawk that gives him the edge. We endorse him.