Matthew Munson Runs in Race for State Senate District 20

Ontario resident Matthew Munson is running for the seat to represent California’s 20th State Senate district on the November 2014 ballot. A republican candidate, Munson races against grocery union president Connie Leyva to represent portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, including Pomona and the Inland Empire communities of Chino, Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Montclair, Ontario, Rialto and San Bernardino this November. If elected, Munson said he will work to help California business flourish and create jobs for its people. “It’s becoming difficult for anyone to find jobs. There’s so many people looking for work and dozens are applying for one simple job,” Munsen, who works in retail, said. “I want to create an environment where businesses flourish so they can hire more employees, and bring tax revenue up so the services that people value are funded. Without a private sector you have no public sector.” Munson said he wants to help businesses by providing them incentives. “I’ve thought about waiving the corporation tax as long as 60 percent of employees are paid a fair wage, and working on improving the regulatory climate. A lot of businesses have to spend extra money and employees to comply with regulations,” Munson said. Munson said he will also work to reform educational standards and do away with California’s recently adopted Common Core Standards, educational standards set by the State Board of Education for students in all grade levels. Set standards will create difficulty for students of various learning abilities to get the education they need, he believes. “Common Core will devalue education for our kids,” Munson said. Munson graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a bachelor’s degree in political science. In 2002 he ran for State Assembly to represent portions of the Inland Empire but was not elected. The only Republican to run for the State Senate 20th District seat this year, Munson said he’s looking for change. “A Republican hasn’t represented this area in my generation,” he said. “Our economy is stagnant and there aren’t jobs. Maybe we need to change that direction.”