The Bakersfield College Democratic Club hosted a forum March 2 with state Controller Steve Westly, who is running for California governor under the Democrat party.

Westly discussed free community college, universal preschool and free health care.

The forum was held in the Science and Engineering building, room 56, at 4 p.m.

Overall, about 20 people made it to the event.

One attendee was Charles White, a member of the Democratic Club and the Kern County Democratic Central Committee.

White attended the event because he “wanted to meet and hear [Westly].”

Westly has made the offer that if he is elected governor he would provide “free community college education.” However, attendees had little knowledge of his proposal.

White said he was not “familiar with it.”

Josh Martinez also attended the event; Martinez had heard that current sheriff Mack Wimbish was going to be at the event. However, Wimbish did not attend.

The BC Democratic Club invited student Rose Mary Cruz, a nutrition major. She said that current Gov. Schwarzenegger “does an OK job and gets involved with the community.”

Westly began the event by saying that “California represents the future” and that we as Californians are “not leading in a way we should.”

Westly’s plan for free education is that any student willing to complete a two-year degree, a degree in vocational training or completion of general education with plans to transfer to a four-year college will be given a loan that will be forgiven upon the completion of a degree or transfer. The student has six years to complete the degree or transfer.

When asked who would pay the plan, Westly responded, “tax amnesty will pay for the free community college.” Westly added that he would make sure every student who commits to the program would receive a free community college education.

When asked why, he responded that it would be a “great investment.” Westly also pointed out that

in the Feb. 15 edition of The Rip, BC President William Andrews called the proposal a “wonderful plan,” but questioned its practicality. At the forum, Westly said that “Schwarzenegger has doubled the cost of community colleges, and community college dropouts have cost California more than free community college will.”

In regard to high textbook costs, Westly said he has a few ideas. He said there should be more competition in the industry, and that textbooks should be available through computers instead of buying the actual textbook.

Westly also said that if elected governor, the first thing he would do is “sign Healthy Families” because that also is a “great investment.”

He also believes that universal preschool is a “great investment” and plans to pay for it all through the collected tax amnesty.

As governor, Westly plans to eliminate partisan politics and offers Californians “smart and good government ideas, not Democrat or Republican [ideas].”

When asked why he then ran under the Democrat label rather than Independent, Westly responded that he is “proud to be a Democrat.” Westly believes strongly “in a woman’s right to choose.”

At the end of the event, Cruz said that Westly “drove the point of helping college students” and felt that Westly would “help us out, at least with our textbooks.”

Helen Acosta, adviser for the Democratic Club, attributed the small turnout to the timing – Thursday afternoon – and that the club set up the forum in less than a week and had to be done when “he {Westly] was available.”