Horn arouses favorable response from students

Incumbent Steve Horn (R-Long Beach) proposed more practical solutions to local concerns than did his Democratic challenger, Peter Mathews, during their Monday debate at Cal State Long Beach, according to an informal exit-survey of students who attended the event.

Horn and Mathews are vying for the 38th Congressional District seat.

Some students who had not chosen between the candidates before the debate said Horn appeared to be more realistic in his approach to the problems of economic recovery, health-care reform and the federal deficit.

The 90-minute debate was held in the University Student Union Small Auditorium.

"I agreed with almost all of [Horn's] points," said Democrat Jodi Stephens, a physical-therapy major who said Horn's performance at the debate may have won her vote.

As Stephens and her companion, Nicole Shelley, a politicalscience major, rushed off to class, they said they agreed that Horn's performance was much stronger overall.

"He seemed to be a lot more polished in his presentation," Shelley said.

On the other hand, Shelley said, considering Mathews' idealistic position on raising taxes for the wealthy, "there were certain things that he was talking about that, in the present day, just will not happen."

Some students at the debate complained of Mathews' "idealistic" approach, and blasted his request for more federal money for California's higher-education system.

Mathews said during the debate that the U.S. government should spend more money on colleges than the current level of 2 percent. "I felt that Mathews was whining about getting federal money," said political-science major Ana Arakelian, executive director of CSULB's College Republicans club. "It's the state Legislature that CSULB students have to remind about the tuition increases, and that would be the Democrats and Pete Wilson."

Business major Shaida Kafe-ee said she changed her mind during the debate and now supports Horn because he "made more sense" on the issues of the federal deficit, illegal immigration and health care.

"I think Horn was more practical than Mathews," Kafe-ee said.