Candidates for the 38th Assembly District met for a light grilling by the media Thursday morning at the SCVTV Media Center.

Republican Scott Wilk and Democrat Edward Headington gamely answered questions and even had a chance to question each other during the hour-long faceoff that will be aired on SCVTV, as well as posted on hometownstation.com, The-Signal.com and SCVTV.com.

Scott Wilk

Wilk, currently a trustee on the board of College of the Canyons and a lobbyist by trade, talked about how he’s been doing his homework during the campaign, going on a sheriff’s ridealong and talking with focus groups on issues such as education and the entertainment industry. Headington, the owner of a public relations/marketing firm with experience working for a previous Assembly member, stressed his small business background as bringing him closer to the people.

Both are concerned with changing the California Environmental Quality Act, making the state more business-friendly and maintaining the District’s public safety and excellent educational environment.

Asked what they would do to make it easier for companies to do business in California, Headington took the first shot:

Edward Headington

“I think we need to do so much more in terms of retaining businesses and attracting businesses and sometimes the Legislature just doesn’t get it right. This is where I throw a bone to the Republican party, they do a much better job of talking about the issue because I don’t think that businesses and workers are going to stay here for the sunshine.”

Wilk tackled the same question.

”Far too many people in Sacramento believe people are going to stay because of the weather, that’s just not true. CEO Magazine ranked California dead last for the 8th straight year in terms of being a business-friendly environment. We need to hold the line on taxes…if you’re launching a business, you can figure out if that will pencil out, but it’s the regulations that will come back and bite you in the butt; all of a sudden you think you’re going to have a profit and you don’t. Until we stabilize that, I don’t think entrepreneurs are willing to invest in their existing businesses or come back to California.”

Other questions included the candidates’ thoughts on party lines, jobs, education, runaway film production, how they would hit the ground running and what local issues they will carry to Sacramento. Watch the video on Time Warner Cable Channel 20, ATT U-Verse Channel 99 or SCVTV.com Sunday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m., or Monday, Oct. 8, at 2 p.m., or follow the link on SCVTV.com or HomeTownStation.com or The-Signal.com next week to watch it on demand.