On the issues: Josh Harder and Tom Patti on abortion, the economy, homelessness

Harder
“Healthcare is personal for me. My brother was born prematurely, and the hospital left my family with a hundred-page medical bill. The healthcare system is clearly broken — it’s too hard to find care and if you do, it’s way too expensive. Insurance executives are getting rich while our families have to choose between prescriptions and putting gas in the tank.”

Harder said he supports “allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and instituting a $35 per month cap on insulin. I’ve also written a bill to reform our student debt forgiveness program, which would bring 10,000 new doctors to California over the next 10 years. That will allow more people in places like the Central Valley to get care faster and closer to home.”

Patti
Patti’s positions on the Affordable Care Act and healthcare access aren’t clear. Under accomplishments” on his campaign website, he mentions work on a Veterans Administration hospital in French Camp as well as working “with state and local leaders to enhance Rx labeling and package disclosures.”

In 2018, Patti was arrested after a collision on Interstate 5. San Joaquin Superior Court records show that he was charged with a misdemeanor DUI and that state attorney general’s office amended the criminal complaint to a reckless-driving misdemeanor. Patti, who said he accidentally took the wrong medication, pleaded no contest. Records show he was sentenced to conditional probation for one year.

“After Tom had mistakenly mixed up identical medications, causing a noninjury accident, he made it a priority to improve medical package labels,” his campaign website reads. “Over 1.5 million people make these kinds of prescription mistakes leading to thousands of deaths each year. We need to fix this!”

Patti was outspoken in opposition to COVID-19 vaccine requirements. He praised a local In-N-Out Burger for “fighting against bullies” after the restaurant refused to check customers’ vaccination status at two Bay Area locations. He pushed for a board resolution prohibiting county offices from requiring vaccine proof to enter their buildings, writing: “This unnecessary restriction will further erode many businesses ability to survive by eliminating a large percentage of the unvaccinated population from entering, working, using specific businesses or government services.”