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With the midterm election a week away, Sandra Fluke said Monday that students should participate in politics more if they want to address the growing cost of higher education.
“There are really important issues at stake that impact us as a generation: college affordability for one thing,” she said in a comment on Reddit.
Fluke, who is running to represent UCLA and Westwood in the State Senate, participated in a Reddit Ask Me Anything, or AMA, session Monday night. Fluke answered questions from the community about campaign finances, domestic violence and voter residency, among other topics.
UCLA Government and Community Relations organized the session, which was facilitated by Daily Bruin staff.
Fluke, a human rights lawyer and advocate, is running against Ben Allen, a lecturer at the UCLA School of Law. Allen did not participate in the AMA because of a time conflict.
Fluke’s residency status has drawn some controversy in recent months. To run as a member of the state Legislature, a person has to be a resident of California for at least three years. But according to the L.A. Register, which examined the L.A. County Registrar of Voters database, Fluke registered to vote in the district in September 2012, though she first registered in May 2011.
Fluke said she moved to the district in 2007 with her husband. Since then, she has moved back and forth between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., as a Georgetown University law school student.
“It’s unfortunate that at this stage in the campaign these kinds of false allegations are being spread,” she said. “This is my home.”
When Reddit users asked questions about domestic violence, Fluke said she would like to see an increased focus in public health education on the warning signs for domestic violence. She added that she wants the state to provide more funding for survivor programs.
“The law can lead the way by setting the right example,” she said.
Fluke also answered questions about her relationship with the public relations and political consulting firm SKDKnickerbocker. Though the firm offers some consulting services for her campaign, it does not influence her policy agenda, she said.
Finally, Fluke talked about her brief run for Congress following the retirement of incumbent Henry Waxman in February. She said she found the state Legislature a place to make a greater impact on issues.
“The state level is where I’ve concentrated my policy and legislative advocacy for the last decade,” she said. “I think the state level is where we can actually accomplish the most for our progressive agenda right now.”
Compiled by Jeong Park, Bruin senior staff.
Correction: SKDKnickerbocker is a public relations and political consulting firm, not a lobbying firm.