By Kevin Ueda
Special to the Daily Press

CITY HALL — Three City Council incumbents will likely face a once-homeless Vietnam vet, a former television journalist, a real-estate broker and a screenwriter as potential opponents in this fall’s election.

As of Thursday, 18 people have pulled nomination papers from City Hall, indicating their interest in running for one of three seats opening on the Santa Monica City Council. Each potential candidate has until Aug. 11 to receive 100 registered, valid voters’ signatures in order to appear on the Nov. 7 ballot, according to City Clerk Maria Stewart.

City council members Bob Holbrook, Kevin McKeown and Pam O’Connor will run this year in hopes of serving a fifth, third and fourth term, respectively.

Steve Corchado, a 57-year-old Vietnam veteran, said a friend got him involved in politics about five years ago.

As a potential candidate, Corchado’s goals are to bring a medical marijuana clinic to the city, find a place for the homeless to live and listen to every voice in the city — be it an affluent homeowner or a homeless person.

“You have to talk to everybody,” said Corchado, a New York native. “The crazy people are just as important as the rich people.”

Corchado, an 11-year Santa Monica resident, said he once met former President Bill Clinton and was homeless himself at one stage. He currently works with AIDS patients and is on disability.

“If they’re homeless, what’s wrong with giving them a chance to get Social Security?” Corchado asked. “With all of the big development going on, why can’t they find a place to keep these people and help them get back on their feet?”

Corchado has been married for 15 years and has no children, he said.

City planning commissioner Terry O’Day said he wants to do things differently than the current City Council.

“There’s an opportunity to create positive change in this year’s election ... by changing the policy leadership,” O’Day said.

As an environmentalist with business management experience, O’Day said he wants to get past polarized political views to help resolve the city’s contentious issues, with regard to the planet and the business community.

“A leader needs to be able to talk to all sides in our community; the animosity has grown to the point where that doesn’t happen anymore,” O’Day said. “That’s unfortunate and something I’d like to change.”

O’Day said the city’s issues of traffic, parking and development require long-range views, those that take into account the environment.

“I think that we need to use our sustainable city plan to guide policy and to drive ourselves to reduce our impact on the planet and improve our quality of life at the same time,” O’Day said.

He and his wife have an 18-month-old daughter, with another on the way.

Ted Winterer, a 49-year-old screenwriter and president of the neighborhood group, Ocean Park Association, said he decided to run to keep Santa Monica livable.

“Having kids, being a fairly longtime resident, I wanted to maintain a quality of life for myself, my wife and my children,” he said.

Winterer is a proponent of utilizing new energy forms in Santa Monica.

“While the city has done a great job with sustainability, we can still do more in terms of new energy, green energy, new building design,” said Winterer, who added that city officials should also create opportunities for biking, walking — all while dealing with the consequences of gentrification and affordable housing.

Winterer, a 15-year resident, said he believes City Hall’s current programs seem to be effective regarding homelessness.

“It’s not going to be an overnight solution, but I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Winterer said.

Event-planner, and former television journalist and Daily Press columnist Jenna Linnekens said her main priority is resolving the homeless issue, followed by improving public safety and education.

A resident of seven years, Linnekens said homelessness remains rampant because laws commonly broken by vagrants — loitering and drinking in public — are not enforced strictly enough, which inspires them to live here.

“I would send the message that Santa Monica is not the place to come to be homeless,” Linnekens said. “We have to take this opportunity with the new police chief coming in (and) insist that we take a tough and reasonable stance on crime and vagrancy.”

The community should play a bigger role in homeless programs, as it would allow them to feel how much they are helping, Linnekens said. Her plan to unite the community, city and neighboring cities is modeled after other programs successful in Sacramento, San Francisco and New York.

Schools ought to receive more funding for teaching, tools, art and athletic programs, Linnekens said.

Despite what she called budget surpluses in recent years, Linnekens said City Hall’s progress remains unseen.

“Where’s the money gone? There’s no measurable progress,” Linnekens said.

Mark McLellan, a real-estate broker specializing in multiple-family homes, said he was inspired to run after going to past City Council meetings, debates and following the 2004 race.

McLellan said some members of the homeless population threaten the safety of the public and the City Council needs to do more about them.

“Regarding homelessness, (City Council members) have to take direct responsibility for that,” McLellan said. “If you take a walk around the city, you can see that what has been done is not working.”

McLellan said his goals are to make the city safer by reforming homeless programs, as well as nurturing family growth by creating programs for owning homes rather than renting.

“Personally, I have had a knife pulled on me in front of a Vons grocery store,” McLellan said. “Recently, a homeless person put a lock on a cabinet in our garage and lived in there. It is a very unsafe environment for families and for our neighborhood ... more has to be done.”

McLellan, who married his wife in 2001 and intends to raise a family here, said homeless programs need to better differentiate between the homeless who can be helped and those who are repeat offenders incapable of being helped.

“Once you’ve identified the people that are endangering the community, then you have to do something about it,” McLellan said. “As with the homeless court and programs they’re offering ... at what point do you say ‘this isn’t working for this individual?’”

McLellan, 46, currently works with commercial real-estate firm Marcus & Millichap.

Activist Vincentt Garofalo, 46, said he is running to bring better communication between residents and the City Council.

“The current City Council does a decent job ... I think we just need a fresh perspective,” Garofalo said. “I like the way (Shriver) handled the homeless issue; he’s brought it to the attention of the community.”

Garofalo, who has been renting in the mid-city neighborhood for three months, said he wants to represent the voice of the middle class.

“It’s very difficult for the middle-class family to afford a house in Santa Monica,” Garofalo said.

A lack of parking, rough upstarts for hopeful businesses and recent gang activity in the Pico neighborhood also need to be addressed, Garofalo said.

“Those people in the community need their children to be safe,” Garofalo said. “I know a lot of Santa Monica police officers and I think they do a great job — we just need dialogue.”

Aside from the city’s problems, Garofalo said that he also wants to focus attention on the positive aspects of the city.

“It’s a great city and I feel very positive about it,” he said. “I want to bring to light the beautiful things we have — the library, college, the beach area.”

Garofalo said he is not accepting any endorsements.

“I can’t have any group having an influence on me. I won’t accept that,” he said.

Trial attorney Gleam Davis said the violence in the Pico neighborhood is a high priority for her, in terms of wanting to blunt the cycle of poverty.

Davis, 50, also seeks to preserve the “neighborhood feel” of Santa Monica, foster a stronger bond between City Hall, the public school system and Santa Monica College.

“I’m very interested in preserving that feel in Santa Monica, as development pressures continue to exert themselves on the city,” Davis said.

Linda Armstrong, a resident of 10 years, ran for City Council two years ago and seeks to promote the well-being of the homeless, children and women, she said. In the 2004 election, Armstrong received 1,027 votes, or .73 percent.

“My primary interest is homeless women because they’re generally abused by homeless men,” Armstrong said. “Homelessness is bad for guys, but it’s worse for women.”

Santa Monica schools should provide mentoring programs, breakfast, lunch and after school meals for children, she said.

“Kids should receive nourishment. School should be like a home away from home for kids,” Armstrong said.

Students with a B average in high school should be guaranteed a spot in the University of California system and businesses that make more than $5 million a year to provide a comprehensive living wage of $10 for their employees, she said.

She currently works as a computer data entry employee for Santa Monicans Allied for Responsible Tourism (SMART).

Other prospective candidates who ran in recent elections include product designer Donna L. Block, who finished sixth in 2000 with 9,015 votes, or 7.78 percent. Block’s endorsers have included the National Women’s Political Caucus and Mayor Holbrook, according to SmartVoter.

Pro Se, a civil rights worker and 26-year Santa Monica resident, finished last in 2002 with 1,677 votes, or 2.37 percent.

Jerry Peace Activist Rubin finished eighth in 2000 with 5,006 votes, or 4.32 percent, and second-to-last in 2002 with 2,420 votes, or 3.42 percent. Rubin, a married Ocean Park resident, does not solicit or accept any endorsements, according to SmartVoter.

Voters have until Oct. 23 to register for the November election. Other prospective candidates for a city seat may take five extra days from the Aug. 11 deadline to file forms if the incumbent has not filed papers to return, Stewart said.