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# Barry Groveman on Santa Monica Bay pollution and stormwater funding
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/060306-story-20060603-4/
- Published: 2006-06-03T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T18:14:36.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Name: Kelly Hayes-Raitt Party: Democrat Campaign Web site: www.KellyForAssembly.com City of Residence: Santa Monica Age: 44 Marital status: single Number of kids: 0 Profession: Environmental leader. I own a small business specializing in political communications and coalition building.

HAVE YOU EVER HELD PUBLIC OFFICE BEFORE?

Yes, I served for nearly eight years as an appointed Commissioner to the Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ARRESTED? YES. IF YES, FOR WHAT?

My entire field crew got arrested for canvassing for the League of Conservation Voters for a Democratic Congressman in a Republican suburb of Philadelphia when I was 18.

WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE?

Acura, but my next car will be a hybrid.

PET PEEVE?

Noisy motorcycles. In Sacramento, I will close the loophole in the vehicle code that allows excessively noisy motorcycles.

PHILOSOPHY ON LIFE?

“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much damn room in the middle!”

HOW DO YOU RELIEVE STRESS?

Scuba dive. 1\. Concerning the pollution and bacteria levels in santa monica bay, what programs do you believe have been effective and which have not? What can be done differently? How, as an assembly member, do you plan on securing more funding for clean-up efforts?

I co-founded Heal the Bay (which was named in my living room in 1985) and have spent decades fighting offshore oil drilling. My priorities include: ■ Defeating offshore oil and gas processing until we fully develop clean, renewable, decentralized energy. I won’t rest until we have a solar panel on every roof! Currently, there are five LNG (liquefied natural gas) facilities proposed off Southern California’s coast; we live downwind of the gas processing platforms proposed off Oxnard. We need to support renewable energy, not build polluting off-shore facilities that have a higher chance of leaks, spills, terrorist attacks and price manipulation. To find out how you can oppose LNG, please visit www.KellyForAssembly.com/in-lng.htm. ■ Stemming overdevelopment, which causes runoff into the storm drains and Bay. I will author legislation requiring local communities to adhere to their master development plans and not allow developers excessive variances that lead to overdevelopment and increased traffic. ■ Encouraging alternatives to pesticides. New technologies exist for residential weed-killing that are safer for our environment, and the Bay. ■ Creating incentives for technologies that return stormwater back into the ground (e.g., new porous driveway and parking lot materials that allow percolation and distillation of storm water). These allow rainwater to percolate into the soil, minimizing polluting runoff. ■ Leading the charge for reauthorizing and fully funding the Clean Water Act, especially the storm water control program. ■ Ensuring that Hyperion is completely maintained. ■ Planting trees. Preserving wetlands, parks, forests. I’m proud to be the only candidate endorsed by Sierra Club, Clean Water Action and Vote the Coast! 2\. CALIFORNIA RANKS AS ONE OF THE WORST STATES IN PER-PUPIL SPENDING. WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO INCREASE PER-PUPIL SPENDING? WOULD YOU CUT PROGRAMS FROM THE STATE BUDGET? IF SO, WHICH ONES? OR WOULD YOU INCREASE TAXES? IF SO, WHERE?

First, I will call for an audit and revamping of the state lottery. Only 8 percent of the lottery money actually supports education.

I have already sued President Bush over the financially disastrous “No Child Left Behind” Act. We have 11 school districts in our Assembly district, and all of them are receiving less than half the federal funds needed to implement the inflexible standardized testing programs. Because our schools must comply with No Child Left Behind’s onerous requirements, they are scrambling to find other funding — two districts are voting for increased parcel taxes (and Santa Monica is considering it for November’s ballot). Other districts are further cutting arts, physical education, counseling, libraries … this is wrong. (For information on how you can join this suit initiated by the National Education Association, please visit www.KellyForAssembly.com/in-kelly\_sues.htm.) Additionally, I will fight to: ■ Close the loophole in Prop 13 that allows commercial property to change hands without being reassessed. This loophole has denied our local governments and school districts hundreds of thousands of dollars. ■ Get us out of Iraq! Our country has spent over $300 billion — $39 billion of which is from California’s taxpayers. ■ Lobby to secure our state’s fair share of federal taxes. 3\. SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT THE WESTSIDE OF LOS ANGELES HAS BEEN NEGLECTED IN TERMS OF FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION. WHAT STRATEGY WOULD YOU USE TO GET MORE FUNDING? WHAT PROJECT WOULD SOLVE THE IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS AND HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

There is no silver bullet to clear LA’s freeways and streets. To solve our traffic problems, we need both short-and long-term strategies with cooperative support from every level of government. For my complete plan, please visit www.KellyForAssembly.com/in-trafficplan.htm. I will:

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 3, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/060306.pdf?ref=smdp.com)