firefighter; higher pay and better hours!
Favorite CD: Music from Notting Hill Favorite movie: Captain from Castile Favorite thing about living here: View from Palisades Park.
Have you ever been arrested? If so, for what? No.
Have you ever declared bankruptcy or had financial insolvency issues? No Endorsed by: Santa Monica Pier Leesees 24th Street Porch Committee 1. What is the single biggest issue facing Santa Monica? What do you intend to do about it, if elected? Be specific.
INCREASE OF THE TRANSIENT POPULATION. According to a city poll of Santa Monica residents, the excess homeless/transient/vagrant population in our city is the No. 1 issue. I agree. In 1994, I spearheaded the Public Safety Initiative which addressed the homeless problem with several ordinances including one prohibiting sleeping in the parks from 11 p.m. to dawn. A new city report shows a substantial increase in violations of the “no camping” ordinances. In 2000 there were 195 violations, in 2001 there were 298, and in the first nine months of 2002 there have been 476 violations, with 202 in July 2002... and we still have three months to go.
It now has gotten worse with the increased number of feeding programs in the parks by outside groups. This has resulted in Santa Monica having the reputation of being the “Homeless Capital” of Southern California. Santa Monica cannot cure homelessness in America or even homelessness in the Western region of Los Angeles County. Santa Monica spends $22 per resident on homeless services compared to 13 cents per resident in LA.
The most pressing issue now is how to reduce the large numbers of homeless in our community, to help the ones that want help, and to encourage our neighboring communities to do their share.
On Oct. 8 at the city council meeting, I voted to require feeding groups to obtain a health permit and to limit the number of times a large group can use the parks. I also voted to outlaw sleeping in doorways in the downtown and Main Street commercial areas and to instruct the staff to find ways for groups to have feeding programs indoors and linked to social services, which are the only ones that have been successful in returning the individuals to a productive life.
One problem which may occur from banning sleeping in doorways in these commercial areas is that the homeless will find other places to sleep. This may be doorways outside of the prohibited commercial areas, parking structures, and even the residential areas, in carports, etc. If that happens, new ordinances may have to be drafted and enforced in order to address this situation. But it all boils down to, the transient population must be reduced. Other communities, the county, etc. must participate in addressing this problem. Santa Monica cannot solve this regional and national problem. 2. Where is the city spending money that, in your opinion, should be used for something else?
Consultants — We’re spending too much money on consultants — hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and often times the reports confirm what we already know. We are often doing Environmental Impact Reports which are repetitive. Often the same kind of work, just different places in the city. Perhaps we should have people on staff to do this. 3. The city has hired an urban design consultant for $54,000 to tell us how the downtown area could be designed better. Do you think the downtown commercial zone needs to be redesigned and how much would you allocate toward such an endeavor?
I think that this is a good idea especially since we are evaluating whether Santa Monica Place should be redesigned to connect the Promenade to the Civic Center area. 4. The city is facing a $9.5 million budget shortfall this year and future budgets look just as bleak. What are the top three items in the city budget that you would cut to ease the taxpayer’s pain?
The top three items that I would cut are: • Place all the capital improvement projects on hold (e.g. repaving) • Hiring freeze on non-public safety personnel — save dollars by not filling positions • Zoning enforcement officers 5. The Santa Monica Police Department has some of the highest paid officers in the region. Do think the salaries of Santa Monica’s finest are justified? Why or why not?
The salaries are justified because it allows us to recruit the cream of the crop from other police departments and hire the finest rookies. 6. The Pico neighborhood hasn’t had any formal representation on the City Council in the history of Santa Monica. Do think the blighted neighborhood’s drug dealing and gang activity is reflective of that? How would you represent this neighborhood?
I don’t think that it is result of not having elected somebody but I think that the situation could be improved if Veritas (Prop HH) passes and it guarantees a representative from the Pico neighborhood on the council. I have made the violent crime in the Pico neighborhood as a major focus of my campaign and I want to do whatever is necessary to make the Pico neighborhood as safe as any neighborhood in the city.
I have lived in the Ocean Park, Wilshire-Montana and North of Montana areas of the city. Although I have never resided in the Pico neighborhood, I have great concern for their residents. I believe that the Pico neighborhood needs special attention because of the violent crime, drug and gang activity that has occurred there. I think that the council must have regular meetings with the leaders in the Pico neighborhood and the police department and agree to a strategy to rectify the criminal activity occurring there. The council needs to make the necessary resources available to meet this need including increasing the police resources at the Virginia Avenue Substation so that the neighborhood can be covered for longer hours. Obviously if there was a council member from the neighborhood, the council would have first-hand information about any serious situation. That is one of the reasons that Veritas (Prop HH) is more important to this neighborhood than perhaps any neighborhood in the city.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 29, 2002. Read the original PDF.