working with people.
Favorite CD: Led Zepplin — Houses of the Holy Favorite movie: Steven Spielberg's Movie about Kennedy’s death. Can’t remember the name.
Favorite thing about living here: Pacific Ocean, climate, neighbors and friends.
Have you ever been arrested? If so, for what? N/A Have you ever declared bankruptcy or had financial insolvency issues? N/A No Endorsed by: The residents of Santa Monica. No special interests. 1. What is the single biggest issue facing Santa Monica? What do you intend to do about it, if elected? Be specific.
A lot of people say it is homeless. I agree with it and I’m known as one of the strongest fighters against the oversaturation of our city from transients but there is a few more like overcrowding, traffic problems, parking problems property rights and the quality of life in general. 2. Where is the city spending money that, in your opinion, should be used for something else?
For one, traffic calming on Wilshire, Santa Monica and 26th Street should be suspended immediately. We have to stop spending so much on our transient population. They are costing us approximately $20 million in cash and services. We are spending $80 million on low-income housing and virtually none of it is going to Santa Monicans. We must stop the foolish lawsuits that are costing us millions of dollars each year. 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?
This is exactly the problem. The last time they did this, we got the transit mall. Why can’t we work with the local residents, businesses and local designers? When we let outside designers design our city, we tend to lose our local charm and character. 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’s budget that you would cut to ease the taxpayer’s pain?
You mean $15 million? Because of the past and current council we have never put enough away. It has been spend, spend, spend. Now, we are left with the difficult task of probably cutting the budget across the board. 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?
It is a well known fact for years the City Council always sell-out to the S.M.P.O.A and the S.M.F.A. for political endorsements and in return the council gives them whatever they want. Like a clause in their contract that says they will never be less than the second highest paid department in the state of California and this years’ promise they will be given a wonderful retirement package that every resident should know about. The question is: Are they being given the tools to perform their job safely? No! 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? 1. Just because of what side on Pico Boulevard you live on doesn’t mean you aren’t being represented. 2. Are you trying to say if there is problems in one’s neighborhood, like drugs and gangs, this would not make you a good candidate because of what your neighbors do? This is a little stereotyping, wouldn’t you say? 3. As I would represent all of Santa Monica and listen to the resident’s needs and then correct the problem rather that ignoring it and hope it will go away.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 29, 2002. Read the original PDF.