Gleam Olivia Davis AGE: 50 OCCUPATION: Corporate Counsel MARITAL STATUS/CHILDREN: Married to John Prindle for 14 years, a 10-year-old son, Jackson YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD? HOW LONG? I have lived in the North of Montana neighborhood since 1999. From 1988-99, I lived in Ocean Park. From 1986-88, I lived in the Wilshire-Montana neighborhood. For the first few months of 1986, I lived on Ocean Front Walk, south of the pier. YOUR RIDE? Cadillac SRX OWN OR RENT? Own YOUR PASSION? I love to travel with my family. WHAT ARE YOU READING? “The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama.
The water around the santa monica pier is some of the most polluted in the state and poses a significant health risk to swimmers. How do we clean up the beach?
First, on Nov. 7, we need to pass local Measure V and state Proposition 84, which will give Santa Monica and the surrounding region resources to control water pollution.
Second, we have to look for opportunities to increase green and open space (which reduces runoff). Third, we must enforce existing local laws that reduce polluted runoff into the bay and onto the beach. Finally, we have to look for innovative ways to reduce pollution, such as the beach smoking ban and the recent partial ban on non-recyclable plastics and Styrofoam.
WHAT’S A HIDDEN GEM IN THE CITY?
The Santa Monica Museum of Art.
Homelessness is far and away our city’s most pressing issue, according to daily press readers. What new ideas do you bring to the table? Do service providers help the down-and-out or merely attract more homeless and enable them?
I support the city’s participation in regional efforts to tackle homelessness and the plan to bring food lines indoors. I believe that the Housing First model that has been successful in other cities is another good solution. I know the lack of responsiveness to complaints about the non-violent activities of some homeless persons frustrates many residents and businesses. Therefore, I would like to combine the city’s present efforts with an increased emphasis on outreach. To do that, the city should have a well-trained, non-uniformed homeless response team that can answer complaints in a timely manner and help move homeless persons from storefronts, parks and front yards to service centers and shelters. Most chronically homeless persons are unable to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” and if we do not help them, we are sentencing them to abject misery. I, therefore, support programs that seek real solutions to the root causes of homelessness.
BEATLES OR STONES?
Stones (before 1982) HOW DO YOU SPEND A DAY OFF IN SANTA MONICA?
We go to the pier and the beach or see a movie on the promenade.
Residents and elected officials often clash over the issue of gang violence — some advocate more enforcement, others call for more intervention and prevention strategies. Where would you focus resources?
I strongly support violence-prevention. In the short term, I think there needs to be a better police presence in and around Virginia Avenue Park. The police should staff the park substation for longer hours and the community-policing model should focus on creating a genuine sense of community. Over the longer term, I would encourage expansion of programs that provide social support for residents. In particular, I would support a proactive model which begins to serve families the day a child is born. We need to provide parenting classes, family support, full day child care and preschool, and tutoring and mentoring for older youth and young adults. We also should emphasize peaceful conflict resolution. I also would favor a program that restores hope to families in the neighborhood and an opportunity to break the cycles of poverty and violence by exploring ways to ensure that every socially disadvantaged child in Santa Monica has the education, personal support and financial resources that will allow him or her to attend a four-year college.
If you could have lunch with any three people in history, who would they be? (wife and children excluded) barbara jordan, abraham lincoln, john steinbeck local businesses provide the majority of the city’s general fund revenues, yet santa monica has a reputation for being a difficult place to do business. How would you entice more businesses, different businesses, to open up shop?
I believe that businesses that support our neighborhoods are a vital part of our community. I support mixed-use developments that include business or restaurant space on the ground floor and affordable residential space (for both low and moderate-income households) on the upper floors. This type of development could be built in the commercial corridor along Olympic Boulevard and provide more space for businesses, as well as a local clientele for those businesses. We also need to make sure that City Hall is friendly to local business by streamlining licensing and other administrative procedures.
What’s the biggest threat facing the quality of life in santa monica?
Santa Monica faces a serious threat from overdevelopment and the loss of affordable housing. On the City Council, I will work to protect the scale and character of our diverse neighborhoods and use all available resources to protect housing for low and moderate-income households.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 31, 2006. Read the original PDF.