Age: 62 Profession: Advertising copy writer. Alternative career. What you do if you weren’t employed in your current profession? Travel. How long have you lived in Santa Monica? 33 years. What neighborhood do you live in? Wilshire/Montana. Why did you choose to live here? I found a nice, reasonably priced, top-floor apartment with a very cool landlord. Rent or own? Rent. Favorite place in Santa Monica? Residential neighborhood near San Vicente Boulevard. Worst thing about living in Santa Monica? High taxes, traffic and vagrants. How many cars do you own? One. What do you drive? 1974 Triumph TR-6 Roadster. If you could have dinner with three people from history, alive or dead, who would they be? Why? Don’t know. Favorite quote? Have none. Pet peeves? People who don’t know how to drive. How do you take the edge off? (How do you relieve stress?) Lift weights. What’s your biggest accomplishment in life? I haven’t achieved it, yet. What’s your biggest disappointment in life? That I never went into the movie business. Tell us one thing people would be surprised to know about you. I studied fine art — painting and design my freshman year in college. Fetishes? Won’t tell.
Hobbies/interests. How do you spend your recreational time? Lifting weights, volunteering for the SMPD, SMFD and local Red Cross chapter. What’s the last live performance you saw? “Martin Guerre” in London. Last book you read? “The 9/11 Report.” Have you ever been arrested? If yes, what for? No. Family: Marital status. Number of children? Not married, no children. Endorsed by: My mother. Public service/political experience? Back in the mid-1970’s: I was the public relations lead for the Save The (Santa Monica) Pier Citizens Committee and helped prevent demolition of the Santa Monica Pier. I also helped pass the Pier Preservation Act which now protects the pier, forever. I was co-chair of Wilshire/Montana Neighborhood Coalition in 1999- 2000. I’ve written an opinion column on the Ocean Park Gazette for two years before relocating to the Daily Press where I’ve written “My Write” for the last two years. Political affiliation: Non-affiliated. Educational background: BA Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa., post-graduate studies: UCLA, Los Angeles. Question #1: In 300 words or less, answer this: If you were elected into office, what would be the first policy change you would make? How would you ensure a majority vote on that policy? I’d change the city’s homeless policy. Twenty-five years of misguided, ineffectual city leadership has made Santa Monica a transient magnet. Millions of dollars in our taxes support eleven agencies and 22 programs. This and free food handouts in parks from mostly out-of-town organizations have made Santa Monica a dangerous and dirty place. The difference between us and Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, etc., is they don’t have food handouts and nearly two dozen services or transients. I would suggest to colleagues that we require the city’s human services department to implement long-range planning and goals such as reducing the number of “homeless” on our streets 25 percent by 2007. I’d request that we honor the terms of the 1994 Public Safety Act (SMMC 2.69.010 (f)) “by decreasing expenditures for services whenever feasible.”
I’d suggest incentives for city financed providers to change, drop or add programs to make their services more effective and result driven. I’d work to curtail “enabling” services that allow people to exist on our streets in misery and pain. I’d propose that the time clients can spend in services be limited to encourage quicker and more positive transition into mainstream society.
I’d ask for budgets for mental health professionals to work with providers and police to evaluate and determine appropriate courses of action or treatment of mentally challenged transients.
I’d work with colleagues and staff to develop ways to curtail public food handouts and link them with services. I’d recommend that law enforcement efforts be accelerated to discourage antisocial and criminal behavior While there’s no way to assure that anything will pass City Council, electing candidates who think as I do will go a long way to insuring enough votes to accomplish these changes. Lastly, the people must let the Council know they support my plan. Question #2: In 300 words or less, convince the public on why they should vote for you. I’m an independent thinker. I have no hidden agenda. I’m not beholding or obligated to any special interest, business or labor union. I’m honest, reasonable and straightforward. As a 33-year resident renter on Social Security, I know the value of a dollar.
Most of our problems can be solved through honest discourse and common sense. Government must work hand-in-hand with the people, for the people to make our city a great place to live in, work in and visit.
I want to end the social engineering of the ruling Santa Monicans For Renter’s Rights political machine. And, I oppose the pro-development, anti-resident position of most Chamber of Commerce backed candidates who will make things even worse. Here are “Top 10” common sense reasons to vote for me: 1. I’ll work to fix ineffective homeless services programs, get help for those who need it, control food giveaways and support aggressive policing for lawbreakers. 2. I will support our schools and children because they must come first. 3. I’ll stop ridiculous traffic calming schemes. 4. Our own seniors and disabled must have priority for assisted housing and services. 5. I support slow but controlled growth and intelligent development. 6. A person’s private home is not a community resource and deserves protection. 7. I’ll defend your right to be heard on all issues including planning and development. 8. Political pork, cronyism and special interest giveaways will cease. I’ll stop the squandering of resources and make sure we get the biggest bang for our buck possible. 9. I’m dedicated to enriching life in the Pico neighborhood. 10. Our new Civic Center must be a cultural and recreational resource for all, not apartments for the privileged few. A vote for me is a vote for a better place for all of us. Question #3: In 300 words or less, what will be your top three priorities the first year of holding office? 1. Institute an orientation toward resident-serving services and away from political agenda and social giveaways that don’t benefit residents. This covers a wide range of topics such as public input on development issues and more open public participation in task forces, previously restricted to councilper-sons and their minions, that shape our future.
It would include meaningful code enforcement to improve resident’s lives as opposed to harassing them, resolving neighborhood resident versus business parking issues and making government more accountable to the people. I’d put park improvements on the fast track and insure adequate funding support for schools. I’d make sure assisted housing and services, including home ownership, goes to our seniors, the disabled and needy resident’s first. I’d put more resources into the Pico neighborhood to stop the violence. 2. The second priority would be to deal with the vagrant problem. The cost of our 1,100 transients (at any given time) on our streets costs us tens of millions of dollars annually for direct services, police and fire resources. Imagine what $20 million annually could do for schools, parks and quality of life if it weren’t spent on vagrants and transients?
We must make services more efficient and result driven for those who really need help, use “tough love” on the “bums,” drunks and those who refuse service and reduce the number of and control the food giveaways. 3. For years, policy has been to gridlock traffic to force us out of our cars. Narrowing streets, removing traffic lanes, unsynchronized traffic signals, curb bump outs, traffic islands, speed bumps, and roundabouts are designed to modify our driving behavior. I’ll end their social engineering, stop this ridiculous traffic calming and open up our main streets, thus keeping traffic moving and out of residential neighborhoods. I’ll use enforcement to deter bad driving. OPTIONAL: Is there an afterlife? Don’t think so. Do you believe in extraterrestrials? Yes. What’s the meaning of life? A Monty Python movie released in 1983. Have you inhaled? Yes.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 23, 2004. Read the original PDF.