Hannah Heineman

Fifteen candidates have qualified to run for the four open seats on the Santa Monica City Council. Two of them are incumbents, some have run before, some are making their first runs.

For the first time in years, voters could elect a new Council majority — assuming the two incumbents were not re-elected.

Herewith, the first in a series of articles on the candidates. The Dispatch asked each candidate the same questions.

Shari Davis, non-profit policy advisor.

She’s running because she “wants to make a difference.” Noting that “Santa Monica is bold enough to have progressive policies” which support affordable housing, the environment, renters’ rights, and education, she said, if she were elected, she would “further those policies and be innovative in creating new policies.” She also said her years of working on education issues were “a great way to learn about our community.”

Davis has “great respect for the current Council” and hopes the two incumbents are re-elected. She “looks forward to balancing the priorities the residents have voiced,” and believes that there are “some most innovative and talented people” on the City staff, which only a financially healthy city can provide.

She believes the most crucial issue is the City’s cradle to career initiative that would help serve families economically and socially. “There aren’t very many cities that are thinking that way,” she said, and to be able to implement such an initiative a city must be financially healthy. Davis also described her public policy background, saying, “A City Council member needs to be well-versed in all issues that come before the Council.”

Davis thinks that the Land Use and Circulation Elements (LUCE) provides a good framework for measuring further development. ”I do believe smart growth and transit-oriented development can be appropriate for city if they are careful about how they approve new projects.

She “looks forward to seeing the Miramar redevelopment project as it moves forward,” and would welcome “a collaborative problem solving approach” for the project proposed for the Village Trailer Park site. If elected, she would be open “to balance the needs of residents and the property owner” and believes the “developer has worked hard to balance the needs of the current residents.”

Steve Duron, attorney.

He wants to serve on the Council in order to “bring a common sense approach to Council decisions based on my being a family man and wanting to preserve what makes Santa Monica a perfect place to live.” As “the decisions the Council makes now will have a lasting impact on my kids and the community, it should be more selective about the development they allow.”

In his view, the current Council has been pro-development and has made “decisions regarding development that have lost track of what the future consequences might be.” But he finds city staff to be “wonderful and helpful.”

In Duron’s view, other crucial City issues, besides development, are traffic, congestion, and parking which call for “outside the box solutions.” If elected he would propose creating “a commission on traffic, congestion, and parking dedicated to solutions.”

He supports the redevelopment of the Miramar because it “would be a huge revenue generator that would benefit the city.” However, he is concerned about the development proposed to replace the Village Trailer Park because it would displace the current residents and create “traffic and congestion impacts.” It should only be approved if it offers “compelling benefits to the community.”

Frank Gruber, attorney.

Frank Gruber, a lawyer and onetime Planning Commissioner, is seeking a seat on the Council to “help make Santa Monica a better place where everyone can flourish,” and believes his “experience and knowledge” can help him “deal with the complexity of City issues.”

He said “the current Council has operated fairly well, but two key people are leaving — Richard Bloom and Bobby Shriver.” He hopes to “replace one of them with thoughtfulness and decisiveness.” He finds City staff “extremely professional,” though “sometimes they take a short term view.”

The crucial City issues, in Gruber’s view, are maintaining the city’s fiscal health and its support of the school district, and focusing on the cradle to career initiative to curb youth violence.
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When asked about further development, Gruber said he would like to “keep Santa Monica the place it has been, a mix of businesses, residential, resort, and medical uses,” but he would like future development to be “more focused on retail and hotels rather than commercial office.”

He went on to say that “development and traffic are not the same so you must address traffic as traffic not by development.” He believes the Miramar project “has a lot of potential” and it would be good for City revenues but it needs a better design. He also supports the Village Trailer Park development proposal because “it is the proper development for the site.”

Richard McKinnon, corporate advisor and current member of the Planning Commission.

McKinnon wants to become a Council member because he believes “the City should have a clear vision” and needs a vision advocate.

“After serving on the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Planning Commission I [McKinnon] see the need for change” on the current Council. One can either lead the change or just react. I want to lead the change.” He finds city staff to be “intelligent and able people to work with.”

To McKinnon the “top issue is putting the residents first.” He is also concerned about the “scale and pace of development.” In addition, he “wants to see bikes everywhere” and to implement a strong environmental package. Such a package would include a more efficient and innovative use of water, transit alternatives, renewable energy, the planting of trees and believes “our City could be an international leader” in sustainability. He would also like to see “new ways for the city and schools to partner” and “use schools as community resources, recreation facilities, continuing education, and community meeting sites.”

McKinnon believes future development should “build a community inside the development and build a community on the street that is appropriate for the place.” He stressed the “need to think about the mix and match of future buildings” and to deal with congestion with a multi-level program of across-the-board solutions. If elected, he sees his job on the “Council to set standards for development and hold the line.”

Addressing the Miramar redevelopment project, McKinnon believes the “proposed project is “too big, too bulky, and it cuts out views and the air.” He thinks the architecture should be rethought and redesigned “to match the area.”

McKinnon believes the City should have bought the Village Trailer Park 5 or 6 years ago and “kept it low income,” but since it didn’t, he supports having “a strong package of benefits for those who would be displaced.” He believes the development as proposed is not appropriate because the buildings are too tall, wind tunnels would be created, and trees would be lost. He is also concerned that the City is looking at this and other major projects in isolation, because it has yet to complete the Bergamot Area Plan.

Terry O’Day, an incumbent and “environmental executive”

Running for his first full term, he wants to continue to serve because he feels his unique set of business and government skills can help him continue to effectively dealing with the City’s problems.

He said he “doesn’t aspire to higher office” and if re-elected “what [he and] the Council will do going forward will define the city…with “each member [of the Council] bringing their own unique experience.”

He is pleased to have been part of approving the LUCE, adopting the 20/20 goal of water self-sufficiency, and, with his colleagues, adopting the Big Blue Bus fare increase. He sees “being able to work with his colleagues” as a strength, helping them to move forward. He feels very positively about City staff, and pointed out that in dealing with the demise of the redevelopment agency he “saw real talent emerge.”

Key issues to O’Day are how the City funds its goals, the loss of redevelopment funds, and continuing the partnership between the city, the school district, and Santa Monica College. Lastly, he believes it is “important the City keeps our community a leader in sustainability.”

O’Day believes “City development has become unnecessarily contentious as the result of development agreements (DAs).” The city is using DAs too much because the zoning code is not completed. He is looking forward to seeing the redesigned Miramar project. He is pleased the City staff and the developer are making an analysis to minimize the impact of the Village Trailer Park development on residents and to look at the alternatives raised by the community.

Bob Seldon, Attorney.

Seldon is running because he’s concerned about over- development. He believes “people from the grassroots need to step up to get a resident majority on the Council.” Seldon also “wants to remove developer influence from the decisions made by the Council.”

In Seldon’s view, the current Council is “too detached from the needs and concerns of the residents. They need to put the residents first.” He finds City staff to be helpful, but is concerned that the “expansion of staff in the planning area has made it easier for the developers and harder for the residents.”

Seldon believes a key issue is the City’s plan to increase density particularly along the transit corridors –- via the light rail itself and commercial development. He would like transit options to be increased — such as establishing more Big Blue Bus North to South routes.

Also of concern to him is the city’s decision not to to put money into the Civic Auditorium to renovate it.

He would also like to see a one-year moratorium on construction so that the needed zoning changes, including downzoning, as outlined in the LUCE, can be made. He supports City funding for the school district and is sensitive to resident concerns that the city’s homeless services have made the problem self- propagating.

Seldon wants future development projects to be “looked at on a case by case basis.” In his view, “residents and neighborhood serving businesses have been crushed” by development. “It is time the pendulum swings back to the residents.” He views the Miramar expansion proposal “as an oversized condo project disguised as a hotel.” To him the Village Trailer Park project is an abomination. He is opposed to the project as currently proposed — particularly because of its impact on the park’s long-term residents.

John Cyrus Smith. Teacher/journalist/producer

John Cyrus Smith, a teacher, journalist and producer, is interested in becoming a Council member because he “wants to represent all of Santa Monica.” He believes his news producer’s ability to collect all the facts and his common sense would be of great benefit. He “sees a city he loves struggling and at a crossroad … wants to make sure Santa Monica is a city we love in the future.”

Smith doesn’t like the fact that the two incumbents who are running (Terry O’Day and Gleam Davis) are taking money from developers. He prefers a transparent playing field where if Council candidates say things are transparent they “make sure they are transparent.” ” He finds the City staff to be very helpful and “doesn’t blame them for the decisions made by the Council.”

He believes a key issue is homelessness. In his view, “The current approach, working with the chronically homeless, is too costly, and unworkable. He wants to “focus on the newly homeless” because they would be easier to help, and wants to try new pilot programs and “slowly chip away at the problem.” Addressing the future of the Santa Monica Airport Smith wants to keep an “open mind … and do what the citizens of Santa Monica want.”

To Smith the “pace of development is the overriding issue in Santa Monica. It’s right development versus wrong development.”
Further development is also an issue to Smith. He finds “many of the projects [being proposed] are too big for their sites and they don’t include enough affordable housing or open space.” In addition, there is not enough parking, and no regard for traffic impacts on neighborhoods.” He does not support the redevelopment of the Miramar as currently proposed because the project is too big for the site. He “doesn’t see how 200 luxury condos will benefit Santa Monica. The development should benefit those who live here not just the developer.” He also finds the project proposed for the Village Trailer Park site to be too large for its site. As proposed, the project does not include enough affordable housing or open space nor does it “take into account its effect on the neighborhood.”