Torrance Election 2008

Torrance City Council Election Awards

2008-06-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

When it comes to picking four candidates out of a field of 10 viable ones it becomes difficult for anyone to say which four candidates fit the needs of all Torrance residents. That is why I have decided to give out the Torrance City Council Election awards rather than endorse any four particular candidates. There are 10 awards in all and they are given to the four city council candidates who would do the best job promoting or dealing with that issue on the city council. Without further ado here are the Torrance City Council Candidates Election Awards.

The Arts:
+As a member of the Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation Kurt Weideman would promote the Arts on the city council. Kurt believes that the city of Torrance and the private arts organization in the city of Torrance need to work together and have a "go to guy" to solve problems that arise such as scheduling conflicts.

+ Rod Guyton bravely recognized budget concerns could be an issue when funding the arts and has stood on a platform of cutting non-educational productions by the city if a budget shortfall occurs. This would ensure that positive and educational productions will continue to be well funded despite slowing economic times.

+Cliff Numark as vice president of the Torrance Symphony has a deep understanding of arts and will coordinate among the Torrance Cultural Arts Center Foundation and other groups two to three times a year to resolve current and upcoming problems.

+As a member of the Western Museum of Flight Pat also appreciates the arts and would work with all the stake holders in Torrance Arts. He would appoint an executive of some sort to solve problems the art organization are facing.

Balanced Budget:
+ Kurt Weideman worked for the Hi Shear Corporation for 26 years as a vice president and general manager and general manager. Kurt has the experiences meeting deadline and budget bottom lines.

+ As a business owner Rod Guyton has experience in balancing a budget . He can do the same for Torrance only on a larger scale.

+ Cliff Numark as director of the Red Cross turned a company that could not make payroll into a dynamic and thriving business. If worse scenarios take place in Torrance Cliff's Zero-based budget would be the best idea to return our budget to fiscally soundness.

+ Susan Rhilinger's "Bread, Butter and Cake" metaphor makes perfect sense as she looks at what is necessary for Torrance, what could we cut and what we could just do without. Susan was also a fiscal hawk when it came to balancing the budget for the Torrance Police Department.

Business Grower:
+Tim Goodrich foresees a new industry flourishing in Torrance, the "Green" business industry. With new technology on the rise to create alternative energy and energy saving devices Tim would court those businesses to stay and reside in Torrance.

+ Cliff wants a strong working relationship with the three biggest businesses in Torrance: automotive, health care and foreign businesses. Cliff advocates a one stop permit shop for new business in Torrance and customer service business center.

+ Rod has a great working relationship with the Japanese business community and has lived in Japan for 2.5 years. Since then he has traveled back there over 24 different times for Torrance business ventures to continue and strengthen a working relationship with the Japanese Business Community in Torrance.

+ Gene Barnett was the first to envision a possible convention center where the old Montgomery Ward use to be. He also supports the brining in an anchor store to further expand Del Amo Mall and increase foot traffic in the mall.

Education:
+ Pat Furey's 3rd term as President of the Torrance Education Foundation and being chair of the TUSD Personnel Commission makes him more than qualified to be the education candidate. Pat also has raise close if not more than a million dollars for our schools during his life time and has set out a deal with Scott Robinson Honda to give $100 for every car they sell. He also received an Honorary Service Award from the PTA for his work with Torrance schools.

+ Rod Guyton like all the education award candidates is endorsed by school board president Michael Ernst. Rod actively campaigned for the Torrance school bond measure and has entered into agreement with Power Ford to give $50 to our schools for every car they sell.

+ Cliff Numark seeks to have a side by side analysis of school and city services in order to consolidate and make them more effective. Cliff will ensure the school bond measure is used for infrastructure only and as a park and recreations commissioner fought for our schools to have top priority over use of the plunge.

+ Gene Barnett seeks to create joint city and school programs in order to achieve greater efficiency and better established communications between the school district and they city of Torrance.

Environment:
+ Tim Goodrich was the first to mention about the Exxon Mobil contaminations spill that contaminated 10 homes near the refinery. Tim would hold Exxon Mobil accountable for actions like this in the future. Tim also supports more green businesses to help kick our addiction to oil in the city of Torrance.

+ Cliff supports the Torrance environmental quality commission to reduce green house gases to pre 1990 levels by 2010 and would also expand the cities green waste program city wide.

+ Pat like all the environmental award winners opposes the sale of jet fuel at Torrance airport which if not banned would have devastating impacts to our environment. Pat like Tim and Cliff have been endorsed by the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters.

+ Gene Barnett while on the Madrona Marsh Foundation fought for the preservation of the Madrona Marsh and for open space for neighborhood parks within our community. He is also a supporter of expanding the green waste program city wide.

Government Transparency:
+ Cliff Numark's innovative Torrance 2.0 would ensure that people through e-mail could see what is going on in the city of Torrance. Possible concerns facing resident could be e-mailed to them instead of having to search through the city website to decode hard to read language about vital issues.

+ A member of the Blue Ribbon Committee on Ethics and Integrity Pat Furey ensured government was open and honest to the people and that those who violated election laws were punished.

+ Kurt Weideman was served the city for 26 years with honesty and integrity would continue to serve the city in that same fashion as a city councilmen.

+ Gene Barnett also a long time public servant would hold true to the promise of being the city of Torrance's "fiscal watch dog" and would ensure ethical conduct on the city council.

Historic Torrance Preservation:
+ A corner stone of Kurt Weideman's campaign is preserving the character of the city of Torrance. Kurt, a vice president of the Torrance historical society, would pass protection for historic homes to prevent them from being destroyed like has been done in the past.

+ Cliff Numark would do research to see what is best for homeowners and businesses within old town Torrance to see what ways of preservation works best for them in a historical preservation zone. He would also enforce the Mills act.

+ Gene Barnett would enact historical preservation zones and enforce the Mills act to give tax benefits for those who choose to opt into a preservation agreement in Old Town Torrance. Gene is a member of the Torrance Historical Society.

+ Mike Mauno was the first city council member to introduce sign age welcoming people into old town Torrance. Mauno is in favor the Mills act and would seek careful balance when implementing historical preservation zones.

Public Safety:
+Like all the Public Safety award winners Pat Furey is endorsed by Torrance Firefighters and Police Officers Association. He seeks to strengthen existing ties by holding regular meetings with police and firefighters to iron our present and future problems.

+ Cliff Numark vows to keep public safety as the #1 priority as a city councilmen. Cliff has participated in the city's Partners in Policing Program and will continue to strengthen and supports the Torrance Ranger program to keep Torrance a safe city.

Rod Guyton recognizes that public safety is tied to the revenue we bring in to the city of Torrance because 55% of our budgets goes to public safety. Guyton seeks to strengthen business ties (see business grower) in order to have the money to continue to pay for our top notch public safety.

+ Gene Barnett will continue to support and properly fund Torrance’s public safety services to provide crime prevention, law enforcement, fire, paramedic, and other vital emergency services and will assure that the City is prepared to respond to local and regional major emergencies.

Revenue Generator:
+ Cliff Numark would save the city of Torrance money and thus generate more revenue by consolidating city and school services and would consider placing ad's on the Torrance transit.

+ Mike Mauno generated a $10 million win fall for the city of Torrance while serving on the Re-Use Committee of the Chandler Rock Quarry and Ready-Mix Concrete Plant. He also would put forth an investigation to see of Exxon Mobil is paying their fair share of property taxes.

+ Pat Furey creatively was able to negotiate with Scott Robinson Honda to give $100 for every car they sell to the Torrance school district. Similar deals would be made with private enterprises to boost the cities revenue.

+ Rod Guyton similar to Pat Furey negotiated with Power Ford to give $50 for every car they sell to Torrance schools. Rod could capitalize with his strong ties to the Japaneses business community to help with other negotiations with private business to ameliorate the city fiscal status.

Traffic:
+ Tim Goodrich would work to get the city of Torrance on the L.A Country Traffic Management Center Board to see where streets need to be repaired and lights need to be synchronized. Tim would also lobby Sacramento for more funds to keep up with street repairs.

+ Pat Furey was the first to talk about acquiring PCH/Hawthorn intersection as responsibility of the city of Torrance. Pat would negotiate with the stat to ensure that Torrance tax payers would not foot the bill for acquiring the repairs of streets that the South Bay not just Torrance uses.

+ Kurt Weidman is also in favor of acquiring the PCH/Hawthorn intersection and believes we should expand Del Amo Boulevard to Crenshaw Boulevard and Praire Avenue.

+ Cliff Numark would implement the Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control Softwear in Torrance which according to a UCLA study decreased travel time 12% and intersection delay time 32% in the city of Los Angeles.

Youth:
+ Tim Goodrich's campaign has been based on diversity and getting the youth more involved in the city. He would seek to actively go out to our schools and recruit more of the youth to be involved in the city and in non-profit organizations.

+ Rod Guyton has served as a Little League Rivera Baseball coach, promotes the need for the availability of fields for youth sports and was actively involved and co-founded the Leadership Torrance Alumni Association- Youth Leadership Program currently at North Torrance High School.

+ Cliff Numark like Rod is in favor of preserving and creating new fields for youth sports programs. He would create an official Torrance Facebook page to get the youth involved and would use Torrance 2.0 to send e-mails to our youth to let them know what events they can take part in within the community.

+ Pat Furey has been a baseball little league umpire, cub scout and boy scout leader in the city of Torrance. He is also heavily involved with the Torrance Education Foundation raising money to educate children in the city of Torrance.

Dont Forget to Vote June 3rd 2008 on election day!

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

George Nakano Theater: Focus on the Arts Forum

2008-06-01T00:13:00.000-07:00

The George Nakano Theater: Focus on the Arts Forum was video taped by the South Bay Conservatory. So instead of me summarizing a forum here is a chance to see one completely for yourself or become refreshed on what happened!

To see it for yourself click here

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Think Tank 2008: Mike Mauno

2008-05-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Mike Mauno is the fifth to answer the questions posed to him by Torrance Think Tank 2008. The answers to the following questions have been posted verbatim. Analysis on Mr.Mauno's answers will be provided soon. Here now is Torrance Think Tank 2008 with Mr. Mike Mauno

1. Governments ability to respond to the wishes and desires of it citizens is always a key to making a city prosperous and its residents happy. How will you make government more accountable to it citizens and what would you propose in order to make citizens feel at ease when discussing ideas with local government officials?

Firstly, one needs to be available and responsive. Next you have to listen to what the need(s) might be. Third, you need to provide options and educate the requester. By educate I mean you have to explain why the situation might be happening and if there is a solution, it might create a more undesirable side effect.

Torrance prides it self as a great place to run a business and achieve the American dream. What would you do to strengthen existing business ties within in the city of Torrance ? Are there any businesses in particular you would encourage to come to Torrance or would you try to decrease the flow of new business coming into the city in order to strike more of a balance between the residential and commerce aspect of Torrance? If you plan to expand business within the city how will you account for the increase in traffic and congestion as a result of the new businesses?

I would continue the outreach and programs the city is already undertaking. The one business I would like to encourage to come to Torrance is the entertainment business, i.e. movie production, specifically animation. This is a clean and high paying type of jobs generator that needs to have a large labor force. If you have ever looked at the credits to any movie animation, you will see the numbers of individuals who worked on the project. We have some of the best young minds in the country who happen to be top notch computer experts. The match is perfect.

Historic Downtown Torrance is considered by many in the city to be a treasure that should be protected and preserved.. At the same time we also went to keep Torrance a fresh and exciting city allowing new people to visit and enjoy all that Torrance has to offer. How will you attract new people to visit Torrance and at the same time preserve the historic tradition of the city?

I would continue doing what the city has started. First, awareness. Have you noticed the signs when approaching Old Torrance? That was my idea and we made it happen. Next I recommended architectural guidelines for the old stately homes. Why this is important, because if someone will need to re-build a home, the architectural style will be maintained and will fit the neighborhood.

When it comes to traffic congestion many have suggested that Torrance assume from the State of California responsibility for Hawthorne Blvd. and Pacific Coast Highway . As a member of the city council do you believe this is a good idea and what else do you propose to improve traffic flow throughout the city? Also how will we as a city be able to pay for traffic fixtures that you suggest if Torrance assumes more traffic responsibilities from the state government?

I do not believe this is a good idea. I would like to take Hawthorne Blvd. as an example. The state of California did a re-surface project there approximately 10 years ago. Many sections of the roadway are all ready cracking, ahead of schedule. If Torrance would have received ownership of this roadway 10 years ago, we will be spending tens of millions in the next ten years to improve it again. The taxpayers of Torrance will pay for this repair, but the people of the region use it. This is a regional highway and the region needs to pay for its repair. It might be great initially, but in the long run it will cost the people of Torrance more that their fair share.

Complete the following statement "When I think of Torrance the first thing I think of is...." Growing up in the community as a little boy riding his bike to downtown Torrance and playing in the open fields

Torrance Tutor: Study Guide For The Election

2008-05-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

All of us have busy lives and if you just have not had the time to look at all the information I have posted on the blog, which I recommend all of you do of course, then just take a look at all the information the Daily Breeze has complied on all the candidates and the Q & A they did with me.

I picked all the candidates I believed would be a great addition to the city council.

Candidate Essay's:

Gene Barnett
Rod Guyton
Mike Mauno
Pat Furey
Tim Goodrich
Cliff Numark
Susan Rhilinger
Kurt Weideman
Gavin Wasserman

Measure T:
Yes on T
No on T

Candidates Open Mike Segment:
(These are the candidates that have put there open mike segments on You Tube, I will encourage the other candidates to do the same).

Cliff Numark
Mike Mauno

Financial postings as of May 30th:

Numark $74,054
Wasserman $64,922
Rhilinger $51,169
Barnett $49,228
Goodrich $48,975
Weideman $46,587
Furey $45,345
Guyton $45,297
Mauno $34,480

Q & A with me:
Interview

The Torrance City Council Candidates Awards are coming!

Torrance Eleciton 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Think Tank 2008 Round Two: Cliff Numark

2008-05-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

I sat down with Cliff Numark about week ago to discuss issues facing the city of Torrance. Here are the highlights and some of the ideas Cliff said he would look into and implement if on the city council.

1. California is going through massive budget cuts which affect everyday services many in the state are use to, one of them being public education. With the strain faced on our public schools what do you propose we do to make our public schools properly funded and more accountable with the money they receive? Would you consider a raise in property taxes, any other taxes or taking out bond debt to add more money to our schools? Also would you consider a voucher system in order to ease financial strains on our public schools?

+A side by side analysis of city and school functions so we can consolidate service making them more efficient.

+Supports the Torrance School Bond Measure and will ensure there is oversight and transparency so citizens see where the money is being spent and ensure that the money is spent for building, repairs and school infrastructure.

+Seek practical solutions to add revenue to school independent funding base.

+ Past accomplishment as a Parks and Recreations Commissioner ensuring schools received top priority of the use of the plunge.

2.Torrance prides it self as a great place to run a business and achieve the American dream. What would you do to strengthen existing business ties within in the city of Torrance ? Are there any businesses in particular you would encourage to come to Torrance or would you try to decrease the flow of new business coming into the city in order to strike more of a balance between the residential and commerce aspect of Torrance? If you plan to expand business within the city how will you account for the increase in traffic and congestion as a result of the new businesses?

+ Seek methods to retain and bring in more business to the city in order to increase revenue and maintain city services.

+ Advocates the city of Torrance have a customer service business center which can deal with complaints and a one-stop permit center to open a business within the city.

+ Inform businesses of local government programs that they are unaware of that can help and establish better communications for their business within the city.

+In particular look to retain, recruit and strengthen the health care industry, foreign businesses and the automotive industry which alone makes up 25% of the cities entire sales tax revenue base.

3. Historic Downtown Torrance is considered by many in the city to be a treasure that should be protected and preserved.. At the same time we also went to keep Torrance a fresh and exciting city allowing new people to visit and enjoy all that Torrance has to offer. How will you attract new people to visit Torrance and at the same time preserve the historic tradition of the city?

+ Conduct feedback surveys with businesses and residents in the area to see what would be best for them.

+Preserve historic tradition with historical preservation zones (HPZ) and ordinances.

+ Implement the Mills Act to give tax benefits to those in the HPZ.

+ Have someone trained in city staff to be knowledgeable in city preservation.

4. Many residents of Torrance suggest that the nearly decade long over development housing boom in Torrance has led to an increase in traffic congestion and a strain on municipal services throughout the city. Even currently there are still 6 large scale housing projects going on in the city that will make up for an additional 750 homes in Torrance. As a member of the city council what will you do to stop the over development of the city of Torrance , deal with the problems over development has caused and finally will Torrance ever regain that “small town feel” it once had?

+Compensate for bad over development decisions that have been made by improving current infrastructure.

+ Coordinate between north, south, east and west highways to synchronize lights. Accept responsibility for Hawthorn and PCH.

+ Implement the Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control Softwear in Torrance which according to a UCLA study decreased travel time 12% and intersection delay time 32% in the city of Los Angeles.

+Optimize bus routes to meet the desire of the citizens of Torrance and placed advertisements on Torrance transit to increase city’s revenue.

5. Many Torrance resident have suggested that the city work to strengthen youth sports programs and other recreational activities for the younger generations of Torrance residents. What ideas do you propose to allow the youth to have more opportunities to enjoy all current and future programs Torrance will have to offer?

+ Decrease strain of impacted recreation field use by allowing recreational activities to take place on Torrance school fields during off hours.

+ Possible creation of a recreational field’s czar that would be responsible for overseeing off site usage of school fields and city property/fields.

+ Use Torrance 2.0, mass e-mail marketing, to give Torrance residents and city organizations a more than two week advantage in getting priority use of Torrance parks and creations facilities.

+ Start a city of Torrance Facebook page to get the youth involved within the city of Torrance.

Torrance Election 2008

"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Election Forum Review: North High School

2008-05-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

The last forum in a series of eight forums took place Thursday May 22nd at North High School where candidates answered a verity of questions weighing on the voter’s minds. All the candidates were asked new and interesting questions while a few older questions were posed to refresh voters minds on where the candidates stood on the issues. Also the introduction of the yellow card came about where candidates could wave a yellow card one time during the forum to answer a question they had not received or use the card to add one minute to their closing statement.

The first question was a series of background questions asking how long the candidates have lived in Torrance, if they owned a home and if they were part of a Home Owners Association. To save space on the this post I also added if the candidates are oppose to selling jet fuel at Torrance Airport and if they have taken money from developers.

The rest of the questions were asked in sets of four candidates a piece with the exception of the yellow card.

Tim Goodirch had another good performance as he explained what qualifies him to be on the city council, mentioning his service in the military brining him a service of tradition, service before self, integrity and honor. Tim also mentioned his volunteer work he does as a Torrance active services volunteer. When asked how he would improve senior services in the city of Torrance, Tim discussed how we need to expand our revenue base in the city of Torrance and how that would be the best way to pay for senior services. He in particular wants more Green businesses to enter the city of Torrance. With the threat of losing 87 teaching positions with state budgets cuts Tim said he would use his past experience in lobbying for veterans to lobby Sacramento for more funds to our schools. Tim closed his last question saying that is work with L.A county traffic management center gives him insight into Torrance traffic problem and how if elected he would get Torrance on the board of L.A county traffic management center.

Cliff Numark had a great performance at forum as well. When asked what qualified him to be on the city council Cliff mentioned his executive work with the Red Cross turning a company that could not make payroll into a thriving business. He is also trained in public affairs with a degree from Princeton University. Cliff mentioned that with his Torrance 2.0, mass e-mail marketing, more Torrance residents could be informed about various Torrance issues such as Torrance Cultural Arts Events, what is on the city council's agenda and crime in their neighborhood. When it came to contributions he made to the city Cliff talked about how he instituted Open Mike Night a forum where the city council candidates could talk directly to the voters. Cliff also on the Parks and Recreations Commission got our schools top priority when it came to usage of the plunge. Finally when trying to fix the expected decline in city revenue Cliff said he would use our general anomaly fund to fix temporary budget deficits and would institute a zero based budget while brining more business into the city to fix a more structural deficit problem.

Pat Furey showed his credentials when he talked about his work with the Torrance Education Foundation and in the North Torrance Homeowners Association fighting over development. When it came to getting citizens more involved in government Pat said he would advocate the use of the city's website and would also tap into information technology such as e-mail marketing. Pat also said if elected to the city council he would champion for efforts to improve services the city provided. He committed to fixing the "dry wall and patched up roofs" that are the existing state of the senior center and said he would raise money for our schools like he did in the past. His most recent accomplishment being to get Scott Robinson Honda dealership to give $100 to Torrance schools for every car they sell.

By the time the 3rd question rolled around it was Gene Barnett's term to make an impact. When asked what he would change in the city of Torrance Gene mentioned the need to improve traffic and limit congestion in the city by taking responsibility for PCH and Hawthorn. Gene also advocated as a Parks and Recreations Commissioner open space preservations adding to our local parks and the Madrona Marsh in an attempt to Green the city. Gene is opposed to converting industrial to residential zoning and believes the condominiums at Wilson Park are a bad example of doing so. Gene believes more business is need in the city of Torrance and in particular expanding Del Amo mall with an anchor store and a convention center where Montgomery Ward use to be.

Susan also began on the 3^rd question as she discussed changing our budget to reflect fiscally sound principles, stability and a revision of the strategic plan. Her experience with the Torrance Police Department as a captain for 32 years brings her a reputable resume of community service along with the her time as a member of the Exxon Mobile Citizens Advisory Board and the Torrance Airport Commission among other things. Susan also advocated having a strong relationship with out schools and the Torrance Chamber of Commerce to discuss issues in the city, listen to different perspectives and achieve the same goal.

When Rod Guyton took to the podium he discussed how people must have a desire to get involved in the civics process and it is the city council’s job to provide an enthusiastic atmosphere for them. He mentioned how his involvement in the Torrance Youth council got younger generations of Torrance involved and they told their parents so they got involved and so forth. Rod is against over-development in the city of Torrance and would seek to re-zone the north east side of the mall in order to prevent developers from building high-density housing. Guyton said he would try to make up for the expected loss revenue of the school district to the tune of $9 million because of state budget cuts and talked about how he has set up an agreement for Power Ford to give $50 for every car they sell to Torrance schools. Rod is also in favor of setting up a Torrance chamber program that would allow local business to give a certain percentage of their revenue to our schools. Finally on traffic Rod believes it is a South Bay problem not a just a Torrance problem and would seek a joint effort to reduce congestion within the South Bay. Rod is also considering promoting more schools buses to take children to school instead of congesting our streets in the morning with parents taking their kids to school.

Kurt Weideman was more than ready to answer about the contributions he has made to the city of Torrance which include him being a Torrance Planning Commissioner, Northwest Torrance Homeowner’s Board Member, Torrance Cultural Arts Center Foundation Vice President, Torrance Education Foundation Member, Torrance Historical Society Vice President, Torrance Public Library Foundation Board Member and a member of the Torrance Sister City Association. When it came to discussing over-development in Torrance Kurt remembers strawberry fields before there was a Del Amo mall and said over development was a threat to our quality of life, parking, infrastructure, traffic and Torrance’s small town feel. Kurt ended by saying Torrance needs to always bee in touch with its historic roots.

Mike Mauno who did not get involved into the question part of the forum until the 7^th question began by saying his creativity and outside of the box thinking was what led him to create a $10 million windfall for the city of Torrance while on the Re-Use Committee of the Chandler Rock Quarry and Ready-Mix Concrete Plant discussing the re-use of industrial property into open space, recreational and single family homes. Mike also believes that Torrance must remain a balanced city but also change with the global economy and stay modern to adapt to an ever changing world. Mike also discussed his support for the school bond measure as he feels our schools reflect the state of our city with our kids representing Torrance’s future.

Also mentioned in the forum were talks about the state of California forcing Torrance to add 2,000 more homes to the city through the Regional Housing Needs Assessment Act in order to meet population concerns. If you ask me Torrance has done it’s fair share when it comes to housing. Looking into the matter it seems as if this is an empty mandate for I see no punishment of any kind outlined by the state if a city does not comply with that states request/demand to build more housing. To put in the simplest terms it seems California’s housing threat to Torrance “has no teeth”, but I will keep my eye on this issue.

Overall the last Torrance Forum of the election season was a great success and I can honestly say that all the candidates mentioned above would be a great addition to our city council. Too bad we can only pick four.

Also stay tuned for my Torrance City Council Candidate awards that will be coming soon!

Torrance Election 2008

“Because We Want More Than Sound Bites”

Torrance Think Tank 2008: Pat Furey

2008-05-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

Pat Furey is the forth to answer the questions posed to him by Torrance Think Tank 2008. The answers to the following questions have been posted verbatim. Analysis on Mr.Furey's answers is provided below. Here now is Torrance Think Tank 2008 with Mr.Pat Furey.

1. A recent issue worrying many Torrance residents is the threat of the long-standing ban on jet fuel being sold at the Torrance airport being lifted. Lifting the ban is practically universal condemned by those who live near the airport as they suspect that if Torrance sells jet fuel they would only battle more loud jet noises flying over their houses disturbing their peace and disrupting their way of life. Mayor Scotto has already said he does not support lifting the ban on selling jet fuel. What is your position on this issue and if you support lifting the ban what do you say to those residents it would directly effect?

The issue of jet fuel sales at the airport bothers me for many reasons. The obvious reasons are safety, increased noise and environmental impact. The subtle problem is how and why this issue came about – basically – what is the agenda of those that are making this an issue?

Apparently a sub-committee was formed by the Airport Commission to study jet fuel – without direction from the City Council. Then, informational letters and questionnaires were sent to Homeowner Association presidents. I received one of the questionnaires, which was not created on city letterhead and/or mailed at city expense. And, even though it did not appear t be an “official” request for information, I provided it to the board of the NTHOA for action.

The action from the board was a unanimous objection to jet fuel sales at the Torrance Airport and full support for the Southwood-Riviera HOA in its opposition.

In the future things may change. However, information must be provided as to the need for jet fuel sales, as well as its impact on those most directly affected. At the present time there just has not been appropriate and/or compelling data that would support a change in current city “ban” of jet fuel at the airport.

2. California is going through massive budget cuts which affect everyday services many in the state are use to, one of them being public education. With the strain faced on our public schools what do you propose we do to make our public schools properly funded and more accountable with the money they receive? Would you consider a raise in property taxes, any other taxes or taking out bond debt to add more money to our schools? Also would you consider a voucher system in order to ease financial strains on our public schools?

I have publicly stated my support for an appropriate bond measure to bring our schools up to the standards our community deserves. Such a bond measure necessarily includes an increase in property taxes. However, what the public must know is that any increase in property taxes will be at the assessed value – not the market value of the property. So, a long-time homeowner will be paying substantially less tax than someone who recently purchased a home in Torrance.

My support for a bond measure is conditioned on proper oversight, which I will insist is provided.

The bond issue is separate and distinct from the present day budget cuts. The cuts to the 2008-09 school district budget are massive and will cause an immediate detrimental impact on the quality of our children’s education – larger class sizes, loss of programs, etc.

I have recently brought together the district, the school board, the Torrance Council of PTAs, and other concerned citizens to partner with the Torrance Education Foundation in a massive outreach to the community to help fund the current budget shortfall. Letters have already been sent to parents of students and to the business community seeking support. In the near future letters will be sent to every household in Torrance asking for financial help.

This out-reach is not the end of the financial crisis of our schools. However, it is a start.

In the future the city and the school district leaders must work together to resolve budgetary issues. Our schools have long been a source of pride in our community. It is horrible that the physical conditions of the school properties have been allowed to deteriorate. It is even worse that our state government has proposed balancing its budget shortfall on the backs of our children.

I will provide leadership to bridge the relationship between the two entities and continue to lobby our state leaders for more realistic funding for our schools.

3. Measure T, the telephone utility users’ tax will be placed on the ballot this coming June, many Torrance residents are tired of paying taxes knowing that government in general seems to take in money and than waste it only to ask for more money later on. Do you support measure T and if so how will you ensure that the additional tax dollars Torrance receives from this measure is used appropriately and that city of Torrance will not come begging back in 2010 for more money through higher taxes?

Actually, Measure T does not seek a tax increase of any kind. It merely is asking the voters to ratify a change in the wording of the present tax scheme to comport with a change in IRS language.

When the Utility Users Tax was created in the mid 70s, it was tied to specific IRS language, which was recently changed to include newer technology such as cell phones and voice over internet. The city must update the language or suffer the possibility of a loss of a very important revenue stream that may reach up to $8 million.

The money generated by the Utility Users Tax helps the city provide the important police, fire, recreation and other services our community demands. These are very important services that the city provides.

Finding another funding stream or cutting city services to make up for the utility users tax income would be most difficult. Therefore, I support Measure T and encourage all citizens to vote YES on this very important measure.

4. When it comes to traffic congestion you discussed that Torrance assume from the State of California responsibility for Hawthorne Blvd. and Pacific Coast Highway. As a member of the city council how will you be able to convince the State of California to hand over the responsibility of Hawthorn Blvd and PCH to the city of Torrance and how will we as a city be able to pay for traffic fixtures that you suggest if Torrance assumes more traffic responsibilities?

Assuming control of Hawthorne Boulevard and PCH is just one important aspect of traffic control in our city. As I pointed out at the Chamber Forum, there is already movement from the state by way of an Assembly Bill that would actually streamline the process. This is not an unprecedented procedure. And, taking control of these two highways will not cost the city. Rather, the state will pay the city to take over control and responsibility.

Just a few years ago the city successfully negotiated Artesia Boulevard. Clearly, the city had the wherewithal to make the appropriate repairs to the infrastructure and regulate traffic flow on that busy street. And, Artesia Boulevard will be viable for the next 20 years. And, all of the Artesia repairs/improvements were completed with state funds and funds from other sources – not the city tax payers. The same can be achieved with the appropriate acquisition of Hawthorne Blvd. and PCH.

5. Complete the following statement “When I think of Torrance the first thing I think of is….”

This is a full-service community where quality of life is most essential. The residents and businesses in our city enjoy safe streets, great schools, and all of the other wonderful city services. Torrance is a great city. And, the present mayor and council have made many strides to improve every aspect of our government from responsibility to visibility.

For example, one of the first acts the mayor performed after his election was to create an Ethics and Integrity Committee to address city-wide concerns raised in the last few years. I am honored to have served on that committee and to have helped draft an ethics code for all elected and appointed officials in Torrance.

In addition, the city recently recognized businesses and volunteers in our city that help to make Torrance a better place to live, work and play. Providing recognition to these important elements of our community will help to ensure that Torrance remains the vibrant city it is.

Celebrating “Students in Government Day” is a wonderful way to involve our school children into the governmental process and at the same time forge a meaningful relationship with the school district.

We have come along way in the last two years. But, more needs to be done. And, I have the personal knowledge, skills and ability to get the job done.

6. Is there anything not addressed in the above questions that you would like Torrance residents to know about you personally or why you should receive one of the four votes we will cast on June 3rd 2008?

The issues that face us in Torrance are very apparent. In fact one would have to have been stranded on a desert island for the last few years to not recognize that public safety; traffic; overdevelopment; education; the environment; and public ethics are major issues in this city.

What sets me apart from the other candidates is that I have been advocating and fighting for resolution of the identified issues for many years.

As a homeowner association president for eight years, I have consistently advocated for quality of life issues in North Torrance. As a civil service and personnel commissioner, I have worked to ensure that our city and our school district have the best employees possible and that those employees are treated and compensated fairly. As a sometimes spokesperson for the coalition of homeowners associations I fought against the rampant overdevelopment – when it was occurring. And, as president or vice president of the Torrance Education Foundation for the last five years, I have raised well more than $1 million to benefit the children of the Torrance schools.

Analysis of Pat Furey's Answers:

Pat Furey’s detailed and elaborate answers were just what many Torrance residents were looking for when deciding who they should elect to the city council. It is comforting to know that Pat Furey is adamantly opposed to selling jet fuel at Torrance airport and how he took action with the North Torrance Homeowners association to fight there attempts to lift the ban. Pat’s work on the Torrance Education Foundation emphasizes his commitment to keeping our schools well-funded and a priority for the city as he supports the school bond measure. His explanation on measure T was precise and reasoned and I support his desire for all Torrance residents to vote Yes on T. Pat points out the success we had when acquiring Artesia Boulevard under the cities control and how traffic flow has greatly improved on that street. It is clear the same can be done with the intersection Hawthorn and PCH using only state and other funds, not tax payer money. Furey’s service on the Torrance Education Foundation, The Blue Ribbon Ethics and Integrity Committee and his work with North Torrance Home Owners Association to stop over-development in Torrance makes him a well rounded and experienced candidate for the Torrance City Council.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Election Forum Review: Bert Lynn Middle School

2008-05-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

* The 6th forum took place at the George Nakano Theater and focused solely on Torrance Arts. Since the other forums focus on a verity of issues I personally believe they are more deserving of intimidate coverage. Therefore the Geoerge Nakano Theater will be given a review at a later date.

The 7^th forum in a series of eight forums took place Monday May 19^th at Bert Lynn Middle School where candidates answered a verity of questions weighing on the voter’s minds. All the candidates were asked new and interesting questions while a couple older questions were posed to refresh voters minds on where the candidates stood on the issues. Also a few humors questions and responses were given out as well.

Cliff Numark had an excellent showing at the forum. When asked what was the first thing he thought of when Torrance came to mind, Cliff spoke of a great community, which held many local events and had incredible city services. If they city were to ever take in less then it spent Cliff would find the source of the deficit. If it was short term he would use the economic anomaly fund to get through the minor economic decline. If it was more long term he would institute a zero-based budget starting a budget from scratch where every thing is on the table to be cut in order to create a new, stable and balanced budget. Finally Cliff addressed being a good listener is the key to being a team player and how he uses team work to achieve results at his job at the American Red Cross.

Kurt Weideman also came out strong and energetic and had a phenomenal performance. Kurt brought up in his opening statement that he was not a politician but rather a neighborer and a citizen that would offer on the council a spirit of honor and integrity. Kurt showed his expertise in traffic stating that extending Del Amo Boulevard to Artisia would decrease traffic on 190th and Torrance Boulevard. If Kurt were able to tell the people in Sacramento something about the budget problems in California he would tell them to quit ignoring the budget problem and putting their heads in the sand. Kurt said balancing the budget is a non-partisan issue and he would bring fiscal-expertise to the council. Kurt opposes any attempt to allow the sale of jet fuel at Torrance airport because he has seen no objective study on the significant benefits it would bring to Torrance. Kurt also said he would fix the noise abatement system that measures the loudness of planes flying over the city. Kurt also said he would step down from various commissions and boards if he were elected to the city council but would keep his position on the Torrance historical society and Torrance Library Foundation.

Rod Guyton came out strong in the forum by saying he supports the extension of Del Amo Boulevard to Artisia for it would quickly get commuter traffic onto the freeway and lessen congestion on city streets. Rod also brought a humorous point when he said he wrote a letter to the Daily Breeze telling Fabien Nunez that in the private sector a pay raise from the legislature during times of debt would get him fired. Rod said his expertise on how to deal with a budget as a small business owner would help him deal with large scale city finances. When it came to Torrance Historical Preservation Zones he would give tax incentives to those who lived in those areas in Torrance as a financial incentive to keep and preserve their old town Torrance home. Rod has no boards or commission to step down from if he were to be elected to the city council but Rod says he would continue is commitment as a coach to Rivera Little League Sports.

Pat Furey came with his usual passion when talking about how the extension of Del Amo Boulevard to Artisia would open up a freer flow of traffic on the most congested hours and allow for more tolerable traffic during other hours of the day. Pat also came out roaring when talking about how the word "smart development" was a buzz word for nobody would ever oppose "smart" development just as somebody would never be in favor of dumb development. Pat said he fought the 917 condominium units places surrounding the Del Amo mall area and the 270 near it's financial center. Pat has worked with 11 homeowners associations to stop over development. Pat would gradually implement more Torrance Historical Preservation Zone (HPZ) for two, three or four houses at a time and would also enforce the Mills act giving tax breaks to those in the HPZ's. When asked what Pat would say to leaders in Sacramento about the states budget problem he said he would tell them to get their heads out of their... Ultimately he said the people will tell the legislators what they need to do at the ballot box.

Mike Mauno was enthusiastic about actively campaigning for the school bond and also pointed out that he would force Exxon Mobile to pay it's fair share in property taxes which would result in a little less than 1/2 of all Torrance property taxes going to the schools. Mike would tell the leaders in Sacramento who have created a budget mess to live within your means and plan for something. Mike said they were more irresponsible than your average teenager and was disappointed for their lack of leadership in balancing the budget. Mike would enforce the Mills Act giving tax breaks to those in HPZ's. Mike also said he would place more sign age around Old Town Torrance to promote it. Mauno said he had concerns about government telling people what it can and cannot do with their homes. Mike said smart development requires a look at each project on a case by case basis and said that while he was on the council he voted for only 50% of the projects that came to him, the lowest of anyone on the council at the time.

Susan Rhilinger came with a steady performance saying better communications is the key to more accountability when it came to school funding being used properly. She brought up how when it came to solving the city's possible budget crisis she would look what is "bread and butter, cake and frosting" and would cut the frosting, would cut the cake if necessary and would not touch the bread and butter. Before going forwards with a HPZ's Susan would ask what areas would be in the zone first and make sure it was in the best interest of Down Town Torrance. To Susan smart development is when you ask the question what impact will this development has on our schools, traffic, aesthetics and utilities.

Gene Barnett was brave to address the amount of cynicism that would come about if a school bond measure is passed but said that he would ensure that the public could have a say and be aware of where the money was being spent if the schools received the bond money. When deciding what would need to be cut when it came to making a more fiscally sound budget Gene said he would reach out to the community and ask them what city services would we do without. Instead or smart development Gene proclaimed we needed right development and said development should be guided by the general plan. Gene pointed to the houses near Wilson Park as an example of wrong development.

Finally the person at the end of the table but certainly not least was Tim Goodrich. Tim says that the schools receiving more money from a bond measure would be an investment in Torrance for if the schools are not up to par people will not move to Torrance and businesses will refuse to locate in a city where people would not want to move. Tim also when asked how he would work as a team player on the city council said that is service to the military taught him duty before self, honor, integrity, respect and the need to work as a team to complete a mission. He would bring that same quality and team work if he were in on the city council.

Those are my reviews of the candidates that made the most significant impact at the forum; there is only one more forum left so I encourage everyone to attend on the North High School Forum this Thursday!

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Think Tank 2008 Round Two: Rod Guyton

2008-05-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

I sent the remainder of the Torrance Think Tank 2008 questions to the rest of the viable Torrance City Council Candidates and the first to respond was Rod Guyton.

This will be Rod's second time answering a round of questions from Torrance Think Tank 2008, if you wish to see the first Q & A I had with him just go here and please notice the new detail he has recently added to his questions.

Rod Guyton's First Round of Questions

Here now is the second round of questions we posed to Mr. Rod Guyton. Analysis to Rod's answers are posted below.

1. A recent issue worrying many Torrance residents is the threat of the long standing ban on jet fuel being sold at the Torrance airport being lifted. Lifting the ban is practically universal condemned by those who live near the airport as they suspect that if Torrance sells jet fuel they would only battle more loud jet noises flying over their houses disturbing their peace and disrupting their way of life. Mayor Scotto has already said he does not support lifting the ban on selling jet fuel. What is your position on this issue and if you support lifting the ban what do you say to those residents it would directly effect?

I am a Southwood Riviera HOA Board Member. Our HOA has been fighting the selling of Jet Fuel for several months. I am adamantly opposed to selling jet fuel at the Torrance Airport . Jet Fuel is already at the airport for testing purposes at Robinson Helicopter. Selling Jet Fuel would increase air traffic and reduce property values in the Riviera , Southwood Riviera , Walteria, West Torrance , and many other neighborhoods.

2. Governments ability to respond to the wishes and desires of it citizens is always a key to making a city prosperous and its residents happy. How will you make government more accountable to it citizens and what would you propose in order to make citizens feel at ease when discussing ideas with local government officials?

I think the current Mayor has done a good job of reaching out to Torrance residents and inviting them to be more involved. I would, however, like to emphasize that while the Mayor has opened the door and made the invitation, residents need to respond themselves by their participation. Lastly, we might want to consider attending soccer games in the fall, baseball games in the spring, etc to meet people and allow them to talk with us. Parents especially are very busy with their children’s sports, school and activities. Anything we can do to allow them to continue with their schedule and still have access to their city leaders would be helpful.

3. Many residents of Torrance suggest that the nearly decade long over development housing boom in Torrance has led to an increase in traffic congestion and a strain on municipal services throughout the city. Even currently there are still 6 large scale housing projects going on in the city that will make up for an additional 750 homes in Torrance. As a member of the city council what will you do to stop the over development of the city of Torrance, deal with the problems over development has caused and finally will Torrance ever regain that “small town feel” it once had?

I will not vote to see more industrial property converted into residential property. Not only does this increase traffic, but it reduces our city’s ability to bring in more businesses and raise additional funds for our city. We also need to find a way to work with our surrounding cities to deal with traffic. This is a South Bay problem and not just Torrance . We need to work together to fix this problem.

4. Effective and well-funded public safety and other vital services are a concern for all Torrance residents across the city but as of late the state of California is facing massive budgets cuts across the board. These massive budget cuts make many Torrance residents wonder if such budgets cuts from the state will allow fewer funds from the state of vital services such as police, fire, paramedic and educational services. How will you on the city council ensure that Torrance residents do not go without such vital services in the face of budget cuts? Also, how will you ensure that the money that goes into police, fire and paramedic services is used efficiently?

The City of Torrance has always been fiscally responsible with budget and I do not see this changing. Police and Fire have always been our priority since our budget does not include the TUSD and they have their own budget. People need to feel safe in their community first. Our quality of life begins with feeling safe. This has always been our city’s strength and I do not see this changing.

5. Measure T, the telephone utility users’ tax will be placed on the ballot this coming June, many Torrance residents are tired of paying taxes knowing that government in general seems to take in money and than waste it only to ask for more money later on. Do you support measure T and if so how will you ensure that the additional tax dollars Torrance receives from this measure is used appropriately and that city of Torrance will not come begging back in 2010 for more money through higher taxes?

Measure T is not a new tax. It is protecting the cell phone utility tax that has been implemented for some time now. Not passing Measure T would result in an estimated $8 million dollars less in our next budget. This is money that goes to the City of Torrance and, as I stated above, is spent wisely by our city. I do support Measure T.

6. Historic Downtown Torrance is considered by many in the city to be a treasure that should be protected and preserved. At the same time we also went to keep Torrance a fresh and exciting city allowing new people to visit and enjoy all that Torrance has to offer. How will you attract new people to visit Torrance and at the same time preserve the historic tradition of the city?

I have already begun talking with some of the store owners and managers in the Old Torrance area and discussed some ways we can help them attract more people to patronize their businesses. Many of these people have some great ideas that I think are worth looking into. Again, I would like to wait until later to publicly discuss their ideas since I have not heard anyone bringing these ideas up yet.

7. Many residents have stressed the need for Torrance to be a “green” city and environmentally friendly so that it improves the quality of life for all people residing in the city of Torrance . What would you do to make Torrance a “green” city and environmentally friendly. Also would you consider bringing in new “green” business into the city and if so how will you propose it be done?

Torrance has already begun its “green waste” program and will eventually be in all neighborhoods in Torrance . I think this is a good idea and would continue to support it.

8. How will you get the younger generations of Torrance to be involved within the community and bring a sense of togetherness and unity throughout the city. What programs or what ideas do you propose to complete such a task and specifically what will you do as a city councilmen to make the youth more active in community involvement? I have been working with our youth since 1982 when I started coaching youth sports. I continue to coach baseball at the Riviera Little League. I am also the Co-Founder of the Leadership Torrance Alumni Association- Youth Leadership Program currently at North Torrance High School . One of the monthly events we featured in our Youth Leadership Program was City Day. We took 24 NHS Juniors to visit City Hall and to meet with the Mayor, City Clerk, City Manager, City Treasurer, etc to talk about how the city works and is run. These kids really enjoyed this and became much more excited about being involved in our city. This tells me that having more interaction with our city leaders would encourage our young people to be more involved. I would like to see our next council members and Mayor to visit our local schools periodically to meet our young people who will soon be adults and voting. Our young people are our future and we need to expose them to the importance of their being involved.

Analysis to Mr. Guyton's answers:

Since I already did an analysis of Rod Guyton’s answers in the first Q & A, I will make this one brief. I am glad Mr. Guyton has always been against selling yet fuel at Torrance airport; lifting the current ban on selling jet fuel would severely disrupt the quality of live of Torrance residents. The city council meeting with residents at Torrance youth sports events sounds like an interesting idea and certainly ties strongly into Rod’s committed involvement with youth sports. I am glad Rod recognizes that turning industrial to residential property would be detrimental to the city's tax base especially in times of possible upcoming economic woes. Finally it is pleasant to know that Rod confounded the Leadership Torrance Alumni Association- Youth Leadership Program. Rod’s commitment to helping the younger generation Torrance is certainly stronger than most of the other city council candidates running for office. Rod would be an excellent choice for the city council.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Election Forum Review: South High School

2008-05-16T12:56:00.001-07:00

The 5^th forum in a series of eight forums took place Monday May 12^th at South High School where candidates answered a verity of questions weighing on the voter’s minds. All the candidates were asked new and interesting questions while a couple older questions were posed to refresh voters minds on where the candidates stood on the issues.

From the beginning it seems like certain candidates already knew the issues that were of most concern to South Torrance residents. Kurt Weideman brought up that he would preserve the character of neighborhoods within in the city, a common sentiment he has had throughout his entire campaign. Also Tim Goodrich and Rod Guyton both addressed how they would never approve the selling of jet fuel at Torrance airport and will be committed to keeping the hillside overlay (making sure someone can not build so much they tamper with another neighbors view).

The first question posed to all the candidates was how they would draw more ethnic members of the community to get involved in the city of Torrance. Cliff Numark and Kurt Weideman said they would use the Torrance Cultural Arts Center to put on more ethically diverse shows with Cliff adding that it would increase international trade to Torrance. Susan Rhilinger proposed giving more 1-1 attention though Torrance city cable and possibly making the programs in different languages. Rod Guyton boasted his credentials on how he has visited the continent of Asia 24 times and speaks Japaneses fluently which would help him establish better communications with that community. Finally Tim Goodrich says he is running because of diversity and would be willing to hire an assistant out of his own pocket to go out within the community to engage the youth and ethic cultures of Torrance.

The next question to come up was about the Hillside Overlay and would the candidate protect a home owners right to preserve the view they bought when they purchased a home. Susan R said it was the worst part of the job trying to decide what could or could not be done when it came to the development of a person's home. Mike Mauno disagreed and said every case is different, it was not the worst part of a council members job and he has seen more of these case than anyone else in the city of Torrance. Kurt Weideman and Rod Guyton said they were in complete agreement with the Hillside Ordinace. Kurt said he would make sure no development would adversely impact a homeowners right to air, privacy, light or view and Rod said he would propose having new homeowners who move in the area sign a one page document explaining the Hillside Overlay. Cliff Numark and Tim Goodrich want to seek balance with the ordinance and wants neighbors to discuss issues not be divided by them. Pat Furey is committed to fixing the floor area ratio in the Hillside Overlay to protect the view of homeowners in the area.

Leading off a question about a homeowners right to develop their property was question about a possible moratorium on current and future over development projects such as the one on Hawthorn and Newton in the city of Torrance. Susan Rhilinger wanted an exact definition for over-building and believes undoing a current decision would only invite lawsuits. Kurt Weideman and Gene Barnett wanted a commitment instead of moratorium on stopping over-development. Pat Furey sought a moratorium on high density housing in 2004 but it was rejected. Pat now however is content with the current direction of the city council and their views on over-development. Tim Goodrich wants a balance and intelligent approach when it comes to over-building and would want new developers to pay for some infrastructure cost in the city of Torrance. Rod Guyton wants a ban on high density housing. Mike Mauno only wants a moratorium based only on an emergency. Cliff Numark believes vacant property does nobody any good and believes a moratorium on current projects could cause lawsuits. Cliff would use Torrance 2.0 or e-mail marketing to inform residents of Torrance about development within the city of Torrance.

Towards the latter half of the forum a disgruntled questioner asked why we spend $142,000 on the Rose Float parade when we could be facing a possible deficit. Susan Rhilinger, Gene Barnett and Tim Goodrich says that due to their fiscal conservancy the Rose Float is something that could be cut. Kurt Weideman brought up that since 55-60% of our current budget is spent on public safety that may have to be cut. Pat Furey would leave it up to voters on what to cut including the Rose Float. Rod Guyton says his experience running a business would help him keep our budget sustainable and said he would try not to cut the Rose Float unless something such as city layoffs were to occur because of keeping the Rose Float. Mike Mauno brought up that an individual study reported the Rose Float brings in $480,000 in media coverage and thus he would not cut the Rose Float for it is a right of passage in Torrance. Cliff Numark would start with a clean slate when redoing the budget, looking at everything as possibly being cut in order to maintain order and stability for Torrance's fiscal health.

The last question to be asked was the familiar "What will you do about traffic ?" question which provided everyone at the forum with a refresher course on where the candidates stand. Kurt Weideman and Susan Rhilinger said they wanted Torrance to take ownership for Hawthorn and PCH and synchronize traffics lights all over the city of Torrance. Pat Furey added to Kurt and Susan's idea by saying those who owned corner properties pay for new right turn lanes to make traffic flow better. Rod Guyton had reservations for taking over Hawthorn and PCH because he feared that after the state gave the city a one lump some of money for taking over the streets the city of Torrance would be unable to find revenue to keep up with repairs. Tim Goodrich wants Torrance to be part of the L.A. County Traffic Management Center so the city can know what streets and traffic lights are in need of repair first. Mike Mauno want to use wireless technology to make traffic flow more smoothly. Cliff Numark would seek federal and state grants and make bus routes more desirable for residents of Torrance.

Questions were also asked about the candidates stances on Measure T and the Torrance Arts. The candidates stances on measure T can be seen in the Anza Elementary School Post and the candidates stances on Torrance Arts will be been in a future post.

Overall the South High School Forum had a mixture of new and old questions and was an overall success.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Coming Soon: Q & A's, Forum Reviews, Looking at Measure T

2008-05-15T16:57:00.001-07:00

With the election just a few weeks a way it is time to place brand new material on the blog!

For one, I would like to note that I have updated the table in the Anza Elementary School Forum which states which candidate voted for Scotto and Walker in the last election and which candidates are in favor or against Proposition 98, 99 and Measure T

Also as the title suggests the following will be coming soon:

South High School Forum Review
Rod Guyton Q & A #2
George Nakano Forum Review
Measure T: The Facts you need to know

and possibly...
Q & A's from other candidates.

Enjoy the blog and keep coming back for more updates and posts!

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Election Forum Review: Anza Elementary School

2008-05-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

The 4^th forum in a series of eight forums took place Monday May 5^th at Anza Elementary School where candidates answered a verity of questions weighing on the voter’s minds. New and interesting questions were asked, more information was give to us about where the candidates stand on the issues and unfortunately the integrity of the forum was compromised at one point.

One of the first new aspects of this forum was the series of one word answer questions given to the candidates. All candidates were asked whether they voted for Dan Walker or Frank Scotto in the last election. A little awkward if you ask me having to answer whether you voted for Walker when current mayor Scotto is sitting in the front row. Also some of the candidates were asked about whether they supported propositions 98 and 99; I will try to get all the candidates to respond to that question later. Here were the responses of the candidates.

The first question was how the candidates would make up for the expected $8 million dollar shortfall in the city budget if Measure T does not pass. Cliff Numark throughout the entire forum had the worst seating out of all the candidates. The candidates were not allowed to step in front of the table there were sitting at and because Cliff was in front of table, behind a stage and adjacent to a podium and David Ouwerkerk he was forced to stand still almost the entire forum. Nevertheless Cliff explained to the audience that because phone companies charge customers based on time not distance and time any more the revenues for phone taxes have severely dropped and thus Measure T is vital to keep those funds in the city of Torrance. If measure T did not pass Cliff would look at the budget like he would a business, cut what needed to be cut and would consult the Torrance residents with Torrance 2.0 his e-mail marketing measure to see what the people of Torrance could live without.

Mike Mauno proposed that we take a look at Exxon Mobile and target them for not paying property taxes on $200 million of improvements they have made to their facilities. Mauno said doing this would honor the standing of proposition 13 and would force the oil companies to give the city of Torrance a check for $20.4 million which Mauno says would be a great benefit to our schools and the city budget.

A question weighing on all the voters minds at the forum was how Torrance would aid it schools with a $10 billion deficit facing the state of California. Tim Goodrich said he would use his lobbying power for more funding for educational funds on the state and federal level and ask the city of Torrance to chip in if it has enough money in its budget. Tim also reported that a cut in education from the state level this time around could lay off as many as 87 teaching positions. Kurt Weideman pointed out that the city of Torrance already spends about $3 million annually in the form of police protection, school crossing guards etc. Kurt also echoed sentiments that one of the main reasons people come to Torrance is because of the great schools.

All the Torrance candidates pledged that they take no money from developers or unions.

Rod Guyton and Pat Furey were strongly in favor of making swamp lands near Bishop Montgomery into playing fields for our youth. Dave Ouwerkerk said he would look for compatibility before going forward and Cliff Numark would deliberate with neighbors to consider problems such as lighting.

In the event that Del Amo mall were to declare bankruptcy, something highly unlikely if you ask me, Tim Goodrich would seek diversification of businesses in Torrance so if one industry fails the others will be able to support the cities tax revenue base. Kurt Weideman would immediately fix the zoning code for the Del Amo mall in order to prevent developers from buying the land and arguing they have the right to build high density housing on the property.

When discussing what should be built at the Sun Cal property, formerly known as Montgomery Ward, Gene Barnett was in favor of a hotel, anchor store or a convention center which was later echoed by Pat Furey, Rod Guyton and Susan Rhilinger. Tim Goodrich was in favor of a dog park and Cliff Numark wanted to do a market analysis to see what the voters would want in the area.

Transportation was discussed as well. Susan Rhilinger, Kurt Weideman and Pat Furey where in favor of a shuttle service with a more frequent schedule to reduce wait times for those who wish to ride the bus. Tim Goodrich said that Torrance should be part of the L.A Traffic Management Center in order to see what parts of Torrance traffic need improvement first and what lights need to be synchronized. Gavin Wassermann wants safer streets for those who bike. Rod Guyton suggested that parents who take their kids to school should use Torrance school buses and would reduce traffic during incoming school hours by an expected 70-80%. Cliff Numark would like bus routes to be more convenient for residents.

The most disappointing aspect of the forum was when the moderator asked Tim Goodrich why he was part of an organization that was against the Iraq war. Tim bravely stood up and defended his position on why he is against the war and said he didn’t know ahead of time that candidates would be asked individual questions and that he is running for city council not congress. When Tim was done responding to the unfair attack the audience erupted with spontaneous applause. In my opinion whether you are for or against the Iraq war it has absolutely nothing to do with what he would do as a city councilmen. What does matter though is scrutinizing somebody to see if their character and values mean something to them and if they stand up for what they believe in. In Tim’s case he strongly opposes the Iraq war and it is something he feels passionate about and instead of just talking about it he did something and that says quite a bit about his drive and determination he would bring to the city. It was obviously an attempt by the moderator who sold out the integrity and the honor of a fair and balanced political forum to push an agenda down the audience’s throat which fortunately backfired on him. Let’s hope these kinds of attacks don’t happen again throughout the campaign.

Despite that unfortunate incident the answers the candidates gave at the forum were insightful and voters learned just a little bit more about whom they might be voting for on June 3^rd 2008.

Torrance Election 2008
“Because We Want More Than Sound Bites”

Guyton Explination and Mauno Audio on Why They Approved Housing Near Wilson Park

2008-05-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, under the comment section of the Bartlett Senior Center forum there is an explanation as to why Rod Guyton voted for 87 unit condominiums on 2349 Jefferson Street accompanied by the planning commission minutes provided by Mr. Guyton himself.

Also in this post's comment section there is audio of Mike Mauno explaining why he approved 217 town homes units out of 300 total to be built on Oak Street, near Wilson Park. The City Council Minutes are also provided with his explanation.

Please note that the vote Mike Mauno cast was the second half of an initial project that was already approved by the city council on October 28^th 2003.

The agenda for that meeting can be found under the comment section of this post.

That is all. Hope to see you all at tonight forum at Anza Elementary School!

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Election Forum Review: Bartlett Senior Center

2008-05-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

The 3rd in series of eight forums covering the city council election took place Wednesday April 23rd at the Bartlett Senior Center.

The format was quite unusual as almost every question was asked to only two candidates and a couple questions, which most of this review will cover, were asked to all the candidates. One of those questions changed mid way down the candidates oddly enough. Despite the format of the forum it was still a success and almost all the candidates did an excellent job.

The first question posed to all the candidates was how they would be able to pay for all city services and fixtures they promised and what would be top priority if there is a limited amount of funds. Tim Goodrich said he would seek federal and state grants and would use his former lobbying power in order to secure those funds. Dave Ouwerkerk challenged Tim's idea by saying he would beware of strings attached to federal and state grants. Rod Guyton and Gene Barnett showed conflicting ideologies as Guyton proclaimed not securing full responsibility on a city level for our street until we have the money to do so and in the mean time priority number one is our schools. Barnett on the opposite end said that it is crucial to secure full ownership of our streets before the problem gets worse. Other notable answers included shifting funds around to what is most important and using creativity and ingenuity to build a stronger revenue base.

The second questions posed to all the candidates was what besides your experience on boards and commissions qualifies you to be on the city council. The first questions was posed ironically to Gene Barnett who is on the city council. Most of the candidates did not get the full aspect of the questions as almost all of them touted their experience on various commissions and boards. Susan Rhilinger said her job was her life and her 32 years on the Torrance Police Department gave her the supervision and managements skills to lead. This experience would help her provide a financially stable city budget. Tim Goodrich at a disadvantage not being born in the city and told the audience his service in the military would instill in him a sense of duty, honor and respect for serving the country and the city. Gavin Wasserman asked to repeat the question and the question when repeated was changed to "What besides your job qualifies you to be on the city council?". Gavin went on to talk about various boards and commissions he served on as well.

Other Notable details:

+ Rod Guyton and Pat Furey mixed it up when Pat Furey said that Rod Gutyon had voted in favor of developing 87 condominiums near Wilson Park on Jefferson and Oak street. I talked to Rod Guyton after the forum and he said he would explain his vote on the planning commission regarding this issue on the blog. A summary and his answer will be provided in the comment section of this post.

+ The changed demeanor of two candidates in particular were a total turn around from the last two forums held. Kurt Weidmen seemed to come out with a new passion and energy when exclaiming his past of fighting high density housing and protecting homes Historic homes in Torrance. His new found enthusiasm was shown extensively when he talked about a 1912 Torrance home that was demolished by developers because they had all the right permits and the home had no protection from the city. Kurt's performance was substantially better then the first time we met him at the Civic Center Forum where his energy was low and his answers were choppy.

+ Cliff Numark also had a change of attitude this forum as he came with a new relaxed yet still confident and intelligent demeanor when discussing his innovative Torrance 2.0 E-mail marketing and rejuvenating Old Torrance's business district by improving the traffic in the area to entice business to reside in the area. We hope Cliff sustains this demeanor throughout the rest of his campaign.

+ Susan Rhilinger performance also improved, in most part because of the quality of her answers and in part because her answers were always in contrast with Charles Deemer. Susan said she would work with her former local Torrance police agencies which already have strong communication ties with her to crack down on gangs and sex offenders. Deemer complained that she got a softball question and then went on to say he didn't think sex offenders could live near Torrance schools.... Mr. Deemer might want to check the Megan's law registry, they are close enough to our schools. To be fair Deemer spoke so quietly it was hard to hear most of the time he spoke, despite the fact he was told to speak up and I sat in the front. Susan also mentioned the need to look at high paying industries and bring them into the city.

+ Mike Mauno has a secret plan to strengthen and save the Torrance City budget but wont tell anyone yet... in the mean time he said the best experience for the city council is the job it self which has served on. Mauno also said he would bring a sense of creativity and ingenuity to the council.

+ I met almost all the candidates after the forum was over and the nicest man I met was Gene Barnett. He seemed to have the most honest demeanor on stage and I will be taking a closer look at him at the next forum.

That is all for now, see you at the Anza Elementary School Forum on May 5th!

Torrance Campaign Candidate Finances (2)

2008-05-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

I have a similar Campaign Finance Chart as the one I did before except this one extends from the dates 1/1/07-3/16/08. Many have deemed it more accurate since it takes a larger look at the candidates overall finances in a 15 month period rather than a three month one. Also the chart considers loans taken out by candidates as money that has not been taken outside from the city of Torrance.

Also remember donations less than $100 are not recorded on the Torrance City Clerks record.

Click on it, it will get bigger.

Torrance Think Tank 2008: Tim Goodrich

2008-04-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

Tim Goodrich is the third to answer the questions posed to him by Torrance Think Tank 2008. The answers to the following questions have been posted verbatim. Analysis on Mr.Goodrich's answers are provided below. Here now is Torrance Think Tank 2008 with Mr. Tim Goodrich.

1) Throughout your campaign you have stressed the need for Torrance to be a “green” city and environmentally friendly so that it improves the quality of life for all people residing in the city of Torrance. What would you do to make Torrance a “green” city and environmentally friendly. Also would you consider bringing in new “green” business into the city and if so how will you propose it be done?

I was born near Love Canal in New York and I saw how the people and the city were negatively impacted by the pollution and toxic chemicals there. For this reason, the environment is very important to me and I don’t want to see Torrance become the next Love Canal.
With the recent discovery of contaminated groundwater near Exxon-Mobil and the Palos Verdes landfill’s plans to flare toxic gasses into the atmosphere (in an area where there are 20 schools in a 2 mile radius), the right leadership is going to be important. As a City Councilmember, I will increase the oversight of polluters in Torrance and ensure full accountability so they clean up their mess. I will also be actively involved in the community to accept feedback and communicate the problems, risks, and solutions for these issues.
As the Del Amo mall ages and many people forgo driving to Torrance for their shopping trips, I expect our tax revenues to decrease. As it is, the retail sales in Torrance only grew at half the rate of the rest of Los Angeles County last year (18% vs. 36%). To diversify and grow our revenue base, I support bringing green businesses to Torrance through tax incentives and ensuring we have first rate public services and infrastructure. Energy prices are all but guaranteed to steadily increase in the years to come and this will spur growth in the environmental and renewable energy sectors. I would like to see Torrance capitalize on this opportunity to ensure our quality of life is maintained and enhanced into the future.

2) Throughout your campaign you have suggested that you want the younger generations of Torrance to be involved within the community to bring a sense of togetherness and unity throughout the city. What programs or what ideas do you propose to complete such a task and specifically what will you do as a city councilmen to make the youth more active in community involvement?

As part of Torrance’s “next generation”, I feel that it is vital to engage our youth in the city and have a city government that is reflective and responsive to people of all ages in the city. To involve our youth, I would like to work with the school board to develop a community service program that would expose the students to different aspects of the city. As part of the program, the students would volunteer their time in the community with non-profits or city government.
As a City Councilmember, I will volunteer my time to go into the schools and talk to students about civics, update them on what is happening in the city as it relates to them, and work to get them more active within our community. To solve the problems we are facing now and in the future, we are going to need increased involvement from our youth.

3) When it comes to traffic congestion many have suggested that Torrance assume from the State of California responsibility for Hawthorne Blvd. and Pacific Coast Highway. As a member of the city council do you believe this is a good idea and what else do you propose to improve traffic flow throughout the city? Also how will we as a city be able to pay for traffic fixtures that you suggest if Torrance assumes more traffic responsibilities from the state government?

If there is one issue everyone agrees on, it is traffic. It is getting worse and we need to do something to solve this problem so we can get back to the more important things in life, such as spending time with our families.
Unfortunately, CALTRANS is notorious for poor communication and bureaucracy and that puts a burden on Torrance when we want to synchronize our traffic signals on a city-wide basis. I support taking over the signals on the state owned streets only after all other avenues have been exhausted in trying to get CALTRANS to cooperate with the synchronization plan. If it becomes necessary for Torrance to assume additional responsibilities, I would pay for it by making sure to take advantage of all available transportation grants and also wisely investing the lump sum payment received from the state for taking over the roads. It is also important to consider our tax revenues will be better off as businesses will be more likely to locate in Torrance if their transportation needs are met.
To improve the flow of traffic, I will synchronize our signals. While we have heard this over and over, I am uniquely qualified to accomplish this. In my day job, I work with the employees at the Los Angeles County Traffic Management Center. When I look up a the video screen showing all the traffic signals across the County, I see the independent cities of Burbank, Pasadena, and Inglewood have all synchronized their lights, but Torrance is still in the dark. I would like to include Torrance as part of this Information Exchange Network (IEN) and bring this technology here to everybody’s quality of life.

4) Effective and well-funded public safety and other vital services are a concern for all Torrance residents across the city but as of late the state of California is facing massive budgets cuts across the board. These massive budget cuts make many Torrance residents wonder if such budgets cuts from the state will allow fewer funds from the state of vital services such as police, fire, paramedic and educational services. How will you on the city council ensure that Torrance residents do not go without such vital services in the face of budget cuts? Also, how will you ensure that the money that goes into police, fire and paramedic services is used efficiently?

We are lucky to live in a city with first rate public services. As a City Councilmember, I will work to ensure these services are prioritized in the city budget. The benefits are many:
a) Public safety is enhanced
b) Having a first rate fire and police department saves homeowner’s money on their insurance polices
c) Businesses are more likely to locate in Torrance if they feel safe and their employees like the schools their children will be attending. This will improve city revenues in the form of an improved tax base

To make sure the money is used efficiently, oversight is key, but it has to be balanced. Too much oversight adds to the bureaucracy and impedes people from performing their jobs, but not enough oversight can lead to wasteful spending and improperly allocated resources.

5) Complete the following statement “When I think of Torrance the first thing I think of is….”

When I think of Torrance the first thing I think of is a balanced city where people are happy to live. As a City Councilmember, I will work to maintain balance, generate greater community involvement, and implement a long term vision that will ensure Torrance remains a great place to raise our families.

6) Is there anything not addressed in the above questions that you would like Torrance residents to know about you personally or why you should receive one of the four votes we will cast on June 3rd 2008?

My first job was delivering newspapers at 10 years old, I bought my first home at the age of 21, and I served three deployments to the Middle East while in the United States Air Force. I know what hard work and resolve can achieve. As your City Councilmember, I will represent you with the same values I learned in the military: Service before self, Excellence, and Integrity. Thank you for this opportunity and I look forward to working with everyone after the election.

Analysis:

Tim Goodrich rose to the occasion when facing Torrance Think Tank 2008. His experience of living near the Love Canal strikes a sense of personal connection when it comes to keeping our environment safe and clean. His oversight of polluters is a well needed solution. I just wonder what he would propose as punishment for Exxon-Mobile if they defied the Torrance City Council. Tim is also one of the strongest candidates when it comes to a commitment in bringing green collar jobs to the city. He brings up a great point in how Torrance only grew half the rate as the rest of L.A county did last year and a viable way to get back on top is to invest in the inventible future or renewable energy.

It goes without saying that I am in strong favor of his plan to get the next generation of younger citizens involved in city government. The next generation will soon become the current generation and having them exposed to how government works, operates and meets the demands of the people when working well will only inspire them to be involved and active in the community and make the city a better place. This plan is again one of Goodrich’s strong suits.

I concur with Tim that the city needs to take over traffic signals because of the inefficiency of CALTRANS. Grants on the state and federal level are always a great idea to save the city some money but I wonder how far Tim would go to get one of these grants when grants at times are known for string and stipulations which can impede a local governments ability to act with the money in the way they want to use it. His plan of having Torrance join the L.A Information Exchange Network as a way to recognize unsynchronized lights is a great way to know where we can improve traffic first and in the future.

In order to ensure the budget can support and maintain the vital services we have in they city Tim supports oversight for government agencies. Although Tim gives the most popular answer in this instance, it is important to note that he recognizes oversight it self can become a bureaucratically burdensome and would limit it to make sure it never got to that point.

Tim Goodrich’s wonderful ideas and hard work ethic would make him an excellent member of the city council.

Torrance Think Tank 2008: Cliff Numark

2008-04-22T23:32:00.000-07:00

Cliff Numark is the second to answer the questions posed to him by Torrance Think Tank 2008. The answers to the following questions have been posted verbatim. Analysis on Mr.Numark's answers are provided below. Here now is Torrance Think Tank 2008 with Mr. Cliff Numark.

If Torrance residents visit your page at http://www.numark4council.com/ it seems to have a “green” theme. What would you do to make Torrance a “green” city and environmentally friendly. Also would you consider bringing in new “green” business into the city?

Based on my background, I am predisposed to care about the environment. I serve as Secretary of the Madrona Marsh Foundation, received a Master of Science in Energy and the Environment, and was the first legislative staff member to work on the bill to let alternative fuel vehicles access the carpool lanes (in 1991).

I believe the city, and the Environmental Quality Commission, has taken some great steps forward. The City became a “Cool City” (which means we need to reduce carbon dioxide pollution in our city to 7% below 1990 levels by 2012), supports the South Bay Energy Savings Center (which provides a variety of rebates and incentives on utilities), has formed a green task force among city staff and provides support for facilities like the Marsh. The City and the Torrance Chamber worked together to set up the website www.greentorrance.com, which is a great resource.

I support reducing beach run off by encouraging more restaurants to participate in the Clean Bay Certification Program that recognizes restaurants that comply 100% with cleaning practices that prevent pollution from entering the waters of the Santa Monica Bay. Of approximately 400 restaurants in Torrance, nearly half are already certified.

The city has not met the state’s waste disposal standards, so I would work to implement the green waste program city-wide. I support developing common sense, low cost green building standards (both Toyota and Honda have developed green buildings), which is important because buildings account for a 50% of our energy use. I support using the sumps to enhance green space and to assist in storm runoff purification. I also support conducting regular energy audits. Finally, I think the city could benefit with a big earth day celebration, to support the environment.

In my prior consulting work, I worked with a number of environmental technology companies. I am pleased that GM’s electric vehicle engineering operation is in Torrance, and I believe that through marketing of the city, we can draw in other like-minded institutions. Especially with rising energy costs, alternative energy firms, in particular, can become even more viable businesses.

Effective and well-funded public safety and other vital services are a concern for all Torrance residents across the city but as of late the state of California is facing massive budgets cuts across the board. These massive budget cuts make many Torrance residents wonder if such budgets cuts from the state will allow fewer funds from the state of vital services such as police, fire, paramedic and educational services. How will you on the city council ensure that Torrance residents do not go without such vital services in the face of budget cuts? Also, how will you ensure that the money that goes into police, fire and paramedic services is used efficiently?

Public safety is priority #1. I believe that one of the primary reasons residents live in Torrance is that the community is safe. Public safety must remain a top priority. But to ensure that we do not face this situation, we need to make sure that Torrance has a strong business community. Sales tax revenue represents almost a third of the city’s general fund. I would work hard to recruit and retain businesses in Torrance – so that we have the public safety services that we need. To support public safety, I am very interested in investigating private sector programs that can provide housing. In programs throughout the country and England, local governments have engaged in shared equity home ownership, in which workers and other entities co-own houses, effectively enabling a public safety officer to live in a $700,000 home for a $350,000 mortgage; the appreciation is split when the home is sold. (There are very many approaches to this overall concept.)

With respect to public accountability, I support regular reporting and metrics to evaluate success. As many management gurus (including Drucker) have said, you can’t manage if you can’t measure. I would want to work with the departments on particular metrics, some of which they are already using, but it would include arrests, paramedic calls, response time, etc.

Governments ability to respond to the wishes and desires of it citizens is always a key to making a city prosperous and its residents happy. How will you make government more accountable to it citizens and what would you propose in order to make citizens feel at ease when discussing ideas with local government officials?

I have championed an initiative called Torrance 2.0, using technology to enhance government transparency, accountability and efficiency. Specifically, I would propose creating an email database, common for nearly all consumer organizations, that would inform residents of important issues facing the city – before the council or commissions meet. Although meetings are open to the public, few residents scrutinize the city website or scour the posted agendas downtown. Residents could specify particular areas of concern (environmental, planning, recreation) or opt out of the database entirely if they don’t want to participate. Furthermore, this communication tool could be used to inform residents of neighborhood issues (for example, a rash of nearby burglaries or a local community event). And the database could also be used for regular surveys of city services, ranging from trash pick up to water service. As part of the initiative, I believe the city’s website should be improved to enable easily accessible online customer feedback. This initiative complements an online community calendar, which the city is developing, a resource I advocated for as a member of the Parks & Recreation Commission. I know this solution can work: when I started as director of the American Red Cross in Southern California, the organization effectively had zero email addresses. Now, we have more than 200,000 and through this initiative, we collected more blood during this year’s holiday season than we have in recent memory.

A recent issue worrying many Torrance residents is the threat of the long standing ban on jet fuel being sold at the Torrance airport being lifted. Lifting the ban is practically universal condemned by those who live near the airport as they suspect that if Torrance sells jet fuel they would only battle more loud jet noises flying over their houses disturbing their peace and disrupting their way of life. Mayor Scotto has already said he does not support lifting the ban on selling jet fuel.. What is your position on this issue and if you support lifting the ban what do you say to those residents it would directly effect?

Jet fuel currently cannot be sold at Torrance airport. Although the Airport Commission has reviewed the policy in April, a recommended change in policy has not been forwarded to the City Council. Changing the current policy would require a thorough analysis of potential impacts on residents’ quality of life, in particular, related to noise, growth in airport traffic (with potential increased safety risks, relative to current safety risks), and environmental impact. The analysis should include an assessment by the Torrance Fire Department. Until such an analysis demonstrates current conditions would remain, or improve, the existing policy should stand, which allows for the fuel under emergency situations only.

Complete the following statement “When I think of Torrance the first thing I think of is….”

A balanced city – the vision of Jared Sidney Torrance, and the history of the city, is a city where residents can live, work and shop - a balanced city of residential, industrial and commercial. I also think of Torrance as the biggest small town in Los Angeles County. Although Torrance has a population approaching 150,000 (larger than New Haven, CT and Topeka, KS), the city has a small town feel, where you can know your neighbors and make a difference at city hall.

I am very committed to serve. I view Torrance City Council as an incredible opportunity to serve Torrance residents, to contribute to our great Torrance polity, and to make a difference. I am passionate about enhancing government transparency because I believe more participation enhances democracy – and decision-making. My desire to serve stems from a tradition of public service in my family, all of whom are teachers.

Recognizing my ability to make a difference, based on my community involvement, professional background and policy training, I have been endorsed and supported by a wide range of business, community members and elected officials, including State Controller and Torrance resident John Chiang, Congresswoman Jane Harman, Assemblyman Ted Lieu, Former Assemblyman George Nakano, School Board President Michael Ernst and dozens of past and present councilmembers, commissioners, homeowner association presidents and community leaders. I have also been endorsed by the Torrance Firefighters Association, the Torrance Police Officers’ Association, and the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee.

Analysis:

The point of all Torrance Think Tank 2008 questions is to allow candidates to demonstrate their ability to expand on an issue that is meaningful to Torrance residents beyond a one minute sound bite. In this instance Cliff Numark does that and gives quite thorough answers.

When it came to the environment I agree with Cliff that it is a precious natural commodity that we must protect. Encouraging Torrance restaurants to join the Clean Bay Certification Program would be a great idea I only wonder how Cliff will be able to convince them to join or if we would result in punishing those who don’t. I am also impressed with Cliff’s work on the Madrona Marsh Foundation and his legislative accomplishment in getting alternative fuel vehicles access to carpool lanes.

I agree with Cliff’s assessment on using regular reporting to measure the success of how accountable local government agencies are in putting our money to use. I also find his idea of using the private sector to provide housing a unique proposal and hope he will be able present and elaborate on such a plan at future forums. I am also interesting in Cliff’s idea to bring business to the city in order to build a large tax revenue base to keep vital services like our police fully functional. Of course all the candidates believe in bring good businesses to the city so I wonder how Cliff’s plans or ideas stand out from other candidates on bringing business in.

Cliff’s idea of having Torrance 2.0, using technology to enhance government transparency, accountability and efficiency is an idea that has not been echoed by any other candidate and is truly innovative on the part of Mr. Nuamrk. Many residents find it difficult and burdensome to try and find crucial documents or files pertaining to the city and Cliff’s idea sounds like a great plan to not only make government more transparent put also easily accessible as well. I am also amazed at Cliff’s past work with the Red Cross going from having zero to 200,000 e-mails in the Red Cross database.

I am glad that Cliff does not support lifting the ban on Torrance Airport selling jet fuel at this time. I wish however he would say that he would never support repealing such a ban for the quality of life of many Torrance would be a greatly effected if such a ban was lifted.

Overall I am pleased and I hope many other residents as well are satisfied with the answers Cliff Numark gave. I believe his ideas would help contribute to the balance of residential, commercial and industrial stability we try to maintain in the city. Torrance’s small town feel yet large population will be protected if Numark was elected to the city council. It also helps that he has many endorsements of respected public officials and committees and if he continues on this path and other candidates cannot provide better answers than Mr. Numark’s than he would get the endorsement of Torrance 2008.

Torrance Election 2008

“Because We Want More Than Sound Bites”

Coming Soon: Extended Campaign Finance Table

2008-04-22T22:13:00.001-07:00

A couple of people have contacted me in regards to the city council candidates individual campaign finances and the table I provided on this blog. Some say that the table seems a little off due to the fact that it only looks at the amount of money taken from outside the city from 1/1/08 to 3/17/08. Due to that I will be making another trip down to the city clerks office to see if I can gather more information and see if I can make a new table which extends the dates. I will try to get to that this week or next. Thanks for reading.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Think Tank 2008: Rod Guyton

2008-04-18T23:54:00.001-07:00

Rod Guyton is the first to answer the questions posed to him by Torrance Think Tank 2008. The answers to the following questions have been posted verbatim. Analysis on Mr.Guyton's answers are provided below. For now here is the debut of Torrance Think Tank 2008 with Mr. Rod Guyton.

1Q: Throughout your campaign you have suggested that you want to strengthen youth sports programs and other recreational activities for the younger generations of Torrance residents. What ideas do you propose to allow the youth to have more opportunities to enjoy all current and future programs Torrance will have to offer?

1A:When I was a Parks and Recreation Commissioner, we continually had complaints in the fall from youth soccer and football teams and the lack of open space available for practices. In the spring, we get complaints about the lack of baseball fields available for practices. One of the great things about growing up in Torrance was the opportunities that I had to play sports and keep busy. This is part of Torrance maintaining a pro family atmosphere. While on the Parks and Recreation Commission, I continually inquired about Torrance developing the two large sumps in West Torrance for our youth sports activities. This is property that the City of Torrance already owns. If money is a problem, then I would suggest partnering with a private developer to build a private sports complex by leasing the land to them. We could contribute funds from the money parents pay to have their children play baseball, basketball, football, soccer, etc. The private developer would run his/her own camps, training facilities, leagues (adult and youth) for profit. I have seen this in other cities and it seems to work. More importantly, it allows us to meet our children’s youth sports needs.

* I think developing the sump near Bishop Montgomery off of Torrance Blvd would be a great idea. We would not need to have traffic coming into the neighborhood and would be able to have all traffic coming in and out from Torrance Blvd. This would allow us to have at least three separate fields large enough for soccer/football and also serve as baseball fields too.

2Q: When it comes to traffic congestion many have suggested that Torrance assume from the State of California responsibility for Hawthorne Blvd. and Pacific Coast Highway . As a member of the city council do you believe this is a good idea and what else do you propose to improve traffic flow throughout the city? Also how will we as a city be able to pay for traffic fixtures that you suggest if Torrance assumes more traffic responsibilities from the state government?

2A: Assuming ownership of Hawthorne Blvd and/or PCH will not automatically resolve our traffic issues. The number of cars and traffic will not simply disappear over night just because we own these streets. Torrance already controls the signals and has done studies to determine how to best synchronize our signals to help traffic move quickly. I was a former Planning Commissioner and dealt with these issues. The way this would work is that the State of California would give Torrance a lump sum of money to assume responsibility of these streets. This is a one time lump sum of money and after that money is gone, we would need to find the money in our budget to maintain these roads. I do like the idea of Torrance being in control of all of its roads. However, with the City of Torrance facing a possible 18 million dollar deficit and the school district facing a 9 million dollar deficit, I am not sure if now is the right time to assume this. Whatever extra money we have needs to go to help our schools before we spend it on our streets. Lastly, the only way to fix the traffic issues in Torrance is to get more folks out of their cars and into public transit. I would love to see the State of California and our Federal Government allow money spent by public transit riders to be tax deductible. This would be a good incentive.

* Taking ownership of Hawthorne and PCH is a great way for us to get control of the signals and to better synchronize our streets. My only concern is what additional financial burden it would put on our city budget once we assume responsibility in lieu of the projected revenue reduction from lost sales tax, property tax (devaluation) revenue, etc. We need to make sure our budget can sustain this additional expenditure without compromise city services and public safety.

3Q: Torrance prides it self as a great place to run a business and achieve the American dream. What would you do to strengthen existing business ties within in the city of Torrance ? Are there any businesses in particular you would encourage to come to Torrance or would you try to decrease the flow of new business coming into the city in order to strike more of a balance between the residential and commerce aspect of Torrance? If you plan to expand business within the city how will you account for the increase in traffic and congestion as a result of the new businesses?

3A:In order to maintain public safety, we need to have the financial resources to pay for this. We need to remember that much of the traffic in Torrance is from people coming to our city to spend money! Money that will be taxed (retail sales tax). This is a big part of our financial stability. We need to stop converting industrial property into residential thus losing our tax base to maintain the great police, fire and public services that our city offers. Many of the problems with some Torrance businesses have nothing to do with Torrance , but are rather problems with being California . Some businesses like manufacturing simply cannot stay in Torrance or California much longer. As much as I don’t want to see them move, I understand that we will eventually lose some of these businesses. This is why we need to find and attract businesses that are in industries that can afford to be in a high cost environment like Torrance and California . Tourism, aerospace, medical, Import/Export, computer, etc are some viable options. I would also like to point out that I lived in Japan for two years and speak quite a lot of Japanese and can read and write Hiragana and Katakana (forms of Japanese writing). I have very strong ties to many in the Japanese community here in Torrance . While on the City Council, I actually represented the City of Torrance at a couple of Japanese events where I spoke in Japanese and English both. I believe that having a councilman who can speak Japanese and understands the Japanese culture as I do might be able to strengthen Torrance ’s relationship with our Torrance based Japanese companies.

* Torrance is 28.8% Asian and has a very large Korean Community. We have the infrastructure to support the Asia culture with markets and restaurants that allow them to maintain their culture. Many of these Asian companies ( Toyota , Honda, etc) are able to sustain the high cost of doing business in Torrance . I would like to see us strengthen our relationships with Toyota , Honda, Alpine while we work to attract new companies to come to Torrance . I believe that my ability to speak quit a lot of Japanese (lived in Tokyo 2.5 years) along with doing business in Asia annually (24 trips thus far) would greatly help Torrance to attract more companies to move to Torrance.

4Q.California is going through massive budget cuts which affect everyday services many in the state are use to, one of them being public education. With the strain faced on our public schools what do you propose we do to make our public schools properly funded and more accountable with the money they receive? Would you consider a raise in property taxes, any other taxes or taking out bond debt to add more money to our schools? Also would you consider a voucher system in order to ease financial strains on our public schools?

4A:I supported the school bond measure the last time and would do so again. I have talked extensively with several of our school board members and I understand how desperately needed this money is to our schools and our children’s education. I grew up in Torrance and attended Yukon Elementary, Magruder Middle School and North Torrance High School (1979). It really upsets me to see Torrance schools in such need of repair. While I was a member of the Leadership Torrance (Class of 2004), I lead a group of my colleagues into Yukon Elementary to repaint and landscape the school. While everyone seems to be willing to support the school bond measure, I am willing to walk precincts to support this bond measure to help our schools. Having a councilman walking door to door in support of this would be very influential.

* I support the Torrance School Bond Measure since I do not see any other way to help our schools. I do have some ideas to help our schools raise money, but would feel more comfortable bringing these issues up after the election since they have not been brought up before.

5Q: Complete the following statement “When I think of Torrance the first thing I think of is….”

5A: How much I enjoyed growing up in Torrance ! Torrance has always been able to maintain a small town feeling. We have been able to keep out the high rises, keep out the high density residential properties and had a lot of trees and foliage. However, I am very concerned that we are slowly losing this charm. I also believe that all of the youth sports activities and parks Torrance has make Torrance a great place to raise our families. We need to protect this for our children and future generations to enjoy.

* what a great place it was to grow up here and how fortunate we are to live in this city.

6Q:Is there anything not addressed in the above questions that you would like Torrance residents to know about you personally or why you should receive one of the four votes we will cast on June 3^rd 2008?

6A:Torrance is facing some serious financial challenges ahead as a result of California being 10 billion dollars in debt. After this election, we will have a city council with no more than two years experience (except Mayor Scotto). This is not much experience for a city our size with a 246 million dollar budget and with the serious challenges coming our way. This is also why I believe that my experience owning and running companies that employed as many as 68 people along with my experience as a former councilman and commissioner would be a benefit to Torrance. I truly love Torrance and all Torrance has to offer. We need to get serious about stopping Torrance from looking like an extension of downtown Torrance . I welcome any questions or clarification you may have regarding my above answers.

* I believe that my business experience having owned three companies and employing 68 people, growing up in Torrance when my family moved here in 1962 and my experience as a Planning Commissioner, Parks and Recreation Commissioner, Community Services Commissioner and my short stint as a Torrance City Councilman (9 months) would greatly benefit our next Torrance City Council. I know how to make decisions, how to meet a budget and how to manage people and would like to put this to work as one of your four newly elected council members. Thank you, Rod Guyton www.guytonforcitycouncil.com

* Added 5/17/08

Torrance Election 2008 analyzes Mr.Guyton's answers:

For the most part Torrance 2008 was pleased with the answers Mr. Rod Guyton gave. Rod in our view outlined the most extensive plan when it came to meeting the demands of our children’s youth sports needs. His experience on the Parks and Recreations Commission is refreshing and his idea to involve the private sector to lease the land in order to ease the financial burden off Torrance is a fabulous idea.

Guyton showed honesty when he made the hard call to say that the extra money we have must go to schools before it can go to improving traffic. Also his idea of making public transportation tax deductible is a great idea for it is quite hard to drag people away from their cars to public transit. Our only concern is that waiting to assume responsibility of our roads and delaying funds to ease traffic congestion might make things worse but we do understand that this among many other issues must strike balance.

We agree with Rod’s sentiments that converting our industrial bases into a residential one would only result in the loss of more revenue that we need to run vital city services. The idea of trying to attract tourism, aerospace, medical, import/export and computer industries into the city is wonderful for they would most likely be able to endure the high cost of California/Torrance living. We are also impressed with the strong ties he has to the Japanese business community.

It is also nice to see Rod in strong favor of the school bond measure. We just wonder how he will ensure the money is properly used to ensure that all the money goes to improving our schools missing funds and infrastructure. We assume based on the absence of an answer that he would not consider a school voucher program.

Finally, it is a plus that with the exception of Mayor Scotto he will be the only one with prior council experience running the 6^th largest city in Los Angeles county. Overall we are impressed by the answers Mr. Guyton gave.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

We Will Not Tolerate Slander

2008-04-18T22:54:00.001-07:00

We Here at Torrance Election 2008 will not under any circumstances tolerate any sort of slander towards any candidate what so ever. If one wishes to post a critique of a candidate they are more than welcome to do so but once they make charges that cannot be substantiated by any measure and are blatant slander we will not tolerate that. Torrance 2008 is dedicated to fair and honest discussions. Lets keep this campaign clean.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Election Forum Review: Toyota Meeting Hall

2008-04-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here is our review of the candidates we would vote for if we based them on the performances they made at the Toyota Meeting Hall.

Patrick Furey: The first thing that came to mind when Furey spoke about an issue is that he was a champion and would fight for that cause. Furey mentioned during the forum that the state of California fined Torrance for an ethics violation in the past and how he stood for forming an ethics committee long before it was popular. Pat stands for bringing back the neighborhood of historic downtown Torrance and believes in giving tax incentives to those who wish to preserve Torrance history. He supports the Torrance school bond to keep the great quality of Torrance schools. Pat takes no money from developers or unions and gets less than 10% off all his donations for outside the city. Patrick Furey had another strong showing at the Toyota Meeting Hall Forum.

Rod Guyton: Rod hit all the right notes with many Torrance voters at the forum on Wednesday. Guyton opposes any attempt to lift the ban on selling Torrance jet fuel at our airport. He also is a strong supporter of the hillside overlay and protecting a person’s view and the expectation they have of that view when they first buy a home. Guyton supports measure T the phone utility tax along with the school bond measure. Rod also gets less than 10% of all his donations from outside the city of Torrance. He finally is the strongest advocate for creating more youth recreation programs for our kids and hopes to secure more Torrance land and allow future development on those lands when Torrance can afford it.

Tim Goodrich: Many consider Goodrich to be an outsider in this race, but this outsider is expressing the views many Torrance residents want to hear. Goodrich supports keeping the ban on selling jet fuel at the Torrance airport for lifting such a ban would ruin the quality of life for many Torrance residents. Tim believes in keeping a balance when it comes to the Hillside Overlay but supports the ability of a person who purchased their home to enjoy the view they expected when moving into their house. Goodrich expressed his support of Measure T and says that his fiscal conservatism will ensure the money is used properly. Tim also bravely discussed the impact the Exxon mobile refinery has on Torrance residents; we wish he would expand more upon that. Finally, Tim brought up a good point that many candidates have loaned themselves money to fund their campaign which does not necessarily show a direct correlation to community support. We don’t like that he has raced more than 10% of his money outside of Torrance but we do understand that most of that money came from friends, family and his fellow veterans from outside the city.

We are not sure who should get the last spot, but we have narrowed it down to two…

Cliff Numark: We agree with most of Numark’s views when it comes to things like government transparency and the innovative idea he has of Torrance 2.0; simple email marketing and city surveys to see what the people of Torrance want for their city. He is also a strong supporter of passing an ordinance to protect and preserve historic Torrance landmarks which is no surprise for he is a vice president on the Historical Torrance Society. He also supports the school bond but would have an oversight committee to make sure the funds are used properly. We also like the ideas he has of having a strong commitment to making Torrance a greener city although we would like to know more about that. What we are disappointed about are two specific things. One is the fact that Numark has taken over 10% of his donations from outside the city of Torrance, sometimes even taking $1,000 from outside the city. We understand many donations can come from family and friends outside the city but we believe he needs to keep more of his money inside the city. Also, many Torrance residents have echoed sentiments that with all due respect to Mr. Numark, he comes across as arrogant, cocky, snooty and impersonal. We are not asking Cliff to be phony or someone he is not but he must project a stronger comfortability level when discussing the issues with Torrance residents.

Kurt Weideman: We like Kurt Weideman as well. We like that he is supported by many people on the Blue Ribbon Committee on Ethics and Integrity but still think he needs more innovative ideas if he wants to beat out Cliff Numark. Kurt passionately defends preserving historical downtown and cries out that there is no protection for landmarks and the possibility for them to be demolished. We believe he is as strong as Numark on this issue for Kurt is also a vice president of the Torrance Historical Society. Kurt supports the school bond and measure T although we don’t think he has as strong a fiscal conservative record as Numark. What Kurt does have over Numark is that he takes less than 10% of his funds from outside of Torrance and Cliff does not. The biggest problem though with Kurt we have is that he does not possess the “fire in the belly” or passion the other candidates have for the city. We are not questioning his love for this city but need to be a little more assertive like Pat Furey is during the forums.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because We Want More Than Sound Bites"

Torrance Campaign Candidate Finances in Detail

2008-04-17T21:26:00.001-07:00

Today Torrance 2008 checked the records at the Torrance City Clerks Office of all the candidates running for Torrance city council that we are tracking. We are glad to say that no candidate has funds in their campaign that exceed 25% of their money coming from outside of Torrance. Torrance 2008 wishes that all candidates would take a pledge to accept a maximum of only 10% of all their campaign contributions from outside the city. Although ideally all contributions should come from Torrance residents, Torrance 2008 understands that friends and family play vital parts in the candidates campaigns. All Torrance candidates that have 10% or less of their funds from outside the city will receive a Torrance 2008 Campaign Finance Honor Award in commending them for running a strictly local Torrance money campaign. Torrance 2008 does not accuse any candidate who has received more than 10% of their money from outside of the city of any wrong doing, illegal activity or misconduct. Torrance 2008 repeats it fundamental concept that this election will be decided on how well individual candidates resonate with Torrance residents not how much money they raise.

Click on it I promise it will get bigger
The Table above extends from information starting on 1/1/08 and ending on 3/17/08.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because we want more than sound bites"

Torrance Candidate Loans

2008-04-15T23:08:00.001-07:00

It has come to my attention that some of the candidates running for the Torrance City Council seat have loaned themselves somewhere along the lines of $20,000 to run their campaign. Although in my view it is perfectly okay to use as much as a candidate wants to run for office as long as it is properly disclosed to the public, having money in ones campaign chest does not represent a direct correlation to community support throughout the city. Therefore I will be working hard to find out which candidates loaned themselves money and how much money it was. However, like I have said before, it will not matter in the end how much money each candidate spent on getting elected it matters how well the resonate with Torrance resident's views for moving the city forward and the comfortability factor each candidate must hold dear with all Torrance residents.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because we want more than sound bites"

Coming Soon: Torrance Think Tank 2008

2008-04-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Update 4/15/08:
David Ouwerkerk, Kurt Weideman, Cliff Numark, Tim Goodrich, Patrick Furey and Rod Guyton have accepted the Torrance Think Tank Invitation.

Torrance Think Tank will be a new feature on the Unofficial Torrance 2008 Election headquarters and will be inviting the following people to join:

Gene Barnett
Cliff Numark
David Ouwerkerk
Patrick Furey
Susan Rhilinger
Tim Goodrich
Kurt Weideman
Rod Guyton
Gavin Wasserman
Mike Mauno

Candidates currently not on the list are perceived by Torrance 2008 to be long shots so much to the point as it is not worth adding them into the already crowded Torrance Think Tank feature.

Torrance Think Tank will consist of questions to be given to all the candidates listed above. The questions will revolve around such issues traffic, public safety, business growth, residential growth, the freedoms of individual Torrance residents, schools, illegal immigration, the environment, hospitals, government accountability and many more topics. Questions will be given to the candidates and Torrance 2008 hopes that all the candidates will respond directly to the questions and most importantly accept the Torrance Think Tank invitation. All questions posed to each individual candidate will be unique and different.

The candidates that RSVP for the event will be listed soon.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because we want more than sound bites"

Torrance Election Money

2008-04-06T11:52:00.001-07:00

So which candidates are well funded and which are not?
To me the candidates who could not raise even $1,000 for their campaign don't stand a chance of winning this election. Although in the grand scheme of things I don't believe it is the money that counts. Sure it can buy you yard signs and gets your name out all over the city but in the end it is the idea each candidate can bring to the city and how well you can resonate with Torrance residents. It also helps if someone can look a candidate in the eye and just feel comfortable with them, those that cannot do that wont win come election day.

Torrance Election 2008
"Because we want more than sound bites"