my plans for Santa Monica
Our Work
There is no one more qualified to help win the fight to restore our city. And as City Council Member, I will work tirelessly on behalf of our residents to create a city they are proud of and can feel safe in. I am confident that together we can reach this goal.
Photo Credit: Downtown Santa Monica via Facebook
01
bring back balance
For far too long the policies driving our city have been out of balance. Too little attention has been paid to the well-being of Santa Monica’s residents, our local businesses, and the people who keep our city services running. All of which need to be in balance to protect our quality of life as residents and to maintain a healthy city. A lack of balance has led to the deterioration in the quality of life for both Santa Monica renters and homeowners alike. Our fight to keep Santa Monica livable has never been more urgent.
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Too much attention has been paid to policies and ideologies that make sense everywhere but in reality. Santa Monica's politicians in the past have been more focused on solving regional and world problems than in making the tough decisions and putting in the hard work needed to run our city. And it shows. They have cared more about funding and constructing an ultra-green $150 million City Hall Annex building (built at over 10 times the cost of traditional construction) than in funding services for Santa Monica's residents.
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They have cared more about spending tens of millions of dollars opposing district elections in Court, to maintain their power base, than in giving a meaningful democratic and constitutionally protected voice to the Pico Neighborhood. They have cared more about talking about, and approving, so called sustainable housing development than in making sure that our infrastructure is adequate or capable of sustaining existing demands including the demand for electricity, water, sewer, trash, schools, and public safety services. The developments that have been approved have all had a negative draw and negative impacts on our city, adding to a lack of balance and a strain on residents, businesses, and city employees.
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In short, the balance required to maintain a healthy city, a healthy Santa Monica, is out whack and this reflects daily on our quality of life. As your council member, I will work hard to bring this balance back to Santa Monica with a pro-resident focus. I want a downtown Santa Monica that our residents are proud of. One that they will visit on a regular basis because it's easy to get to, it's safe, and it's clean. I want our downtown to provide a slew of in and outdoor affordable entertainment and dining options. I want residents to enjoy the benefits of our city. Only then can Santa Monica become a true world class city.
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Right now, however, there is a sense that, on everything from public safety to the homeless crisis on our streets, from the much-needed revitalization of our downtown, to mitigating the impacts that over-development has had on our neighborhoods, on tenant displacement, and the high cost of housing, Santa Monica has lost its way. Leaders in the past 20 to 30 years have been pushing lofty, unattainable policies instead of working to create a livable city. We need a balanced well-run city as the commonsense solution. And we need it now.
02
restore public safety
Santa Monica cannot afford the human and financial costs of not adequately addressing the public safety challenges we are facing. It affects residents, businesses and their employees, as well as our regional, national, and international visitors.
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By now, almost everyone who lives in Santa Monica has been or knows someone who has been directly impacted by the increased level of crime in our city. Talking with hundreds of residents and business owners in Santa Monica on the campaign trail, I know that crime and public safety is the #1 concern for most. And Crime does not distinguish between renters or homeowners; It has affected us all.
Source: NeighborhoodScout, Sept. 2022
Crime has no doubt impacted me and my family. My 80-year-old mother-in-law was assaulted in a burglary in broad daylight on Lincoln Boulevard. Over the last several years, my car has been vandalized and broken into on separate occasions. My wife’s car stolen from right in front of our apartment in our Wilshire Montana Neighborhood. The catalytic convertor cut out from under my brand-new truck. Another one ripped out in a separate incident from my eighty-year-old neighbor’s 20-year-old Honda. It seems unending, but it needs to stop.
On hour-one of day-one after being elected I will go to work for you to reduce crime and increase public safety on our streets and in our parks.
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I will accomplish these goals by:
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Providing the resources, funding and support necessary to ensure that Public Safety is a top priority in our city.
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Work with our Police Chief and our City Attorney to ensure that our laws are enforced effectively and constitutionally.
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Ensure that zero tolerance for crime and drug policies are instituted and enforced with compassion yet laser focused to remove criminals and criminal behavior from our city.
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Institute a Downtown Police Unit – Full time with bicycle and foot patrols.
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Increase Visible Police Patrols in all business districts
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Increase Visible Police Patrols in all residential neighborhoods
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I want every resident to see a police officer at least three or four times a day and for us to get to know their names. And, I most of all I want Criminals to get to know their names too.
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The revolving door policy, as an unintended consequence of Prop 47, does not mean we cannot prosecute for misdemeanors, which can carry up to 12 months’ time in county jail. Criminals need to know we are serious and not an easy target. The state can do what they want, but so can we as a city within our rights.
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Adopt a new “No-call is Too Small Policy” for our law enforcement so resident concerns about crime and safety are addressed swiftly and effectively.
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Provide support and assist in any every way possible towards to meet the maximum capacity levels for our police force. We currently have 174 sworn officers and a max capacity of 221.
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Increase within 12-24 months’ time, with additional funding, increased total capacity of our sworn police officers to 300 employees. Our police staffing levels have not been increased for 20 years even after the increase in demand brought by the Metro Light Rail Line and the growth of our city.
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Provide more support/ adjunct police.
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Hire additional Community Service Officers (CSO’s) – to take reports and free up the time of sworn police officers so they can more effectively combat crime.
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Hire additional Public Safety Officers (PSO’s – formerly Park Rangers) so they can act as eyes and ears in our streets and parks. PSO’s have authority to ticket for misdemeanors – let’s do this.
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Assign teams of at least two PSO’s to every park in crisis in Santa Monica i.e., Reed Park, Tongva Park, Ozone Park, Virginia Avenue Park, Hotchkiss Park, etc.
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Work with the County to bring additional Department of Mental Health staff and psychiatrists to work in conjunction with our Police officers. And we need them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not just during banking hours.
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LA County is still doing needle exchange programs in our Parks. These need to be stopped and be moved out of our city or at the least to City Hall away from where children play. We are not getting the cooperation we need from the County even though we are a city rich in resources.
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Better Lighting on our streets – Support a Bond Measure to increase lighting on our poorly dim lit streets instead of a Bond Measure every election cycle in expand Santa Monica College.
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03
Photo Credit: Santa Monica Daily Press, February 25, 2020
Revitalize our economy
A vibrant economy is the engine necessary to run and maintain a healthy, safe, and clean city.
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One of my top priorities is to revitalize our 3rd Street Promenade and Downtown Santa Monica so that we can rise from the pandemic’s economic effects stronger than ever before. Much of our downtown remains vacant today. Although tourism has started to rebound, our general fund budget remains well below pre-pandemic levels. Over $200 million was slashed from city services and our libraries and senior services (just to name a few) remain operating at below pre-pandemic levels still.
We must revitalize our downtown, and we must do this with a resident focused lens. And there’s no one more qualified than me to lead that charge at City Hall so that we can ensure that our new Downtown works first and foremost for existing residents.
If we can create a downtown Santa Monica that our residents want to, and can use daily, then we will succeed. If Downtown Santa Monica is a place that residents are proud of, then everything else will be gravy.
First, and foremost, our downtown needs to be safe and clean. It needs to be easy to get to. And it needs to provide options at all price points, for shopping, dining, and entertainment.
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Our city policies in the past have supported strong transit systems to move people into Santa Monica, but there is a lack of balance when it comes to a transit system for people who live inside Santa Monica. I propose that City Hall creates and funds a public Santa Monica hop-on hop-off trolley / shuttle service that circles our residential neighborhoods and provides free transportation to and from downtown. This service should be readily available to all Santa Monica residents throughout the entire week.
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Let’s make it easy and free for residents to get to the place that everyone will want to be. Our downtown should have a safe and clean Central Park at 4th/5th and Arizona, one that residents and downtown employees can enjoy daily. A green grass field with benches, umbrellas and spaces for free public concerts and other events in the park. Morning and evening yoga, night-time movies, and our Holiday Ice Rink of course. An attached dog park, and a central Café, but no massive towers. Our public land should be used only for public purposes and not given away to anyone.
If done right, this Central Park can energize our downtown and add to our local economy much more than a give-away of our public space can ever do.
Key Items I'm Focused On:
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Safety in all of our Business Districts
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Cleanliness in all of our Business Districts
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Creation of a revitalized downtown district
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Creation of a revitalized Main Street district with regular street fairs
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Ensure that Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) e. DTSM, and Pico Improvement Districts are fully supported by the City of Santa Monica and find ways to fund public improvements within these districts
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Working directly with Property owners through our revitalization efforts. Assist in leasing efforts with common sense regulations that will allow businesses to blossom and flourish.
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Activating alleys in downtown Santa Monica.
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Ensure that all parking structures and safe and clean.
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Ensure that elevators in the parking structures are operational
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Ensure that there is a clean and safe bathroom with 24/7 security at each end of the Promenade.
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Create a concierge service for small businesses to utilize to navigate through the City’s Requirements. Allow businesses to open their doors while working on certain requirements
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Create a 2028 Olympics committee to ensure Santa Monica businesses are well positioned to take advantage of an incredible and rare opportunity.
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Create job training and placement programs for local high school graduates and SMC students for direct local hire.
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Create specialized incentives for women-, minority-, and family- owned businesses struggling to get back on their feet and most effected by the pandemic.
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Encourage and expand outdoor dining venues to include rooftop dining options where appropriate by streamlining permitting processes.