I’m proud to lead Santa Monica’s fight against homelessness.
There are close to 90,000 homeless in L.A. County: over 10% of our nation’s homeless. When I was first elected, I quickly realized that Santa Monica can’t stop homelessness by itself. That’s why I’ve become a leading crusader for regional solutions. My hard work with cities all over Southern California, but particularly Los Angeles and our immediate neighbors, is paying off as municipalities all over the county begin to do more.
Here are just a few of the new ideas I’ve championed locally that have a regional impact:
We’ve started a new program called “Project Homecoming” to quickly help newly arriving homeless persons find a way back to their homes or connected with local services.
We’ve re-organized our already first rate “HLP Team” – a specially trained team of Santa Monica Police Officers to work more closely with our social services specialists and agencies in support of our programs to end homelessness while simultaneously protecting the safety of the community. We opened a Community Court whose main function is to find ways to help homeless individuals find ways to access services to help with substance abuse and mental health problems and to find suitable housing.
We’re beginning an effort to reduce panhandling and increase the public’s understanding of homelessness and it’s solutions. And, we’ve placed a laser-focus on identifying and housing those who are most vulnerable, most chronically homeless with a program called “The Service Registry”. A few months ago, dozens of volunteers fanned out across Santa Monica on the coldest night of the year – after midnight. We located and interviewed homeless individuals on the street that night and identified those with the most serious risks. Bluntly and tragically put, these are the individuals who are most likely to die on our streets: Some had been on the street for over 20 years, and some had multiple health or substance abuse issues.
In the first few months of the program, we’ve housed nearly 30 of these individuals and we’ve just received a million dollar grant to do even more. This pilot program is mirrored by a similar program called “Project 50” in Los Angeles’ Skid Row. The success of these two programs promise a paradigm shift in how we address the homelessness crisis in our county and state.
I agree with nearly everyone that traffic is a top issue. So, I’m already fighting to implement a new transportation vision for our city. I’m happy to say that Phase I of the Expo Light rail line is under construction and I’ve worked hard to accelerate the funding of Phase II that will complete the line from Culver City to Santa Monica. As Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and Councilmember, I’ve travelled to Sacramento and Washington DC and testified at many MTA Board meetings on this important issue.
I advocated for state of the art traffic signal synchronization to help move traffic and that project is now underway and on schedule. Most importantly, I’ve championed a new Traffic Management Plan that represents a paradigm shift in our thinking on traffic. This new plan, due for a vote this winter, will require a citywide offset for any traffic generated by new development. We’ll do this by using developer fees to fund bike lanes, shuttle busses and other improvements that help people get around with less driving. This plan is closely tied to our sustainability goals, too, responding to the need to control greenhouse gas emissions!
We are very fortunate to have the most professional police and fire team anywhere working for the residents of the City of Santa Monica. I have consistently voted to provide our public safety departments with every resource they need in order to fulfill their critical mission. Crime statistics in Santa Monica continue to reflect historic lows – a clear indication of how safe our city is. But, crime does happen. Detectives who are relentless in their pursuit of justice investigate crimes. In case after case, bad guys are identified and successfully prosecuted. Our detectives may not as visible to the community as other officers. But, their role, and my support of them is a high priority. We’ve hired a brilliant and energetic new Chief of Police, Tim Jackman. Chief Jackman is improving police service by rolling out a new Community Based Policing model that is geared towards making every resident familiar with officers who, in turn, have primary responsibilities in a neighborhood “beat”. These improvements will help us work together to make our city safer.
Our fire department’s paramedic teams are highly skilled. When the need arises, residents can feel confident that responding units will arrive quickly and that the highest level of professional care will be delivered.
I’m very proud of my leadership role in passing laws to protect Santa Monicans from second hand smoke. I’ve initiated laws to prohibit smoking in our parks, on our beaches and in outdoor dining areas. Soon, we’ll implement a comprehensive education campaign that will serve the dual purpose of informing the public about our laws and the important health risks associated with second hand smoke. Finally, and sadly, gun and gang violence – while much lower than other communities – continues to have tragic consequences in Santa Monica. Community based policing and stepped up efforts to stop violence before it happens is helping.
But, gang violence requires Enforcement, Education and Intervention. That ‘s why I’m working hard to make sure our schools are well-funded and safe (see “Education”. We know that at risk youth need to have a safe place to study and gather after school. So, when their funding fell short, I fought for a $300,000 grant from the City that has helped bring a new Boys and Girls Club Clubhouse to John Adams Middle School. I’m proud to say that I just attended the groundbreaking for this facility and it will open its doors in June 2009!
I was a founding member of Friends of Sunset Park and rose to become it's President, before running for City Council. Both on and off the Council, I have become well known for my work to solve the difficult problems caused by having an incompatible jetport in the middle of our residential community. When I was elected in 1999, I immediately began to work to change the way the City approached the airport. For example, I worked with my colleagues and the community to put a ballot measure before the voters that dramatically raised the fines for noise ordinance violators. Now, jets that repeatedly violate our tough noise ordinance can be banned from the airport. But, increasing jet flights have wreaked havoc on our community and threaten its safety. I've moved aggressively to make certain that the City is prepared for the expiration, in 2014, of the 30 year agreement that governs much of what happens at our airport.
Most importantly, I've gone toe-to-toe with the Federal Government, doing whatever it takes to achieve justice for our residents. I traveled to Washington D.C. in our epic battle over runway safety areas trying to achieve a fair settlement. But, when the FAA thumbed its nose at Santa Monica residents, I led the community in it the toughest possible response: we banned unsafe jets from the airport. That landed us in court, where we are currently locked in battle. I promise that I won't back down unless and until a fair resolution is achieved.
There are many more issues that remain to be solved at Santa Monica airport. I have a proven track record representing the interests of residents."
Like all Santa Monicans, I’m proud of our reputation as environmental leaders.
Did you know that over 80% of our city vehicles use alternative fuels, making us the envy of most other cities?
Our Solar Santa Monica program helps us meet aggressive greenhouse gas goals and achieve energy independence by installing solar panels to create 1.3 megawatts of power.
We’re cleaning up our beaches and bay with tough stormwater measures and we’re proceeding with a new “Green Streets” program.
All new city buildings meet tough environmental standards, including our great main library.
Our sustainability goals include increasing the amount of open space we have, too. I fought for new parks, like our new Airport Park and the improvement and expansion of Virginia Avenue Park. I have been aggressive in making sure we move quickly on our plans for outstanding new open space in our Civic Center and at recently acquired property adjacent to Memorial Park.
And, there’s so much more! That’s why leading environmentalists support me. Here’s a partial list:
• Mark Gold (Heal the Bay*)
• Terry O’Day (Environment Now*)
• Craig Perkins (The Energy Coalition*)
• Terry Tamminen (climate and energy policy expert, advisor to Governor Schwartzenegger, former Secretary, California Environmental Protection Agency)
When I was first elected in 1999, I made a pledge to turn away irresponsible overdevelopment and to protect residential neighborhoods and increase open space. I’ve stood by my pledge.
We’ve had some tough votes on development. For example, a proposal to locate a Target store on 5th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard in downtown Santa Monica. On the one hand, Target would be a good fit in Santa Monica, where there are fewer and fewer retailers catering to those of modest means. However, in the end, I turned Target down because of the overwhelming negative impact I believe its traffic would have had.
When residential neighborhoods were threatened with being overtaken by “monster mansions” that were grossly out of proportion with their neighborhood, I stepped in and supported an ordinance that provided for homes whose scale is more reasonable.
Major developments should always maximize opportunity public input. That’s why I voted to require a public process for the redevelopment of Santa Monica Place. That process resulted in the low scale project now being built.
I’ve insisted that a public consensus determine where to focus limited new development in the future. Thousands of Santa Monicans have participated in this unprecedented 4-year Land Use and Circulation (“LUCE”) process that allows YOU to provide the key input on the future of development in our city.
A different kind of development; that which is 100% for the public benefit is alive and well in Santa Monica and keeping our neighborhoods diverse. I’m proud to have championed Airport Park, Virginia Avenue Park, our new Civic Center and the future expansion of Memorial Park. Moreover, in a City where the cost of obtaining housing continues to spiral out of control, I have been part of a Council majority that has built or rehabilitated, over the past 10 years, approximately 1,300 units of affordable housing, making us the envy of cities across the country.
My wife Robbie, and I raised two children who attended our fine public schools. Like most parents of graduates of the SMMUSD, we are proud that Zac and Emmett are now attending fine colleges. I’ve used my considerable direct experience and understanding of school funding issues to lead the charge for increased City funding for our schools. We’ve more than doubled the amount of money – to over $7 million dollars annually – something only a small handful of cities are able to do. No one matches our overall contribution to the schools which, including child care, schoolground, recreation and other programs, total in excess of $23 million per year.
I also spearheaded City support for “For the Arts” the SMMUSD Education Foundation’s art and music arm that seeks funding so that art and music will never be cut from the budget again. This successful effort includes a now-famous annual concert performance by Jackson Browne and is a well-established charity in our community.
No city is complete without the vibrancy of an active music and art community. In Santa Monica, approximately 43% of our residents make all or part of their living in arts-related fields and nearly 9% of our workforce is involved in the arts. So, it is fitting that I have called for Santa Monica to become a world-class city of art and music. The City has responded. From new art galleries to new summer music series like Jazz on the Lawn, the City is exploding with new cultural opportunities.
Recently, the wildly successful “Glow” overnight cultural arts festival wowed Santa Monicans and visitors alike.
I’ve been a primary advocate for making our soon-to-be revitalized Civic Center the cultural centerpiece of Santa Monica. The future should bring a facility that can be used as a museum and a remodeled Civic Auditorium that welcomes a return of musical and other performances we love.
We’re also working with the SMMUSD to integrate the master plan for remodeling the SAMOHI campus so that their Barnum Hall and Greek Theatre have seamless connections with the City’s facilities in the Civic Center.
No city can be great without excellent parks and libraries, but these facilities don’t happen without the kind of community vision I’ve demonstrated. The first step for most parks and libraries involves planning and setting aside land and, where appropriate and available, land acquisition.
Under my leadership, the City has purchased the Rand Property in downtown Santa Monica, the Fisher Lumber site next to Memorial Park.
I’ve labored hard to make certain that we have great parks and more of them! Shortly after being elected, I began a campaign to expand Virginia Avenue Park into a vacant and hardly utilized lot next door. The remodeled and expanded park re-opened a couple of years ago and is a great asset to the City. I also helped move forward the planning and building of Airport Park and its badly needed playing fields, the build out of Euclid Park and the refurbishment of all parks in our system. The “Beach Greening” experiment seeks to better utilize land that is adjacent to our famous beaches and could signal a new “wave” of open space opportunities.
We fought to hold onto the historic Marion Davies estate on Pacific Coast Highway. This winter, we will open the sure-to-be-fabulous Annenberg Community Beach Facility – a public building with facilities and programs that will benefit everyone in our community.
During my tenure we’ve remodeled each of our branch libraries and built the awesome award winning main branch Santa Monica Public Library – the most heavily utilized public building in our City. I am so proud to have been intimately involved in its planning and movement forward.
Now, we face the challenge of planning and financing the expansion of Memorial Park into the former “Fisher Lumber” site. As well, plans are moving forward to build what will be the great centerpiece of our cultural community: our great Civic Center Park.
I look forward to serving the community and receiving your input, so that your imprint will be on the future of our City!