Torrance Think Tank 2008: Tim Goodrich

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

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.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

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 3^rd 2008?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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"

Civic Center Library Torrance Election Forum 2008

Hello to all fellow Torrance Residents! This is the unofficial 2008 Torrance Election Headquarters. With the city council election less than two short months away it was great to see all the candidates running for this year's city council election at the historic Torrance Civic Center Library. I was able to talk to few in person which made a strong impression, others seem interesting although I was unable to talk with them personally and others just don't seem too memorable. With that in mind I will do my best to state my first impressions of the candidates that currently have my vote and hopefully they will only get better as the election forums continue.

My first impression of the candidates that currently have my vote.

Cliff Numark: I liked Cliff he seemed to get straight to the point on most of the questions. As a C.E.O and C.O.O he seems to possess strong work ethic which would make him great assest for the city or Torrance, I only wish he seemed a little more gregarious while speaking. Cliff would keep existing regulations regarding property rights. He sees no problems in having restrictions on the use of real estate signage for any restriction would get in the way of the capitalist spirit. Cliff also would oppose taxes to make up if their was a deficit, if involved in that situation he would run it like a business and would learn to operate more efficiently. Here is his website it has a green-theme maybe he will elaborate more on that in the future:
http://www.numark4council.com/bio.html

Pat Furey: When he spoke he seems to have the most passion and made a great first impression I look forward to hearing more of what he has to say. Pat believes in having strong business ties in Torrance and would increase business in the often forgotten downtown Torrance and would also try to make Del Amo mall a center of attraction and utilize the new branch just built to increase Torrance revenue. Pat believes in the buyer beware mentality and opposes most point of sale mandates for homes and businesses. Pat brought up in interesting point how Torrance has no control over the PCH and Hawthorn intersection and how we need to fight Cal-Trans to get that under Torrance jurisdiction so we as a city can fix our own traffic problems. Pat believes in a strong sense of community and would have downtown Torrance events on a bi-monthly basis in downtown Torrance. Here is his web site:
http://patfureyforcouncil.com/

Tim Goodrich: Made an excellent impression on me when I talked to him in person as a young go getter who has work ethnic and determination to make this city better. He is also on honorary discharge from the active duty military and owned his first home when he was only 21. Tim would try to use his forming lobbying power which he used before for veteran benefits to get more funds for the city and would also address the rising cost of health care our business endure and the drain it has on their bottom line. Tim also supports advertising for the city of Torrance or uniform signage. He supports getting the private sector involved such as Honda or Toyota to places signs such as "Welcome to Torracne: Home of Toyota motors". Tim supports the school bond measure. He is also a strong believer in increasing the visibility of downtown Torrance and would preserve much of it's history. He is also in favor of tax credits for business that operate in downtown Torrance. Here is Tims's website:
http://www.goodrichforcouncil.com/index.php

Rod Guyton: Talking to Guyton in person enhanced my impression of him greatly. He is a small business owner who knows the strain business endure in the city of Torrance yet is also concerned about the over development in Torrance and wants a balanced city. Although he is generally opposed to bonds Rod supports the bond measure to fund Torrance schools because it is the only way to help them at this point and sees no other options. Rod sees no problem with the freedom to advertise real estate signs. Since there is no detailed plan Rod does not take a strong stance on the Harbor-Railine extending into Torrance. Rod believes tourism and the discover Torrance plan would be great for it would bring extra revenue into the city of Torrance. Here is his website:
http://guytonforcitycouncil.com/index.html

I am all too human any mistakes done on this page are not intentional just human error.

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