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"