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"