Torrance Election Forum Review: North High School

The last forum in a series of eight forums took place Thursday May 22nd at North High School where candidates answered a verity of questions weighing on the voter’s minds. All the candidates were asked new and interesting questions while a few older questions were posed to refresh voters minds on where the candidates stood on the issues. Also the introduction of the yellow card came about where candidates could wave a yellow card one time during the forum to answer a question they had not received or use the card to add one minute to their closing statement.

The first question was a series of background questions asking how long the candidates have lived in Torrance, if they owned a home and if they were part of a Home Owners Association. To save space on the this post I also added if the candidates are oppose to selling jet fuel at Torrance Airport and if they have taken money from developers.

The rest of the questions were asked in sets of four candidates a piece with the exception of the yellow card.

Tim Goodirch had another good performance as he explained what qualifies him to be on the city council, mentioning his service in the military brining him a service of tradition, service before self, integrity and honor. Tim also mentioned his volunteer work he does as a Torrance active services volunteer. When asked how he would improve senior services in the city of Torrance, Tim discussed how we need to expand our revenue base in the city of Torrance and how that would be the best way to pay for senior services. He in particular wants more Green businesses to enter the city of Torrance. With the threat of losing 87 teaching positions with state budgets cuts Tim said he would use his past experience in lobbying for veterans to lobby Sacramento for more funds to our schools. Tim closed his last question saying that is work with L.A county traffic management center gives him insight into Torrance traffic problem and how if elected he would get Torrance on the board of L.A county traffic management center.

Cliff Numark had a great performance at forum as well. When asked what qualified him to be on the city council Cliff mentioned his executive work with the Red Cross turning a company that could not make payroll into a thriving business. He is also trained in public affairs with a degree from Princeton University. Cliff mentioned that with his Torrance 2.0, mass e-mail marketing, more Torrance residents could be informed about various Torrance issues such as Torrance Cultural Arts Events, what is on the city council's agenda and crime in their neighborhood. When it came to contributions he made to the city Cliff talked about how he instituted Open Mike Night a forum where the city council candidates could talk directly to the voters. Cliff also on the Parks and Recreations Commission got our schools top priority when it came to usage of the plunge. Finally when trying to fix the expected decline in city revenue Cliff said he would use our general anomaly fund to fix temporary budget deficits and would institute a zero based budget while brining more business into the city to fix a more structural deficit problem.

Pat Furey showed his credentials when he talked about his work with the Torrance Education Foundation and in the North Torrance Homeowners Association fighting over development. When it came to getting citizens more involved in government Pat said he would advocate the use of the city's website and would also tap into information technology such as e-mail marketing. Pat also said if elected to the city council he would champion for efforts to improve services the city provided. He committed to fixing the "dry wall and patched up roofs" that are the existing state of the senior center and said he would raise money for our schools like he did in the past. His most recent accomplishment being to get Scott Robinson Honda dealership to give $100 to Torrance schools for every car they sell.

By the time the 3rd question rolled around it was Gene Barnett's term to make an impact. When asked what he would change in the city of Torrance Gene mentioned the need to improve traffic and limit congestion in the city by taking responsibility for PCH and Hawthorn. Gene also advocated as a Parks and Recreations Commissioner open space preservations adding to our local parks and the Madrona Marsh in an attempt to Green the city. Gene is opposed to converting industrial to residential zoning and believes the condominiums at Wilson Park are a bad example of doing so. Gene believes more business is need in the city of Torrance and in particular expanding Del Amo mall with an anchor store and a convention center where Montgomery Ward use to be.

Susan also began on the 3^rd question as she discussed changing our budget to reflect fiscally sound principles, stability and a revision of the strategic plan. Her experience with the Torrance Police Department as a captain for 32 years brings her a reputable resume of community service along with the her time as a member of the Exxon Mobile Citizens Advisory Board and the Torrance Airport Commission among other things. Susan also advocated having a strong relationship with out schools and the Torrance Chamber of Commerce to discuss issues in the city, listen to different perspectives and achieve the same goal.

When Rod Guyton took to the podium he discussed how people must have a desire to get involved in the civics process and it is the city council’s job to provide an enthusiastic atmosphere for them. He mentioned how his involvement in the Torrance Youth council got younger generations of Torrance involved and they told their parents so they got involved and so forth. Rod is against over-development in the city of Torrance and would seek to re-zone the north east side of the mall in order to prevent developers from building high-density housing. Guyton said he would try to make up for the expected loss revenue of the school district to the tune of $9 million because of state budget cuts and talked about how he has set up an agreement for Power Ford to give $50 for every car they sell to Torrance schools. Rod is also in favor of setting up a Torrance chamber program that would allow local business to give a certain percentage of their revenue to our schools. Finally on traffic Rod believes it is a South Bay problem not a just a Torrance problem and would seek a joint effort to reduce congestion within the South Bay. Rod is also considering promoting more schools buses to take children to school instead of congesting our streets in the morning with parents taking their kids to school.

Kurt Weideman was more than ready to answer about the contributions he has made to the city of Torrance which include him being a Torrance Planning Commissioner, Northwest Torrance Homeowner’s Board Member, Torrance Cultural Arts Center Foundation Vice President, Torrance Education Foundation Member, Torrance Historical Society Vice President, Torrance Public Library Foundation Board Member and a member of the Torrance Sister City Association. When it came to discussing over-development in Torrance Kurt remembers strawberry fields before there was a Del Amo mall and said over development was a threat to our quality of life, parking, infrastructure, traffic and Torrance’s small town feel. Kurt ended by saying Torrance needs to always bee in touch with its historic roots.

Mike Mauno who did not get involved into the question part of the forum until the 7^th question began by saying his creativity and outside of the box thinking was what led him to create a $10 million windfall for the city of Torrance while on the Re-Use Committee of the Chandler Rock Quarry and Ready-Mix Concrete Plant discussing the re-use of industrial property into open space, recreational and single family homes. Mike also believes that Torrance must remain a balanced city but also change with the global economy and stay modern to adapt to an ever changing world. Mike also discussed his support for the school bond measure as he feels our schools reflect the state of our city with our kids representing Torrance’s future.

Also mentioned in the forum were talks about the state of California forcing Torrance to add 2,000 more homes to the city through the Regional Housing Needs Assessment Act in order to meet population concerns. If you ask me Torrance has done it’s fair share when it comes to housing. Looking into the matter it seems as if this is an empty mandate for I see no punishment of any kind outlined by the state if a city does not comply with that states request/demand to build more housing. To put in the simplest terms it seems California’s housing threat to Torrance “has no teeth”, but I will keep my eye on this issue.

Overall the last Torrance Forum of the election season was a great success and I can honestly say that all the candidates mentioned above would be a great addition to our city council. Too bad we can only pick four.

Also stay tuned for my Torrance City Council Candidate awards that will be coming soon!

Torrance Election 2008

“Because We Want More Than Sound Bites”