Voters deserve to know how a candidate responds to special interest organizations whose endorsement he or she seeks.

By Neal Andrews

Full text of answers to questions posed by Special Interest Organizations. Full text of Candidacy Announcement speech.

Questions 1-6 were essentially biographical.

7. What are your position/thoughts on the following three ballot measures?

Measure A Sales Tax Increase: I have agreed to remain neutral on this issue in exchange for securing Council concurrence in my proposals to streamline and improve the planning process and create firm timelines for City staff to process applications and clear penalties for failure to meet these timelines, as well as other significant improvements in our processes. I am content to respect the voters' wishes.

Measure B View Ordinance:

I oppose this ordinance. It is unnecessary. It creates a property right to a view that has never before been recognized in law. It empowers a private, non-elected body to write legislation. It takes away existing property rights from every property owner to extract the highest and best value and to develop his property to the fullest extent permitted by codes. Heretofore, building codes have been designed primarily to protect the public safety. While they have tended to be abused to a greater and greater extent by those who wish to use zoning and building regulations to serve other ends like inhibiting free enterprise by preventing a Wal-Mart from entering the local market or limiting the mass and scale of buildings so they meet someone's relatively arbitrary judgment about whether they fit into a neighborhood, never before have they proposed to simply enshrine a "view". It is a colossal abuse of land use authority, a taking of property rights and values, and entirely unnecessary as a matter of policy. This proposal would for all practical purposes reduce the value, just as one example, of two of our City owned lots on the Pierpont beach to next to zero, cheating the taxpayers' out of at least $2,000,000 in accrued land value in their assets. The proposed ordinance submitted to the City by Mr. Fulton's and Mr. Summers View Task Force actually proposes that if any property owner has ever had a view, he is entitled to that view in perpetuity and to its restoration if it has been restricted by the activity of an adjacent property owner. This proposal apparently has also been endorsed as meeting most of the preferences of the VCORD activists. My observation is that we should not let the Chumash know of this, because if we do they will have the right to restore Ventura to the pristine coast of the Shishelop village, or perhaps even to the age of the dinosaurs.

Measure C Anti-Wal-Mart Big Box

I oppose this ballot measure. It is another abuse of land use policy to achieve a special interest objective furthering a specific union's goals and restricting competition in the marketplace. Its proponents include the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and their allies, in this instance, the major supermarket chains, who are desperately trying to inhibit competition in food and food pricing, and who are represented by a variety of front groups that go by various names like CAUSE and Liveable Ventura, but whose funding and existence is almost exclusively from this union and its chain store allies.

We desperately need the sales tax revenue that would be generated by a Wal-Mart in Ventura. Moreover a Wal-Mart store would be a boon to the over 37,000 residents of this City whose income is at or below poverty level standards. Our residents who subsist at less than poverty level standards today have increased by 50% in just the last two years. They desperately need help, and that means jobs and lower prices for basic commodities.

There is no credible evidence whatsoever that a WalMart in Ventura would drive any other viable business out of the market. It has not had that effect in Oxnard or Simi Valley. Why would Ventura be different?

The competitive pressure of a WalMart would serve consumers well by helping keep prices low and retail sales higher. It could produce up to a million dollars net revenue to the City annually. That's money that could go a long way toward preserving many of the programs City residents are so concerned to keep, or it could provide the needed funds to hire more public safety officers or keep our libraries open.

8. What are your position/thoughts on pension reform for public servants?

My stand on pension reform is well documented. I strongly support pension reform. Our current system of public employee pension is simply unsustainable and economically nonsensical. We currently are spending over $13.5 million, most of it from an $84 million General Fund budget, on pension obligations annually. That's without having yet felt the impact of the recent 50% increase in Fire pensions. That does not address the unfunded liability.

Today we have more retirees and beneficiaries on pension than we have employees. They are living far longer, many living as long as 40 years after having worked as little as 20 years in the system. For the most part our city employees make not one dime of a contribution to their pension fund. The cost of these pension benefits, at least those for public safety, are rising every year far faster than our revenues. That means that each year a greater and greater proportion of City revenue must be devoted to these public safety pension benefits, and fewer and fewer dollars are available to pay for appropriate raises and benefits for other employees, much less to fund programs like libraries, kids after school activities, parks, social services to aid the poor and homeless, etc.

9. How would you improve communications with both the county and Sacramento?

I have strong personal relationships with two of our County Supervisors, Long and Zaragosa, and a long history of working together with them on projects of common interest. John and I particularly have a great relationship. In addition I have strong personal relationships with a number of the other County elected officials and the County CEO. I have a respectful working relationship with Mr. Bennett, and we share a common base of support in those elements of the City electorate who have strong concerns and engagement in social issues. I believe the essence of communications is personal rapport, and my relationships in these cases are a tremendous asset to the City.

At the State level, while I have reasonable and courteous working relationships with all our elected representatives, I have frankly been far more openly critical and a voice that has sometimes stung them in its demand for accountability and its resistance to the arrogance of Sacramento and the tendency for Sacramento politicians to simply run roughshod over the interests of Cities and our constituents. I don't think this has been a disservice to our citizens. Rather I think it has led these Sacramento politicos of both parties to appreciate the fact that I represent a voice they must pay attention to. The Star publisher once described me as "the lone clear voice" in Ventura. Whether Democrat or Republican, the elected representatives in Sacramento pay attention when I speak and know I will speak fearlessly, openly and directly.

Do they like what I say? Not always. Do they hear it loud and clear? Always. The communication is very effective. The message not always warmly received. But the message gets delivered and delivered effectively. Without it they would do far more damage than they do. Could I do something to improve this situation? Not without betraying my principles. I don't plan to do that anytime soon.

I have a wonderful working relationship with both our Congressional representatives and their staffs, as I do with Senator Feinstein, whom I have known personally since she was a Councilmember in San Francisco.

10. How would you encourage more businesses to locate in Ventura?

I have already done a great deal to promote business development in Ventura, including fighting to get Economic Prosperity established as high priority goal of the General Plan (would you believe that heretofore no one had ever sought to establish economic development as an official city goal).

I fought to establish the Economic Development Committee of the Council, and, as its first Chair I guided the development of its first economic development strategy and plan. I was the author of the Jobs Investment Fund (JIF), which was the primary reason that Ventura was named by Fortune Magazine as one of the top 100 cities in the nation in which to start a new business this year. JIF is a program that has won national recognition as a model for cities all across the country wishing to take local action to stimulate economic development and was recently cited in Nation's Cities Weekly, which called it a national model for cities seeking to stimulate local economic development.

A companion spin-off from JIF was the business incubator (a project incidentally that I helped work on conceptually as far back as the late 1990's when I participated in an economic development task force within the Chamber). In addition, I helped create the business loan program that supported expansion of the dealerships at the auto center (incidentally a self-funding program at no taxpayer expense). I was the author of the development of the joint public-private employer assisted employee home ownership program, and I spent the last nine months negotiating to secure the development of a far more streamlined and efficient planning process that is now about to be unveiled by the new Director of Community Development, and many more -- an improvement that many may take credit for, but that simply would never have occurred without my single-minded insistence that we move forward with these modifications as part of my general negotiation over the sales tax proposal.

It should be noted that last year my employer sponsored employee home purchase plan that I initiated in Ventura was featured as one of the great innovative programs of the year by the Canadian National Congress on Housing and Community Development, and the Jobs Investment Fund, which I first proposed, and the spin-off incubator program is being featured as one of the leading innovative programs to be used as a model for cities across the nation at the Annual Conference of the National League of Cities. These national and international accolades are not won by doing nothing. They reflect the dynamic influence my presence on the Ventura Council has had and the strong effect my leadership has produced. The simple fact is that these innovations are ground-breaking and the world is saying so. I am justly proud of them.

I have over the years proposed more policy innovations than any other Council Member of similar tenure, and I have never had the Council reject one of these innovations. They have not always adopted them at the first presentation, but in the end they have embraced every one, and these innovations have meant millions of dollars of savings to the City and millions more in advancement of local economic interests.

One of the most prominent bankers in Ventura commented about me saying: "Neal Andrews is the most creative economic mind we have seen on the Ventura City Council in decades." Though it may seem immodest, I'm pretty sure he was correct. While I support the City and its allied organizations like the Chamber and the VCB going to Las Vega each year to try to promote new retail stores coming to town, I am disappointed that my colleagues on Council have not yet taken that idea, which I sponsored along with one or two others, to the level I thought we would take it. I still believe that my original version of a Strike Team composed of elected officials, city staff and local business representatives needs to be developed to engage in a far more proactive and aggressive effort to attract businesses to Ventura, and we need to put a lot more money into play to sell our City as a business destination.

I am proud that we were named one of the hundred best cities in which to establish a new business in America this year. I know I am a big part of the reason that recognition was given to the City. I have hardly begun to engage in this arena and have a lot more creative ideas. I am the only Councilperson to serve on a national policy committee, as I serve on the National Policy Steering Committee on Community & Economic Development. I have brought to the City many ideas that I have learned have worked in other cities around the nation (and I am proud to say, that the ideas I have sponsored in Ventura have received national acclaim as a result of my work on this body).

Some ill-informed observers criticize me at every turn about the cost of my participation in this national policy work (less than $8,000 per year), but I can tell you it has not only brought the recognition that I mentioned above to our City, it has brought hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in direct benefits to our city, the most recent being a doubling of the CDBG grant funds available to fund local projects, and I have a proposal that will recover or protect $15 million of our city investments that is being actively pursued by the National League of Cities on our behalf because I am there.

11. What role should special interests have in establishing public policy?

Every city has "special interests" and every "special interest" is entitled to participate in the political process. They have a particular view and generally advocate that their special concerns should have attention or resources dedicated to them. Sometimes they are correct. Sometimes not. It is important to hear what each interest has to say and to provide an opportunity for them each to be able to participate in the political process. The best policy decisions come from policy-makers who are fully informed and aware of the ramifications of their decisions on all sectors of the polity.

12. How would you describe economic vitality for the community and what role does the city play in bringing economic vitality to Ventura?

Economic vitality is simple. Are your commercial transactions up or down? Are retail sales increasing? Are property values rising? Is unemployment down and job growth up? Are pay rates rising? Are bankruptcies and business closures down? Is public opinion confirming that times are good and economic prospects are promising for the future?

The City is not the pre-eminent driver of economic prosperity, but it sure can make a contribution. It can throw its weight against economic downturns if it's smart by consolidating efforts to bring mew capital investment projects into action to help provide jobs and liquid funds to business in times of recession, like these. It can mobilize effectively to secure greater proportions of Federal and State investments or grants. It can reorganize its schedules of capital projects to place more of them in process now rather than space them out over a period of time in future years.

More importantly, a well-planned City can make quality development projects easy to realize and less costly to build. We haven't done much of that until now. In fact if anything we have stood in the way of good projects and made them even costlier to develop. We've made planning approvals take more time than they should, and we've made getting approvals far less efficient than it should be.

That's why I put forward my nine recommendations for change in the planning process that would speed the process, improve its predictability, give incentives to expedite decisions, and generally make it more efficient, and I am pleased to say that the Council finally endorsed them unanimously in July.

13. If elected, would you feel you work for:

a) the people who voted for you? b) the community? c) the City?

I work for the City as a whole. That is 100% of my obligation. I judge every decision I make in terms of how I feel it affects the City as a whole and the average resident and taxpayer. There are a lot of people who are angry with me because I did not or do not favor this or that specific project that is near and dear to their hearts. If enough of them get together in this election and decide to take their anger out on me, I will lose. If so, I have a great many worthy projects to do that will help the many organizations I work with and support, and I will simply go do that. It will keep me occupied productively for the rest of my life. I made up my mind when I first ran for public office that I would never make a decision based upon its popularity or the likelihood that it might help me stay in elected office. I figure my ego has never needed public approval before, and I shouldn't start making that important now. I think that was the best decision that I ever made either as a person or as a public official.

If more than one (a, b, or c), what percentage of each and why?

There is only one answer. I've given it.

NEAL ANDREWS Statement on the Arts, September 2009

Leadership, Integrity & Common Sense

Shortly after my first election I proposed that we make creation of a Center for the Arts, organized as a public-private collaborative project, a priority goal for the City Council. It wasn't an original idea. (Well, maybe the public-private partnership to accomplish it was.) But generally it was an idea that had been suggested a number of times over the years. It just never seemed to get sufficient support among City officials before.

I believed and still believe that such a project would complement the immense efforts we have been putting into the revitalization of downtown Ventura and would serve in a capacity similar to an anchor store of great value to the business and commercial district of our City. Further, it would tremendously enhance our tourist industry, and complement our efforts to capitalize on our robust arts community.

I envisioned this project as a great collaboration between the art world and its supporters and the business and development community who would see the Center for the Arts as the centerpiece of a major redevelopment effort in the downtown + a new and dynamic mixed use neighborhood of boutiques, grottoes and paseos, lined with bistros, cafes, and nightlife, galleries and unique artisan shops and studios, and artists literally working and even selling their work in the courtyards or on the street, with residential and office units on upper floors above. A Montmartre in Ventura, if you will, for those of you who know and love Paris as I do.

The Council endorsed my proposal, even if they may not all have shared the total vision, and a key piece of land was set aside as the City's contribution to the project.

While the original site plan has been abandoned and we have seen the worst recession since the Great Crash of 1929 lay those high hopes aside for the time being, that dream still lives, at least in this breast. As we eventually recover from this economic ordeal we are in today, we must bring these exciting ideas back into play in our dialogue with our major property interests downtown and once again light a bright torch of hope for this concept.

Despite our challenges, some pieces of this grand concept have moved forward successfully. The Working Artists Ventura (WAV) project is in construction and will open later this year, providing affordable housing and studio space for our working arts community. My proposal to provide an Artist in Residence program in this facility, bringing world class artists to live and work among us, has drawn the interest of the likes of musicians Chris Brubeck and Charlie Daniels, the magnificent urban streetscape artist Mark McMahon, and other celebrities of the performing, literary and visual art world. We have earned the reputation as a cultural center of the Central California Coast and become a cultural tourist destination. We have nurtured one of the finest theatre companies in California, the Rubicon, and we have one of the best Music Festivals anywhere. We have integrated our arts community into our educational programs to the great benefit of our children.

The contribution that such a dynamic and vital arts community makes to the greatness of a City is hard to assess, but it is clear that it is among the major factors that continue to make Ventura one of the most attractive places to live in the nation, and I am proud of my support for it. We have made a major investment in the cultural life of our City. We've woven the enriching and inspirational experience of the arts into the fabric of our lives to the great benefit of our community, and in so doing we've made our local economy stronger and more prosperous. It would be a disaster of shortsightedness and political cowardice to retreat now from our commitment to the cultural enrichment of our community.

"We deeply appreciate your strong and consistent support for the arts. ... Your commitment to our community both spiritually and financially is an exciting role model for others." Jordan Laby, Chairman, San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts

2009 CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Why are you seeking the endorsement of SEIU Local 721? List your qualifications and reasons for seeking this endorsement.

___I believe it is important to take an inclusive approach to political life. Accordingly, I have always sought and most of the time received the endorsement of labor organizations in my campaigns for public office. While I am a strong fiscal conservative, as you know, I have also always consistently stood strongly for progressive social policies. I have been one of the most effective members of the Ventura City Council during my time of service. Let me list some of those accomplishments: · I led the fight against the ill-conceived 911 fee and ultimately secured its repeal. · I've led the way on water policy and in water conservation, saving millions upon millions of gallons of water annually. I helped draft and secured adoption of the Ahwahnee Water Principles that are employed statewide to guide development with respect to water issues. Under my leadership and at my request, Ventura was the first City in the State to formally adopt these principles. · I led the effort and introduced the policy initiative to assist owners of historic property to preserve local landmarks. · I led the effort that culminated in the City's endorsement of the Plan to End Homelessness. Our Homeless Prevention Fund was recently recognized as a national model program. I wrote the first check to start this Fund. This Fund prevented nearly 200 people from becoming homeless last year and did not cost the City a dime. · I proposed the request for policy consideration and led the effort to establish a formal Economic Development Committee and crafted a meaningful economic development strategy for the City for the first time. · I led the effort to create a program to stimulate business investment and business development in the City, the Jobs Investment Fund (JIF). This fund also spun off the City's economic development incubator. The JIF program was also recently cited by Nation's Cities weekly magazine as a national model. · I initiated the program to assist employees to purchase homes in the city with employer assistance that costs the taxpayers absolutely nothing. · I led the effort to secure passage of the State Constitutional Amendment (Prop 65 and Prop 1A) that limits the ability of the State to confiscate local tax revenues and forces the Legislature and the Governor to pay back any funds they "borrow" within three years with interest. · I led the effort to bring a cultural arts center to the City and to make Ventura truly the cultural pearl of the Central Coast and the New Art City. As a result, our tourist industry is still robust despite the recession and we have retained many jobs that otherwise may have been lost. · I introduced the concepts of Performance Based Management to the City. These and their corollary, Outcomes Based Budgeting, have significantly improved city management and supported better budgeting practices. · Most recently, I led the effort to de-criminalize poverty and homelessness and to initiate a pilot program in cooperation with churches to allow the homeless to safely sleep in their cars on selected church parking lots under supervision and with sanitary conditions. · As Chair of the Finance Committee I led the effort to cut nearly 15% from the City budget to achieve a balanced budget under the pressures of the greatest recession since the Crash of 1929, and we did so without the significant lay-offs everyone thought would be essential. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is your attitude toward unions? What experience have you had with unions?

I believe unions perform a valuable service in effectively organizing and representing the voice of labor. I have both been a member of four unions at various times in my earlier career, and also served as a member of an organizing committee for AFT when I was teaching at the university level years ago. (We lost the right of representation to the far more conservative AAUP in that election on a very narrow vote. I believe we would have won if the Teamsters had not also qualified to organize and split the vote a third way. Since I never felt the Teamsters had a credible program to represent education faculty, I always suspected that they had been induced to enter the election by university management, just to make sure AFT did not win and that AAUP did.)

Since I have been on Council, I have taken numerous opportunities to reach out to all our bargaining units through their representatives, as you are well aware. I believe we have a strong and healthy relationship, you and I.

When the County threatened horrendous cuts in mental health services a number of years ago, cuts that entailed significant lay-offs of county personnel, as Chair of the County Mental Health Board at the time I led a public protest effort and mobilized NAMI, patients and consumers, their families and sympathetic members of the public and we flooded the Board of Supervisors Chambers with more than 300 protesters while we established a picket line outside the County Administrative Building and held a press conference. As a result we reduced the number of lay-offs dramatically. I was honored a few years ago by the National Alliance for Mental Illness in part for that achievement.

I managed the campaign against Measure O in 2000 when Community Memorial Hospital with the support of the other private hospitals in the County proposed to take hundreds of millions of dollars in Tobacco Settlement Funds from the County to be given to the private hospitals. They spent more than $3,000,000 and we were only able to raise about $140,000, but we ran a great campaign, we picketed their hospitals, we held protest rallies throughout the County, I spoke one evening alone to 3,000 voters, and we crushed them in the election. You were a big part of that effort. That effort saved countless County jobs that otherwise would have been lost, and the Tobacco Settlement funding has been a mainstay of County health services funding ever since.

Most people give Pierre Durand the credit for establishing the County Clinic System and the County Employee Health Plan, but, as the Assistant Administrator of the County Medical Center in the early 1980's, I designed both when Pierre was still just an analyst in the County Auditor's Department and long before he became Health Care Agency Director. Pierre simply had the good sense to take those designs and expand them. Those innovations have provided both hundreds of jobs for county employees over the years, but also lower cost quality health services to county employees.

When County employees struck for better wages and benefits a few years ago, I contributed to their relief fund. I stood with them on their picket lines. I delivered food and drinks to the protestors at my expense. And I spoke on their behalf at County Board meetings and elsewhere.

When the County was being bankrupted by Ordinance 4088 and non-public safety jobs were being eliminated to support the Sheriff's and DA's bloated budgets, I supported its repeal and publicly endorsed the County Board's efforts to defend repeal or alteration of Ordinance 4088 against the lawsuit filed by the Sheriff and DA.

When our City Council has proposed to privatize and contract out jobs of City employees, I have been the only member of the Council who has systematically opposed that idea. Let me repeat that: the ONLY Council Member who has consistently opposed contracting out routine jobs. My position is and has always been that a routine job essential to an on-going city program should be performed by a regular city employee who receives standard pay and benefits and should not be contracted to a private sector company that may pay sub-standard wages or benefits. When the City management has repeatedly proposed exempting outside contractors from the Living Wage Ordinance, especially the golf course contractor, I was the only vote to oppose.

A few years ago, when SEIU needed help to break loose an impasse in negotiations with the Ventura Port District, you came to me, not some other member of the Council, and asked for my help. I talked to the Commissioners. After that the negotiations moved forward to a mutually successful conclusion.

A few years ago when the Firefighters Association found themselves in an apparent impasse with the City, they came to me. I asked the Council to listen to the tapes of the negotiating sessions as I had with some concern, and shortly thereafter the negotiations began to move forward again. Of course, the Firefighters conveniently forget any of that because I didn't support their last contract that required us to increase their pension benefit by 50% and commit well over a million dollars a year to their pension funds that we did not have.

Several years ago when the City unbundled retirees from coverage under its standard employee health plan in order to avoid a 30% hike in costs for regular employees like you, but with the result that the retirees' out-of-pocket cost for health insurance more than doubled, I was the one who stepped in and said we should be able to do it differently and at lower cost. I successfully called for a temporary City subsidy until we could work out a different arrangement. Because of my health care and insurance experience, I was able to lead the successful effort to secure alternative options at reasonable cost for your retirees.

When the Central Labor Council came to me on behalf of UFCW and asked that I support Martell Frazer's appointment to the City Planning Commission, I not only agreed to do so, but I made the motion to recommend her appointment and argued in support of her candidacy. Now it was no secret that that appointment was requested in hopes of giving UFCW a strong seat at the table in dealing with any proposal for a Wal-Mart in Ventura. It was no secret that I did not and do not personally support the use of land use and planning policy to achieve UFCW objectives and will not use them specifically to block Wal-Mart from opening a store in Ventura. I think those goals are properly achieved through the collective bargaining process. If necessary they are achieved on the picket line. But I also believed that labor should have a prominent voice in the policy discussion, and I was happy to support you in securing that seat at the table. I will be happy to support a boycott of Wal-Mart to achieve labor objectives if they do open a store in Ventura, but I will not condone the subversion and abuse of what should be a rational and objective land use planning process to achieve a political objective that is unrelated to land use.

I have always been willing to sit down and discuss realistically and candidly any issue of concern to labor at the City. I have frequently come to your labor representatives to bring my concerns to them as well. I don't play games with you, I don't tell you one thing and do another, and I am as straight-forward and clear about my analyses of the circumstances and about what I believe I can support as I know how to be, and your representatives know that. I will never be and have never been unfair to our employees.

I have not been able to support the most recent contract agreements between the City and the public safety unions, and everyone knows that. My issue is simple: We don't have and haven't had the money to support those salary and benefit increases. On the other hand, I have always felt that our SEIU employees were getting the short end of the stick.

When the Chief Financial Officer certified that there will not be enough money to pay the salaries and benefits that police and fire demanded without radical cuts in other high priority core programs or a tax increase, and when we have failed twice in a row to secure voter approval for such tax increases, even one so little as $11.00 per year per land parcel, and when it was absolutely clear that a recession was on the horizon if it had not already begun, then only an irresponsible elected official could vote to accept those contract terms. You are taxpayers too as well as being labor representatives. Would you really prefer to be represented by someone who throws fiscal prudence out the door, or would you rather have a fiscal realist? The bottom line is that the proposals that I have put on the table with respect to pension reform would, I believe, give you a better deal than you have today. They would be sustainable. And they would permit us to be able to offer better pay to your members. I am acutely aware that, while the police got a 17% increase in their last negotiation, and fire got an 8% increase and a 50% bump in their pensions, SEIU has been repeatedly asked to accept raises that sometimes did not even keep up with the cost of living. What is wrong with this picture? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Wright Library serves 2/3rds of Ventura's population and is in danger of shutting down because of budget shortfalls. Is closing the busiest library in town appropriate when there may be other solutions to the budget deficit?

No, and I do not support closing Wright. I do not know at the moment just what can be done to save Wright, but even at reduced hours I would definitely keep it open so long as we have a lease from the College. I also believe that under current economic circumstances it is unlikely that the College will insist on our exit from that property in 2015. They may be willing to extend the lease year to year for several more years after that date. My preference in the long run is to build another library in the immediate vicinity of the College, perhaps even on the vacant lot across the street adjacent to the day care and nursing facility. I do not believe the capital funding would be the obstacle. The obstacle is probably how to carry the annual operating costs, just as it is today. However, I think there are options that we have not yet fully explored. I am prepared to buy as much time as we can to stay right there in Wright until we can find the correct alternative. I do not think building a new library at Kimble Community Park is the best idea. I think that we can grow our normal revenue streams over the next five years sufficiently to be able to pay to keep Wright or its equivalent in operation, but I am also willing to use part of the revenue from a sales tax measure to save Wright if it passes. An alternative that I am willing to explore is a library specific parcel assessment, or an entertainment tax that would add a small increment to any entertainment ticket or cover charge within the City and would be used exclusively to benefit the arts and cultural activities of the City, including the libraries. There are probably a dozen other ideas that others may come up with, and I am open minded about all of them.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. City employees this year took a 6% cut to their salaries and had to implement furloughs to help the city meet its budget needs. What will you do to help make those city employees whole again? _________________________________________________________________________________________My first priority, as we regain economic prosperity in the City and as our tax revenue regenerates, is to restore the cuts voluntarily agreed to by our City employees, particularly those at the lowest echelons of compensation. That would generally be SEIU employees. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________

5. There's a lot of talk about pension reform in the public retirement system. Do you support it and what does that process mean to you?

I do strongly support pension reform, particularly as it relates to public safety pension systems. On the other hand, I have never proposed taking anything away from our current employees or reducing in any way their benefits duly agreed to by the City in past legitimate collective bargaining actions. My proposals would only apply to new hires going forward, except where an existing employee may voluntarily wish to switch to the new system. I strongly believe we must together examine the current system and come to a mutual understanding of what the problems are with it and why it is unsustainable, then try to identify the ways in which those problems could be fixed. I am not wedded to any specific solution, though I have proposed movement to a defined contribution system as one that is typical of most modern pension systems. There are certainly other options such as a cap on retirement benefits, employee share investment, increased age of retirement, or many other options or combinations. I do not pretend to have the final solution. I only say I understand the nature of the long term problem, and I appreciate the fact that if we do not find a solution, the current system will eventually make it impossible for the City to responsibly and intelligently pursue a solution. I do know this. If we do not develop a solution of some sort, the public safety pension benefits will continue to eat up a disproportionate share of the budget and will continue to grow far more rapidly than our revenues, with the result that we will continue to have to cut other areas of the budget to compensate for the public safety retirement program. Public safety already represents more than 54% of the entire General Fund budget. As their retirees grow in numbers and live longer and longer, as they have been doing, God bless them, the required budget allocation just to meet their retirement obligations will crowd out every other sector of the budget, making it impossible to maintain other programs, forcing cuts in other personnel sectors, and increasing the inequity of our current employee relationships with SEIU employees slipping further and further behind. I don't think that is right. Are you aware that today the public safety sector PERS contribution takes $8.5 million out of our meager $84.5 total budget + a full 10% and rapidly growing. All the rest of the employees of the City, including all your members, take only $5.1 million. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What is your opinion on in-sourcing of work?

As I indicated earlier in this questionnaire, I have been the only Council Member who has consistently voted against contracting out routine work and who has refused to exempt contractors from the requirements of the living wage ordinance. My position is and has always been that a routine job essential to an on-going city program should be performed by a regular city employee who receives standard pay and benefits and should not be contracted to a private sector company that may pay sub-standard wages or benefits. When the City management has repeatedly proposed exempting outside contractors from the Living Wage Ordinance, especially the golf course contractor, I was the only vote to oppose. (Are you beginning to see a pattern here?)

7. In election races, candidates and office holders always say they value public employees. What will you do to show the employees you do value them? What will you do to demonstrate that to the public?

I'll continue to do what I have always done. No more, no less. I'll come to every retirement that I can, to express my support and good wishes. I'll come to every reward ceremony that I can to express my appreciation, I'll continue to be your friend, whether you think it is important or not. When you have a baby, if I learn about it, I'll tell you how happy I am for you. When you achieve something important, if I know about it, I'll share your pride in it. If you get an award, and I learn about it, I'll be there to celebrate with you. We are family, even if you don't think so much of me. I am coming to your party just like your uncle who sometimes may not be your favorite guy and the one who might sometimes embarrass you at your kid's wedding reception, because I think you are my family even if I make you uncomfortable, so get ready to live with it. _______________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

8. If elected, what relationship do you expect to have with SEIU? Would you consider including SEIU and its members in future planning? Would you consider appointing qualified SEIU members to appointed Boards or other positions in your office or in City governance? ______________________________________________________________________________________Our relationship would not change. As I indicated previously, I have always supported making sure labor has an appropriate seat at the table. I will continue to do so. I have been one of the strongest members of Council to assure that we include labor in all our deliberative bodies, and I have frequently corrected the oversight of my colleagues on the Council when they sought to appoint an advisory body or a public commission without taking steps to include organized labor. I have generally been successful in causing them to reconsider their neglectful actions. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Describe your priorities if elected or re-elected?

My first priority is to do everything I can to restore prosperity to our local economy. Everything else is contingent upon that. We can't hope to solve future budget problems without higher revenues. If we raise taxes, we will sooner or later simply find the public unwilling to continue to allow us to do so, and we will become increasingly uncompetitive in the regional economy. We'll lose jobs, sales, revenues, and our ability to maintain our tax base. What we need to do is to raise our natural revenue streams without raising taxes. We need to increase tourism, retail sales, and property values. That's how we raise revenues without raising tax rates.

Today, for example, we have a competitive advantage over neighboring cities with our existing sales tax at a half-cent lower rate. Because of that difference, we are attracting people who want to make large taxable purchases to our stores, and we are holding our position better in sales in this recession than some of our neighboring communities who have raised their sales tax. I have strongly supported the small programs we have funded in the arts in Ventura. They have benefited you and especially your children. More importantly they have continued to bring into this City large numbers of cultural tourists and out of town day visitors, and those "cultural" tourists have spent far more money in town than regular tourists. For example, the Scottish festival, on whose Board of Directors I sit, has every year since we founded it, brought thousands of outside visitors to town, and it has not cost the City a dime. Last year we brought over 20,000 people to Ventura and sold every hotel room in town for the weekend of the festival. Consequently, we are faring much better in retaining our tourist base and their contribution to our revenues than our neighbor cities.

I created the Jobs Investment Fund (JIF) that is designed to improve the attractiveness of Ventura for new businesses at the same time that it increases the tax base for the City, and that program is today being recognized just this month by the National League of Cities as a model for the nation for cities who wish to stimulate economic growth in their communities. I fought hard on the Council to keep the JIF program alive when other Council members often wanted to strip out the few dollars we had there to spend on their favorite one time projects with no long term benefits to the community except that a few dozen people would probably vote for them at the next election. Thank God, I won those battles, because today we have a one of a kind program that is setting us apart from every other city in the area and making us a potentially more attractive place for industry to bring new jobs. _________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Do you support Measure A, the City's Tax initiative a sales tax increase to protect government services and jobs against further cutbacks and some restoration? What impact do you see its passage having on the city workers?"

I have agreed with my Council colleagues that I would remain neutral on Measure A. Ordinarily I would oppose Measure A as a misguided attempt to raise tax revenues by raising tax rates when it actually will tend to defeat our competitive position in the regional marketplace. However, for good reason or poor, my Council colleagues feel strongly that they must try to raise taxes to pay for more public safety personnel, and in view of their strong concerns and desires I have agreed not to oppose their efforts. In exchange they have agreed to do a number of things that I believe will help increase economic growth in Ventura, and if I am correct it may permit us to grow our local economy faster than our competing communities and in the end make the impact of the sales tax increase less harmful. This is political compromise in action. We'll have to wait and see who made the better bargain. I am confident in any case that the bargain I made will benefit the City as a whole and provide more funds for essential services whether or not Measure A passes. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. If further salary cuts were necessary in a worsening economy, do you support a furlough option?

I support any option that would permit us to save the basic jobs of our employees and protect their families from the worst outcomes of this recession, while maintaining adequate levels of service to our community and the balanced budget we are legally required to maintain.

12. Are there any other comments you would like to make to explain why SEIU should endorse you for office over your competition? I've already said all I should need to say, and in any case I've said enough.

Responses to the Ventura Citizens for Hillside Preservation, August 8, 2009

PART I

1. Do you support VCHP's goal of permanent preservation of all the remaining hillsides and open space areas in or adjacent to the City of Ventura?

I support the preservation of our hillsides and open space. The key word here is "all". There is open space currently within the City that is scheduled for development as part of the current General Plan, consistent with our in-fill first strategy which I generally agree with. I also generally endorse the limited development approach and concepts found in the General Plan. There are no simple answers to complex issues and never have been. Each situation deserves careful and considered analysis.

2. Do you support the renewal of the SOAR voter approved boundaries?

Generally yes.

Do you want to see any changes in the SOAR boundaries for Ventura?

Frankly, I'm not certain of the answer to this question. I don't think I would make any major changes, but I have not studied every detail of the SOAR boundaries. I probably would favor some modification, for example, in the narrow strip along Harbor Blvd. adjacent to the Ventura Harbor where commercial and tourist serving development could be extraordinarily beneficial to the City and Port District and the merchants in the harbor area. This is the area at Harbor and Olivas Dr. that is currently used as an ag staging and equipment storage area. I would also support some development within the Canada Larga PEA in exchange for significant donations of the Canada Larga property to an organization like the Hillside Conservancy in order to assure permanent preservation. I might take a similar position with respect to properties along and adjacent to the rivers in order to secure land rights and the ability to restore and maintain the natural river conditions. I take a pragmatic approach to these matters and am certainly open to appropriate trade offs. I strongly believe we need to develop clearer guidelines as to when and under what conditions we would consider revisions, if at all.

3. What is your position on the undeveloped 215 acre hillside property above midtown which is within city limits?

I have no position. It probably cannot be developed to the maximum density currently permitted by codes, if that is what you are referring to, but I am not aware of any current proposal to do so.

4. What have you accomplished to further General Plan preservation policies while on Council? Policies such as Section 4 Land Use and Planning: Policy 3.2 "Support the protection of vital resources such as wetlands, groundwater recharge areas, woodlands, production lands, and land containing unique and endangered plants and animals." Policy 9.01 "Provide adequate land resources to meet the outdoor recreation needs of the present and future residents in the region and to promote tourism in the region." Policy 9.02 "Increase accessibility to open space lands for outdoor recreation."

First, I sponsored and secured the passage of water metering requirements in the City that have saved an estimated 48 million gallons of water every year. I have been an active participant of the watershed protection task forces for both the Ventura and the Santa Clara rivers. I worked for years to stop agricultural pollution of the aquifers under the Oxnard Plain by nitrate (fertilizer) and pesticide run-off into the percolation basins and via reverse well siphoning, and have been an active water conservationist working with the Southern California Water Committee since 1981. I have been a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Water Agencies for 8 years, and an alternate Director of the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency for the last several. In these capacities I work directly and consistently to preserve and protect our water resources. I have supported the Matilija dam removal and the Ventura River park project and am generally regarded as the expert on Council on water issues. I was an author of the Awahnee Water principles and the sponsor who brought these tightly conservationist development rules and guidelines to the City and successfully proposed their adoption as formal policy, making us the first city in the State of California to do so.In addition, I have supported collaboration, within our budgetary constraints, with the Conservancy for the preservation of our hillside lands and in their efforts to acquire or manage land, both in relation to the City and otherwise and have been a member and supporter of the Hillside Conservancy since its beginning. I am always amused at the surprise when people learn that I am what might be called a charter member, but my support has been consistent and significant. I was one of only two members of the Council, if you recall, who had the courage to stand up and oppose the massive hillside development plans proposed in 2001-02. I am a supporter of the Ventura Botanical Garden project.There has been no stronger advocate on Council for parks and park space, including access privileges to the open spaces above our city. In each instance when a collaborative approach has been brought forward, I have been an advocate within the limits of our abilities to fund or staff such efforts. I was the only voice in opposition to the $5 million concession on park fees to the downtown Olsen project.5. If re- elected, what would you do to support permanent hillside and open space preservation? I would continue to do what I have done. I stand on my record, and I believe my record speaks for itself. I have been a strong friend of conservation all my life, having served on both statewide bodies promoting natural resource conservation generally and water conservation specifically, as well as having served as an officer of both regional and state level organizations that promoted conservation and recreational uses of our open spaces.

6. What is your opinion of creating a new Ventura General Plan land use category for permanent protected open space?

I believe that is a reasonable category.

2009 Responses to Ventura County Coastal Association of Realtors Questions

CANDIDATE QUESTIONS

1. What do you see as the three (3) major issues within your city that affect real estate?

Mortgage defaults and foreclosure rate driving down property values while banks are reluctant to write down their losses to turn the property around faster and unwilling to make loans due to intensity of regulatory scrutiny and uncertainty in market

Unemployment at or near all time high while the City has lost 4 major employers in recent years and has failed to attract new quality employers.

Over elaborate and inefficient planning processes and criteria have delayed development projects and driven up costs unnecessarily.

2. What key groups/individuals are supporting you?

Shown elsewhere.

3. How would you balance environmental protection with property rights?

I have been a strong proponent of natural resource conservation and rational environmental policies as well as the strongest and most conservative protector of property rights on the Ventura City Council. There need be no incompatibility between the two. For example, I helped draft the Ahwahnee Water Principles for use as guidelines for urban development in a manner attentive to the value of water resources and the fact that in Southern California water is probably the defining or limiting natural resource. These guidelines provide recommendations and establish principles for development that reduce water waste, optimize water systems efficiency, establish best practices for developers and design professionals, and generally support conservation. Under my leadership Ventura became the first city in the State to formally adopt those principles as part of its guidelines for planning and development.

At the same time I have been among the strongest proponents of property owner compensation for conservation easements, whether to assure public access to public lands or to facilitate protection of the watersheds or as a means of encouraging property owners to allow their land to remain open space or in agricultural operation, particularly where the City may otherwise be encroaching in a manner to make continued agricultural use problematic.

In matters of infill development I have consistently stood for property developers rights to extract the maximum reasonable value from their property, consistent with the existing rules of the General Plan, as they move forward with development proposals and sometimes incur neighbor opposition over the height or mass or setback of their proposed structures. I have consistently fought to prevent planning guidelines and policy from being adopted that are overly and unnecessarily intrusive or restrictive, like the infamous specification in our Downtown Specific Plan that every residential unit had to have all its living spaces aligned on the street facing side of the unit and all of its sleeping areas aligned on the opposite side of the residence.

This would have made virtually every hillside home on the ocean side of the street non-conforming, as in almost every case they have been designed to put the living spaces on the view side of the residence, not the street side. My argument was simply what were we doing setting any design rules for the interior of a dwelling that were not directly and essentially confined to safety matters? Who were we to tell a property owner where his bedroom had to be? Though I lost this fight the first time as Council deferred to strong staff advocacy for their design concepts, (Gosh, New Urbanism principles of "street activation" just don't allow for sleeping quarters on the street side of a residence. Can you believe!) I ultimately prevailed and had this provision of the code rescinded against continuing staff opposition.

I have opposed the limitation on size of retail store on property rights grounds, successfully supported the modification of the Victoria Corridor Plan to allow properties to be upgraded and modernized when they otherwise would have been prohibited from upgrading and forced to obsolescence to protect property owners interests, and I vigorously oppose the so-called VCORD view and solar access protection measure on grounds that it purports to create a property right that has never existed to a view, while in fact taking away property rights from property owners whose property cannot be developed to its highest and best use within the existing rules if such a view right is allowed to become law.

4. Do you feel there are any aspects of the current Ventura city real estate development process that need improvement? If yes, what steps would you take to make it happen?

The process today is what I call "Give me a rock" planning. By that I mean, today the developer goes to the city planner and asks for guidance, and the planner say "Give me a rock." The developer dutifully goes out and brings back what in his mind is a beautiful rock, often at considerable expense The planner says, "Well that's a pretty nice rock, but I wanted a gray rock." So the developer again at significant additional expense goes out and comes back with a gray rock, and the planner says, "No, I meant a gray rock with little white specks in it." Well, you see where this is going. I placed before the Council in January a set of proposals to definitively stop this practice and continually urged my colleagues to adopt the changes I had proposed to reduce the ability of the planning staff to manage their workload by simply continually rejecting developer proposals or plans in this manner, refusing to acknowledge plans as complete, etc. My proposals require the planning department to establish a definitive template of requirements that define a complete plan so that the developer knows more precisely what he has to do to meet the criteria of having a complete plan. They require a pre-submission meeting with all relevant city departments represented to review the developers concept and advise on any changes or concerns that might be needed with everyone in one room and no one able to say later, "King's X, you didn't do what I needed, and even though I wasn't there to tell you, you pay the penalty for my failure to intervene at a more appropriate or earlier time." They require that in no case may a plan be remanded to the developer for changes more than twice at any level of review. If they are rejected twice the developer then may appeal directly to Council. They require that the planning staff complete all phases of review in specific timeframes and within a total time allocation not to exceed twice the mandated minimum time permitted by State law. In each instance where a major project is involved and a timeline is not met, staff must report that failure directly to Council in a formal report. If the total time allowed is exceeded, the City is required to refund all planning fees to the developer. This is Performance Based Management, the system that I have advocated and we have established within the operations of many of the city departments. In July the Council finally adopted these changes.

They are still in the process of implementation, and I will dog the staff until they implement them in every particular

If re-elected, in this area my focus will continue to be to secure greater developer certainty as to the requirements for a successful project, improved efficiency of process, speedier approvals or denials, and generally reduced costs for both the developer and the City. Hopefully it will also lead to more successful housing projects and lower priced housing.

5. If the one-half (.05%) per cent sales tax passes and there are any discre-tionary funds what do you consider the two most critical expenses, not already listed in the ballot measure?

Investing in a number of arts programs that have either been heavily cut, like the arts grants to organizations like Rubicon or the Music Festival or the stimulus grants to individual artists or the highly successful Art Walk program, and that I regard as vital to the continued development of the brand imprimatur of Ventura as the "New Art City" and the "Cultural Pearl of the Central Coast" that is essential to our continued prosperous cultural tourism and the economic revitalization of our downtown. Among these programs I would include the Artist in Residence program I have proposed for the WAV in which we bring major world class artists and practitioners to live and work in Ventura for a time to cross-fertilize and stimulate our indigenous arts community. (I have already lined up Chris Brubeck, Charlie Daniels, both of course in the field of music, and Mark McMahon, the great Chicago streetscape artist, to come here under this program and work within our schools and as part of our community events.)

Investing in a Housing First program to provide a way to take our homeless off the streets and provide shelter and supporting services for them. This will not only reduce the multiple problems they present, particularly in our downtown and commercial and tourist areas, but it will tend to isolate the remaining chronic and lifestyle homeless, making dealing with them a more manageable task for police and social services. It will also remove a substantial barrier to legal prosecution when there are minor crimes involved, since the courts are most reluctant to prosecute these often willful scofflaws because they don't want to spend the money to house them in jail and they have no other options. Further, it will allow the police to focus more fully on the punks and thugs (usually not homeless, but simply unwilling to obey the rules in their family home) that have come to lurk throughout the downtown area, mostly to drug deal, prostitute or prey on the over-imbibers who are more and more frequently over-enjoying our downtown nightlife.

If I could add a third and fourth, I'd spend some money to give more support for the successful employee housing program I initiated. We need to beef it up with additional investments to increase the number of housing units our employees are able to buy in the City, and we need to follow through on its expansion as planned to other major employers. And, I'd revitalize the idea of a Strike Team to bring new employers into town and to facilitate meeting their needs, helping them locate appropriate property, expediting planning processes specifically for them, etc.

Doowntown Ventura Partners and Downtown Ventura Organization Questions September 2009

1. Aggressive panhandling and vagrancy have profoundly detrimental affects on downtown Ventura's economic vitality, safety and quality of life. What specific steps will you propose to ensure laws regarding these behaviors are enforced, and how would you fund it?

I am careful to make a clear distinction between lawlessness and simple homelessness. As you know, I do not support policies that make simple poverty and homelessness a crime. However, I have been one of the strongest supporters for taking action to deal with real criminal activity, including drug dealing, prostitution, assault, and general thuggery, both downtown and elsewhere in the City. I believe the most effective way to deal with these criminal activities is to put more police officers on the streets where they are occurring. I have always supported hiring sufficient officers to do that. As for the homeless who occupy our streets and parks, the solution is to provide a place where they can be housed and provided the support services they need. Most people know I have been one of the strongest advocates working to solve that problem in the City. In the long run, the only way to fund either solution is to restore economic prosperity to our community. That means increasing our tourism and our retail sales. I have supported many proposals that would do exactly that. Today the quickest way to do that is to defeat the proposal to limit the size of retail establishments (the anti-Wal-Mart proposal) and welcome Wal-Mart and other large retailers to town. Similarly, it is simply bad policy to impose a moratorium on new construction in the City as the VCORD proponents are asking the voters to do, precisely at the time that we need any construction activity we can get. And of course another thing that will continue to work against achieving this goal is if we continue to be burdened by a compensation and pension package for public safety that pulls every new dollar we secure to cover the ever increasing costs of our current police force, and prevents us from ever achieving a sufficient amount of money to hire additional public safety personnel. Public safety personnel in Ventura are well compensated already. What we need is more of them on the beat, not more of them better retired.

2. Will you support the city's continued participation in the downtown Property-based Business Improvement District? Why or why not?

It is simply too soon to answer that question. The PBID is not even in operation yet. I supported its formation. My continuing support will depend on what the PBID accomplishes over the next four years. Performance and outcomes are the correct basis for determining whether any organization should continue to receive taxpayer support.

3. Are you in favor of building other parking structures in downtown? And if so, where would you suggest they be located and how would you fund?

Yes. I believe we need at least one and probably two. I support the current locations identified in the Downtown Parking Plan.

4. What's your position on the enforcement of laws prohibiting drug dealing in our downtown? And how would you fund enhanced enforcement?

Already answered.

5. What is your position on the "sleeping in cars" pilot program?

I strongly support the Safe Sleep pilot program proposal. These people are sleeping in cars all over town already. Making it legal to sleep in their vehicles in a specific and defined location, under supervision and with sanitation, makes good sense. It also makes it easier for police to monitor. Every time one of these families gets a citation for sleeping illegally it adds unnecessarily to the financial burdens that drove them into homelessness to begin with. If they do not or cannot pay, it can lead to warrants and arrests, mar their already poor credit, affect their driving license and insurance, etc. + all of which make it just that much harder for them to secure employment and work their way back into the mainstream of our community. The Safe Sleep program is a reasonable and inexpensive way to reduce these problems.

6. Would you support the funding of police foot and bike patrols in downtown and on the promenade? And if so, how would you fund them?

Already answered.

7. What specific actions would you propose to encourage new residential development as well as the relocation of new businesses to downtown?

We have already approved ample new residential projects for the downtown area. Unfortunately, they are the victims of the overly aggressive land speculation and the profoundly increased cost of land that was part of what led to this recession. There is little that we can do at the City Government level to cause those projects to be built short of subsidizing the speculators with gifts of taxpayers' funds. The City Council already gave one such gift of approximately $5,000,000 in fee concessions over a year ago (I voted NO) to the Olsen project and it led to absolutely nothing. These kinds of concessions have very little effect in a market where there is no demand. As for business promotion, I believe we need at least two major stores, possibly another class A office structure when the recession abates, and a cultural arts facility in the downtown to anchor vastly increased retail activity, and I have urged the creation of an aggressive strategy to solicit such business along with a special public-private strike team to implement it. These have not been concepts that have received widespread support in our challenging budgetary circumstances and in a town where the concern to preserve the atmosphere of a quaint small beach town has high attraction. I have recently achieved a major break through, however, with the unanimous agreement of the Council to most of my proposals directing planning staff to make major changes in the planning and plan review process that will shorten the time it takes to move a project through the process, simplify procedures, make the process and the outcome more predictable and certain, and vastly reduce the costs to developers proposing projects that are within the Downtown Specific Plan criteria.

8. Do you think large-scale events previously fully funded by the City, such as ArtWalk and the holiday street fair, should be restored? And if so, how would you fund them?

I think there is more than one way to skin a cat. I think that with a little creative effort there are organizations, among them the DVO, who could take over some of these programs and events. A private promoter is another possibility. There are other cities where it has been done that way. There is little possibility that the City can resume funding these programs until economic prosperity is restored. Even then, I am not certain that I would concur that the best solution is simply to return to doing things the way they were once done. The fact is that we probably should have looked at some different ways to do some of these things long ago. I worked, for example, as a member of the volunteer Board of Directors with a group of people to bring the Seaside Highland Games to the city six years ago. We used no public money at all. Today we have one of the most successful Scottish festivals in the State, attracting well over 20,000 visitors, and filling every available hotel room in town, and we still do it as a private organization.

9. With the state raiding municipal coffers, how will it impact downtown operations that are currently funded by redevelopment agency? What will you do to fund those operations once our local funding is depleted?

There will be virtually no RDA money left. Most of that money was committed to on-going projects in any case, and these will now be delayed or re-phased or re-scaled in all probability. New projects will be deferred. There is no money to restore funds for projects that were previously relying on RDA funds that I am aware of. There is no reserve for the RDA District.

10. Would you support the City or the County purchasing the Fairgrounds from the state? And if so, how could it be done?

I would consider doing so. Probably the only way it could be done is to issue a special bond to be repaid from revenues earned on the property. The problem with that is we are not well equipped at either the City or County level to be an effective operator of such a business enterprise. The County has failed miserably for years with the Channel Islands Harbor and with our library system. The City has had similar problems recently with our golf courses. When you use bond financing, there are often significant restrictions that prevent using private lease operators, and contract operators must be managed aggressively, a skill not common among municipal bureaucrats.

11. Are you in favor of limiting "big box" stores (like Wal-Mart, IKEA, etc) throughout the city, per the ballot measure?

No. I do not believe in abusing land use policy to achieve primarily the union or even the social objectives of a narrow special interest group. Land use policy should serve the public interest broadly. I represent all the citizens of the City, not just a highly organized and politically astute minority. I strongly believe that we can and would assure quality design, well conceived plans, and appropriate environmental mitigations and infrastructure accommodations to deal with all the objections some people offer as reasons to oppose the so-called big box stores.

12. What specific actions would you recommend to streamline the planning process?

I have already taken major steps to streamline the planning process. I authored most of the initiatives and directions given to City staff in the recent statement of guidelines and principles unanimously adopted by City Council. These directives require major changes in the planning process and plan review that will significantly reduce the time to complete the plan approval process, assure greater efficiency in the process, make the process more predictable for everyone, prohibit the planning staff from rejecting plans repeatedly as incomplete if the developer has complied with an advance checklist, and refund fees if City staff fails to meet timeline objectives, among other things. The truth of the origin of these changes can easily be verified by comparing my list of required changes published in January of this year and found in many places including on my Facebook page with the list of changes found in the document approved by Council upon the recommendation of myself, Mr. Fulton and Mr. Summers.

Written Questions to City Council Candidates from the San Buenaventura Arts Foundation (October 1, 2001)

1. Synergy between organizational efforts, city government, schools, tourist and convention bureau, arts organizations, etc.?

As a veteran of most of the theatrical stages in the area and a writer myself, I believe that each of these organizations has a vital role to play in the development of a strong cultural arts identity for Ventura. The City's primary role is to use its authority to facilitate and promote development of the facilities and infrastructure required by a robust arts community. The School District's principal role is to integrate educational programs with the cultural opportunities afforded by a vibrant local arts community. The Visitors and Convention Bureau's job is to promote and expand the market necessary to feed a viable arts community, at the same time that it uses the availability of arts and cultural attractions to enhance the draw of Ventura to business and recreational travelers. The arts organizations are, of course, the primary producers and supporters # the very lifeblood # of the arts and cultural experiences themselves. Each plays an essential role. Each, when effective, contributes to the success of the others. A coordinated and well-managed program tying each to the other in a conscious fabric of mutual support is essential and should be one of the foremost policy objectives of City government as it relates to the arts.

2. Importance of arts in education?

I agree wholeheartedly that the arts should play an extremely important role in the education of our young people. As a former educator, I know how exposure to the arts and a wide range of cultural media enriches a student's life. The arts expand a student's ability to embrace and understand complex concepts and ideas. The arts make people feel good. The arts inspire us. The arts give us insight into our spirit and our relationships with our world and with each other. These are among the most important of things for society to share with its youth. These are the very essence of education.

3. Economic impact of the Arts in Ventura?

A strong cultural community clearly stimulates and enhances the economic well-being of a city. Its performances and attractions draw people from surrounding areas to the local scene. They inevitably spend money when they come # the admission ticket, maybe a meal in a local eatery, or even a stop at the gas station for a fill-up before leaving town. The money they spend then is spent again by the local merchant # perhaps for groceries, for clothing in a local shop, for business services. The process goes on and on with each newfound dollar multiplying its stimulating effect on the local economy each time it is spent again and again. Moreover, as each dollar is spent over and over again a sales tax is generated that increases the city's ability to do all the things we ask our local government to do for us. The bottom line is that the city as a whole, and each citizen in it, is dollars ahead when there is a really strong and active cultural community calling Ventura home.

Arts Forum Opening Statement (October 9, 2001)

I have been involved in the arts all my life. I am a member of the San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts, our host organization, Board of Directors and Executive Committee, currently on leave of absence. I am a veteran of many of the stages of western Ventura County ranging from the old Firelight Dinner Theatre to the Ojai Art Center and the Santa Paula Theatre Center. In Michigan before I came to California I was the business manager for a repertory company and played such venues as the Old GristMill Theater, the Hartland Music Hall, and the MillPond and the Rosedale Theatres. And I worked the house at the Fischer Theatre in Detroit. I have performed over the years in dozens of stage productions # musicals, dramas, and comedies # and even one or two small specialty film productions. Dramas like the Potting Shed or murder mysteries like Ten Little Indians, comedies like The Sunshine Boys and musicals like Carnival and The Fantasticks. As a young man I was a part-time musician # a trumpeter # some said of symphonic stature. Though I did play first chair in an orchestra, mostly I performed in dance bands and ensembles, and as a student of course in our school marching band. I am a writer and playwright with two produced shows. I'm a passable water colorist. And I once owned a cartoon production company. I'm a season ticket holder to the L.A. Opera, the Music Theatre Santa Barbara, and a series holder to the L.A. Philharmonic and Hollywood Bowl. I rarely miss a local theatre production or an Art Walk. I've even pretended to be a Leslie Nielson or Ed McMann impersonator when it would get me a laugh at times.

But I'm also a very well qualified candidate for your City Council # the only one in fact with the unique combination of experience managing multi-million dollar budgets, helping produce billion dollar revenues, managing very large business organizations, and leading large state, regional and local government agencies. I am accustomed to working in a collaborative policy making process and providing policy direction to senior organizational management. I know how to build consensus in a community and create productive working relationships that get difficult and complex jobs done. I know when an organization is not performing, and I know how to fix it. Our city is not performing up to its capabilities or your expectations. I ask for your support. Help me help you fix it.

Responses to Prepared Forum Questions

1 What are your priorities for cultural arts in Ventura based on prior planning?

The 1992 Cultural Plan laid a solid foundation at the time for the development of a strong cultural arts program. It clearly made nurturing a strong arts community in Ventura a prominent public policy goal. The Downtown Cultural District Plan took another step by defining some very specific actions to develop venues for the arts and to establish a coherent strategy at least for the initial phases of developing a business support and promotion and marketing system.

A lot has changed of course since 1992, and some of the programs identified and promoted along the way have faltered. Our financial commitment has been erratic. Our staff support has changed too often for a stable program. We no longer have the Livery Theater, but we now have the Laurel and the Rubicon Company, and we have the San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts. So one of the first priorities should be to update our plans and strategies to reflect our current situation and assets.

In the long run, I believe the highest priority # the one we should never lose sight of # is the creation of a cultural arts center in the city of Ventura # a physical place that can serve as a focal point for all the arts # one which will breed and nurture creativity and cross fertilization among artists, genre and media. Such a center would have both a variety of performing venues according to the demands of our market and the needs of performing organizations responding to that market, and it would have work and study facilities for all types of artistic expression # both visual and performing # and it would provide the business services infrastructure to help them maintain a solid financial underpinning.

Q. 2 What priority should the arts have in the budget?

In a budget process, the relative priority one gives to a thing is driven by a number of factors. How essential is the thing to the core mission of the organization? How large or small are the available resources? How big is the thing # how much revenue does it propose to consume?

I place a very high priority on providing what I consider a baseline of funding for programs related to the arts. I would not sacrifice public safety or basic city services, but I do not think we have to to provide a continuing stable baseline program. I am a businessman. I take a business approach. I believe strongly that the best strategies for stimulating the development of a strong cultural and arts community are those which engage a joint public-private cooperative process and that both encourage the development of markets and strategies for meeting market needs or responding to market demands. I am not a build it and they will come kind of guy. I am a find out what the market wants and give it to them fellow. I am market focused and market driven.

I would want the baseline commitment of public funds to be dedicated primarily to leveraging other funds and to stimulating and kick-starting private efforts # whether in the form of public or private grants or private non-profit or for-profit business enterprises. I do not believe in subsidies of either non-profit or for-profit businesses. I do believe in partnerships. That means city staff would support with technical assistance generally but would not assume operational roles in these organizations or manage or staff their programs. Too often organizations tend to try to shift operating burdens to the staff of government support programs and too often in their zeal government staff foster that dependence rather than weaning the artists or their companies or organizations from over-reliance on public funding or staff support. Arts organizations must ultimately mature into independent freestanding entities to really assure a robust cultural life in our city.

I favor relationships more often than not that are structured with revenue sharing features.

Q.3 What is the economic impact of the arts on the city?

Without question the arts and cultural events and expression of a city represent dollars and cents for its economy. The best type of industry -#and art and culture is an industry # in any city is one that does not consume great environmental resources, does not pollute, and that sells substantial amounts of its production of goods and services to buyers from outside its local community, because that brings money # new money # found money so to speak # into the community, and that new money multiplies the beneficial economic effects over and over as it circulates within the community. OK # non-consuming, non-polluting, and attracts outside money # the arts as an industry meet each of these criteria. Arts are one of the most desirable and powerful economic generators a community can have.

Plus, they make a place a more desirable place to live or visit. Thus, the arts contribute in many other indirect ways to our economic well-being.

The arts are of such importance that we may ultimately want to set a budgetary target # x% per budget year below which our expenditures should only be allowed to fall under the direst financial circumstances. To the extent that we can use limited city revenues to leverage state, federal or private grant money, we should aggressively do so. But I also believe that to the extent the city enters into public private business relationships to support, promote or produce cultural programs, events, or products and services, it should share in any revenue generated. These revenues should be reinvested in further cultural programs and business partnerships in the fashion of an enterprise fund. There are other ways to leverage city funds without actually spending them with loans and loan guarantees, performance bonds, etc and all are tools that we should use to their maximum benefit.

Questions from Police & Fire Associations (Sept. 13, 2001)

Question 1. How do you feel about Public Safety? Priority? Competitive Compensation?

The core components of public safety of course are police, fire and field emergency medical response services. I do not however limit my definition of services appropriately included to just these. I also include such services as harbor patrol, lifeguards, mental health crisis support, search and rescue, and even virulent contagious disease control, among others, as properly within the scope of public safety. But for all practical purposes most such services are provided by other units of government than the city. The common element underlying all such services is that they have a vital role to play in protecting the public from threat or in controlling, managing or reducing damage to persons or property after a threat has become a reality.

I place the highest priority on such services in the public budget process. Our first responsibility to the public is to protect their health, safety and well-being. It is foremost among the obligations of government.

It's customary for any organization, including governments, to monitor compensation arrangements offered by their labor market competitors and make adjustments as needed to assure that they can attract and retain adequate personnel with appropriate skill levels. I place greatest emphasis on retention, as it normally costs far more to recruit and train new personnel than to retain experienced personnel. I have not done such a comparative study at this time, so I won't propose any specific measures to improve compensation packages. I will fairly and objectively review comparisons and any proposals offered at the appropriate time. Since I have a great deal of experience in benefits management, I probably bring more to the table than most candidates in terms of evaluation of total benefit packages, and I have more direct knowledge and experience than any other candidate in the area of organizational resource analysis and manpower assessment. I'm also the only candidate with significant direct line experience in public safety management.

2. Will I support NFP Standard 1710 (increased manpower per fire engine). What city service will I sacrifice to implement it?

You've cast this as a Hobson's Choice.

In principle I support Standard 1710. The challenge is how to get there from here. Obviously, achieving that objective is not going to be an overnight thing. A plan for transition to four person rigs or rapid deployment of sufficient response otherwise to assure appropriate on-scene resources has to be developed which would optimize use of existing manpower resources while simultaneously requiring the least additional personnel. Almost certainly it will have to be a phased plan. Just to recruit and train for it will take time.

But the real issue is money. As your question suggests, there simply isn't enough at this time. That's why you present me a Hobson's choice by asking what or whom would I sacrifice to achieve your objective. While I do believe there are areas of current expenditure which could be reduced to redirect funds to such needs (the city is spending a lot of money on outside consultants, litigation issues, etc.), I am not prepared to sacrifice any other essential service to achieve this objective, nor do I think we have to.

My approach is to attack the problem of inadequate city revenues by increasing revenues, not asking the various departments to fight against one another in a feeding frenzy over the few scraps available today. Now, that too will take time. We cannot achieve significantly increased revenues overnight either. But we can increase revenues with an intelligent program that emphasizes increased retail sales and tourism and brings in new employers to the city. If we generally raise the level of economic activity in the city, property values will rise and property turnover will increase, retail sales will grow, and more tourist bed taxes will be generated. That will raise substantially the tax revenue available for all city services. That is the key to meeting our needs.

3. Do you support SB 402(binding arbitration?

I support SB 402 for public safety personnel. Ordinarily I feel that binding arbitration provisions, for example in business arrangements, tend to favor the dominant party and may work against fairness, but in this instance the circumstances are different in that the ultimate sanction of a strike or job action is not available to public safety personnel.

I would not be inclined to spend public resources on a legal challenge to this law.

4. East Ventura Sports Complex. Capital Cost? Operating Expense? Economic Benefit?

If anyone says they know what this project will cost ultimately, they are blowing smoke. What we do know is it will cost a lot, and we don't have the money.

The city has presented two first stage plans for development of the facility focusing on the swimming complex, one a Cadillac version and one more like a top of the line Chevy. Even these are as yet without a firm price estimate.

It's clear that it will take years to fully develop these facilities. The capital cost will be substantial, but raising the capital for construction is probably the less significant problem. There was substantial support for the ballot measure authorizing the land use for the park, so it may well be that there is sufficient support to pass a bond measure to finance building the facilities. In addition there may be some one-time grant funds available for such purposes, and the supporters of the park proposal may well be willing and able to carry out a voluntary capital funding campaign.

The real problem lies in how to finance the on-going operation and maintenance costs. These are the costs that will compete year after year with every other program in the city for operating funds. I do not believe concessionaire fees and user fees will be adequate, nor do I feel the people of this city will endorse anything more than nominal user fees in any case. While a private-public joint venture has been suggested as a means for providing an operating entity, no one has yet come to grips with how such an entity itself would be funded.

One possible approach would be to sell certain "use rights" to private entities, but any such proposal would restrict the availability of the facilities for general public use and would likely be somewhat controversial. In any case such an arrangement would have to be negotiated very carefully to protect the public interest. In the past the city has been notoriously incompetent in negotiating deals with private interests, paying far more than might have been required by a more astute businessman. I do not believe it is a proper function of government to make some private party rich by offering inflated prices or failing to negotiate concessions effectively.

Another approach might be to explore the imposition of a special park assessment on any new housing or commercial project in the city, but that may have some legal problems if it is determined to be improperly discriminatory or insufficiently related to the development project against which the charge is assessed. Another option to explore may be establishing a special district and imposing a general fee on all property holders in the district, but that too requires voter support and is less likely in my opinion to be able to pass at the ballot than a one-time bond measure. Finally, it might be possible to fund an endowment sufficient to spin-off enough annual revenue to finance at least basic operating costs, much as endowments fund land conservation efforts.

I do not see the economic benefits of this park complex being in any way sufficient to offset its costs. That does not mean there will be no economic benefits. If the facilities were leased for special events, there may be some direct economic impacts. To the extent the facilities routinely draw out-of-town users, there will be some indirect spillover effects in the local economy. To the extent that the facilities make Ventura generally a more attractive place to live, property values may rise, as more people seek to live here. Obviously, that's a two-edged sword.

In the short run, the city may be heading in the wrong direction by placing its priority on the swimming complex. We may be better off developing the playing fields first. They cost less to develop and far less to maintain. They could be developed faster and bring more immediate benefit to the city. In the long run, as I indicated earlier, the real solution lies in stimulating local economic growth so that general revenues rise, and the city can fund such projects naturally as a by-product of prosperity.

5. How would you address the curent Paramedic shortage?

Since the College District established its paramedic training program two years ago and the first classes are out now, there should be some additional local supply. In general, I believe the problem of supply arises from the lack of sufficient internship opportunities after the classroom portion of training # at least as I understand the current situation. There appear to be plenty of qualified applicants for the training. Of course, in the case of the fire service they also have to be willing and able to meet the other requirements of fire service employment. Still, I think the basic problem seems to lie in making more internship slots available. Internships require that there be mentors or preceptors in the local services available to supervise students. Thus, the rub comes from the fact that making preceptors available is an added cost and reduces to some extent the available manpower in the local agencies, including Ventura City Fire. Moreover, I presume that some of the resources of the Department that might otherwise be available for internship supervision is being committed to ongoing continuing education programs and re-certification training, which makes the limited training resources even less available for internships. The solution may partly perhaps be to increase over time the availability of internal training resources, but since fire personnel resources are multi-skilled, using them exclusively for such paramedic training purposes may not be an optimal use of city resources. It actually may be smarter and less expensive to subsidize internship training opportunities outside the Department for personnel who commit to joining the fire service after the internship and who would otherwise qualify.

Since, for the most part I also tend to feel the best solution is often to grow your own, so to speak, to the extent that there are current fire personnel who would be interested in advancing by enrolling in a paramedic program, I would think it may be useful to explore at least some additional city commitment to support of such advancement opportunities. I find in my private business practice that it is important to provide advancement opportunities within my organization and that doing so improves morale and productivity significantly.

In both cases, whether subsidized internship outplacement or internal advancement programs, I would only support such approaches if there were actual new personnel positions to be filled or budgeted vacancies through turnover or attrition in the Department that had previously received general approval in the budgeting process.

While I obviously have a strong background and understanding of public safety and especially of paramedic service issues, the shortage issue is not one I have studied in detail. If I don't have some of the critical facts or if I misunderstand some of the concerns, I would welcome your input and advice. However, one of the clearest and most obvious needs is to stop allowing fire personnel who have been trained and licensed paramedics "drop" their licensure when they are promoted to engineer or captain. Once trained as a paramedic, it should be mandatory that the license be maintained at all times throughout the employment with the City.

6. Will you be available and accessible to public safety union representatives if elected? Assurance of Continuing Attention.

I believe it is important for any elected official to maintain open lines of communication with constituents. I will be available to law enforcement and fire and any other constituent representatives at any time to discuss issues of concern, and I will accept no restriction on my right to do so unless someone can show me some legal restriction or a potential conflict of interest issue that can be clearly documented.

Obviously, no one can give an ironclad guarantee that they will always be supportive of your representatives' requests or responsive to your special interests. I will always review your requests and proposals conscientiously. I will fairly consider your interests and carefully strive to balance them against the other needs and interests of the city and its residents. If anyone tells you they will do more, you should probably bring them up on charges. In the last analysis, your assurance is simply that, if you feel betrayed, you can rectify the problem at the next election. I have no problem owning accountability for my actions.

Questions from Friends of the Library (Oct. 1, 2001)

1. Now that the City is a full partner with the County and other cities in overseeing our library, would you use General Fund money to support Ventura libraries?

As in any partnership, the partners in the enterprise, in this case the library system, are each expected to participate equitably. There are always times when one or another party may be unable to fulfill its obligations on a temporary basis, but to do so consistently over the long haul jeopardizes the partnership and the very enterprise itself. Moreover, contributions, whether in money, facilities or services, should be commensurate to the benefit received by the city and its citizens. The city's direct support of our libraries is currently very limited. As the city's revenues grow, I believe that significant consideration should be given to more adequately supporting our library services, especially to the degree that any added or enhanced services directly benefit Venturans over other users of the system.

2. What else could the city do to improve our libraries?

It's of utmost importance that we continue to upgrade and modernize our citizens' access to the vast knowledge base and communications opportunities opened over the last decade with the development of the worldwide Internet system. The exploitation of modern technology to increase access to information quickly and inexpensively should be one of our highest priorities when considering our library services. The city should make a firm commitment to developing all the electronic or technology based infrastructure elements required to assure that people using our library resources can do so most effectively and efficiently. The city should work with all its library partners to develop or link to a specialized Internet portal service accessible from any Internet computer that would provide organized user-friendly guidance to Internet resources that are especially relevant to typical library users, particularly those who may be Internet novices.

Historic Preservation Alliance Questions (Oct. 11, 2001)

1. Would you increase the powers of the city's historic preservation committee?

Frankly I am not very familiar with the "powers" of the committee or what it can or cannot do. I understand that it was at one time a "Commission" and presumably it had some greater powers then, not just a different name. Again presumably the difference was that while a committee can give advice, it usually has little or no delegated decision authority, while a commission can be delegated limited authority by the Council to make certain decisions, subject to review and appeal provisions. I do not have a position on this question, but I would be quite willing to entertain a discussion of the merits of restoring commission status and would be willing to review the areas where proponents felt authority should or could be delegated. It is clearly inefficient for the Council to make all decisions on every matter that appropriately comes before the City, and there are standard safeguards that can be employed to assure that delegated authority is not misplaced or misused. I would be concerned somewhat that delegation of certain authority not add inappropriate administrative burdens on property owners or cause undue delays in securing project approvals, so I think we would need to take special steps to streamline and integrate any delegated approval process into the normal applicant review process to avoid such problems.

2. What would you do to ensure that designated historic landmarks are not altered?

I have no specific plan at this time to prevent unauthorized alteration of designated historic sites. I would be willing to learn what steps might be most effective. To the extent that such alterations in the past, as in the case of the Bank of Italy building, were actually reviewed and approved or, if not approved, simply not objected to by the City, I think the appropriate corrective steps are to make sure everyone who reviews such plans knows and applies the current law and restrictions. That is an administrative matter. If it is not being done today, responsibility lies at the office of the administrative head, and it would be then one of the criteria of evaluation that might be applied by Council in judging the performance of that office. Obviously we could require that any alterations of any historic site be passed before the historic preservation committee or commission in a timely manner or even require sign-off by it. Timeliness issues will often be a problem in requiring such review, but in a public arena, people need to be prepared to accept the burden of oversight. We could also establish some definite review indices that would have to be specifically considered and for which there would be required a positive assertion of no objection before final approval could be considered by any review body, including the Council.

3. What ideas do you have to encourage owners of historic properties to apply for landmark status and help preserve their properties?

Owners are often very concerned about establishing historic status relative to their properties because it often places restrictions on their property rights and it equally often imposes frightfully obstructive bureaucratic barriers to doing anything different ever. Obviously, we need to be very sensitive to the bureaucratic burden issue. I believe strongly that government intrusiveness should be as limited as humanly possible consistent with the public interest. Tax incentives are of course the classic tool to encourage property owners to accept historic preservation restrictions. A public trust fund, whose assets were committed to protect owners from adverse financial consequences of placing a property into historic status or which might be used to help finance restoration efforts on favorable terms, might be another useful approach.

4. What ideas do you have to protect historic buildings in the downtown; specifically what would you do to preserrve the Herbert House?

Again I do not have a specific plan to preserve the Herbert House or even just those buildings in the downtown area that have some historic stature. I would be open to discussion with more knowledgeable persons. I think some of the ideas outlined above are relevant, particularly the development of a public trust funding mechanism. In addition, one might consider a downtown "historic district" similar to the cultural district, or perhaps simply require there to be a specific historic plan component for the cultural district plan. I don't recall that there is one at this time except that which relates to the Museum.

5. What ideas would you have to help raise funds to give proper signage to historic sites?

First I think that appropriate signage, including signs related to specific communities with discrete identities and specific historic buildings or sites, is a key component to a community's identity and a city's character, and I believe that funding appropriate signage is not something that should require extraordinary provisions. It should be a routine part of every budget. Signage transition is obviously a long-term project. To the extent that special signage has a clear commercial impact on a community, if local businesses wanted to expedite a signage program I would invite them to make donations or establish assessments to help do so. To the extent that community councils wished likewise to assist, I would encourage them to do so.

6. Would you support a Heritage Square for threatened historic buildings? Where?

I think a Heritage Square concept would be wonderful. I have no specific site, but several might be considered ranging from the "Triangle site," to the foot of the palisade below the Pierpont Inn, to atop a covered spanse of the freeway, or out across from the Harbor, or even possibly in Saticoy. We might even ultimately explore extending the historic Heritage Valley rail system from Fillmore to Saticoy. I believe that right-of-way exists. I have no clue how to fund such a development, but I know how to find out. We have a good role model in Oxnard for a Heritage Village or Square, and could explore with the principals there how they made it happen. There are many other historic villages around the country that could be examined as well. Some are living history experiences, some simply tourist attractions without much current historic content, and others are like the one in Oxnard where the buildings support modern uses but are preserved more or less as architectural commentary. In addition there are numerous successful historic railroads operating around the country which might serve as models if the railway extension idea was considered worth pursuing. I do know there are at least limited state and federal funds that could be applicable, and I believe this is the sort of project that could be very interesting to certain private foundations as well.

Full text of speech to constituents announcing Neal Andrews candidacy.

Announcement: Neal Andrews Candidacy

August 8, 2001

First, let me say how flattered I am that you all would take time out of your lunch hour to join me here today. I'm flattered and I'm very grateful Thank you all so very much.

As you all know, today is the official launch of my campaign for election to the Ventura City Council. As of this moment I am a candidate for City Council. As of this moment, my world--our world # for the next 90 days has changed in so many ways.

For those of you who have been involved in political campaigns before, you know how hectic this next 90 days will be # how it will start slowly from a small base like we have here today and it will grow and grow and move faster and faster until it seems we are moving at a blindingly frenetic pace toward the final day # November 6th.

People have asked me why on earth I would agree to run in this election? Who in their right mind wants to be a politician? Who would ever willingly wade into the muck and mire that has too often come to be politics in America today?

My reason has been simple. I wear it on my lapel almost ever day. I want to try to make a difference. I think I can make a difference.

I see a great future for this city. I see a future in my mind's eye that I believe the people of this city will have resoundingly endorsed on Election Day. And I don't believe I have to become a "politician" to get there. I refuse to become a "politician" to get there. In fact, I think it is impossible for a "politician" to get us there.

The only way to get there is through leadership and statesmanship, not the manipulation and deception most people think of when they think of "politics." We can only get there by successfully reaching out to you and all the rest of our community and welding the power of people into an irresistible force that will overcome all obstacles and carry us forward to a higher level of achievement. That's the kind of leadership we need. That's the kind of leadership I will try to bring to our city.

Don't get me wrong. We won't on Election Day all at once see some magical transformation. And I can't do it all by myself. But I believe that, as a result of our work together on this campaign, we will see an indomitable spirit and momentum rising so clearly that in future years people will look back and say November 6th, 2001 was a watershed for the city of Ventura.

Oh, and I know too how frail and inadequate my own leadership will be sometimes. But I also know I don't have to be perfect. I just have to try my best. You will do the rest # all of you who live here and believe in our future. You will carry the day. You will make the true difference in the end.

There is a line from Browning poem, Andrea del Sarto, that says it just right: "A man's reach must exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"

Most who know me think of me as a practical and pragmatic businessman. A hard nosed realist. A fiscal conservative. All that is true. But, I'm also paradoxically an idealist and a dreamer of great dreams. Those who really know me understand that as well.

My dreams will exceed my abilities. I know that. But, the dreams, even if only half fulfilled, will have been worth it.

So let me share with you today some of my dream about our City of Ventura.

I see a city nestled here between the blue of the sea and these green and gold hills # a shining city like a diamond beckoning people to admire it # a gem rivaling Santa Barbara or Thousand Oaks # one of the most complete and robust communities imaginable.

It's a city with a dynamic community life, enriching cultural experiences, magnanimous in its caring and its social justice to the lowest and most disadvantaged, and full of opportunity for its youth.

Imagine a city that anchors the north end of a thriving beach, port and marina complex stretching all the way through Oxnard Shores and the Channel Islands Marina to Port Hueneme. One that combines the characteristics of Newport Beach, Balboa Island, Laguna and Dana Point with their rich residential, recreational and resort qualities, and the economic strength of the ports of San Pedro and Long Beach. We have the resources. We have one of the fastest growing deep-water ports on the West Coast and two of the finest recreational marinas on the central coast. We have coastal parks with magnificent potential and wonderful wetland refuges. We have a national ocean park unlike any other in the country. And yet we have some of the most under-utilized coastal commercial properties anywhere in southern California.

Imagine if we could put together a collaborative program integrating the resources of Ventura, Oxnard, and Port Hueneme. Imagine if we worked more effectively with the City of Ojai, the County and the State and Federal Governments to knock down Matilija dam today, not tomorrow ... today. Imagine what we could accomplish ... more recreational and entertainment facilities, more sand on our beaches, a revived steelhead fishery in the Ventura River.

Imagine our city bracketed by signature gateways # proud hallmarks of a great city # a place of commerce and economic vitality, a city rich in opportunity for its people and whose quality of life is admired and envied by everyone who passes through it.

Imagine a new gateway from the south with new shining office towers along the 101 Freeway on the Ventura side of the Santa Clara River marking the southern doorway to our city, instead of the run-down warehouses along the railway spur or the boxy little industrial condos on the south side of the freeway.

Or imagine a unique new commercial campus on the 96 acres marking the entrance to the city from Ojai at the north end of the Avenue in place of the rusting old Petrochem refinery and the surrounding brownfields.

Imagine a new state-of-the-art medical plaza in the eastern reach of mid-town or on the far east end # again a signature gateway sending a message of prosperity and progress to all who approach our city.

Our existing hospitals must be rebuilt for all practical purposes by 2008 to meet new earthquake codes. Let's work with them and the County and the State and maybe even UCLA and the Veteran's Administration to seize the opportunity inherent in the fact that they must be replaced. The resources will be there. Let's use them to the best benefit for our city.

Imagine those broad flat areas along Highway 33 through the West End filled with sound stages or technical design and support studios for the entertainment industry. Now imagine the whole Avenue community rebuilt and revitalized, because inevitably that is what will happen if we can bring such industry to that area.

Imagine a concert bowl in the canyons east of town where it's warmer and drier on a summer's evening. Imagine a botanical garden along the Ventura River bottom replacing the hobo town where the river meets the sea and anchoring the west entrance to the city # another signature statement to all who approach that this is a city with class and beauty. Or imagine, as one of our civic leaders has suggested, a cover over the freeway and railroad tracks from the Promenade to the State Beach Park, supported by parking facilities and a complex of boutiques, eateries and entertainment facilities with a city park on top.

Imagine an art center downtown with performing stages, galleries, studios and teaching facilities integrating all the classic art forms # music, theatre, ballet, painting, sculpting. Imagine local bands playing pop concerts or rock and roll or blues or jazz on a summer night in our parks.

Imagine taking advantage of our nearness to Ojai and our great natural mountain resources to become the launch point for a whole host of excursions and recreational activities in the Sespe's and Topa Topa mountains from wilderness trekking to four wheel vehicle tours, from trout fishing to cross country skiing, to rock climbing.

Imagine a city with enough financial resources that a place could be made available for our homeless to live with dignity and where treatment and housing would be supported for all our disadvantaged. Imagine a city with the spirit of generosity and humanity that would allow none of its fellow citizens to suffer needlessly.

Imagine a city where each of you have 50% more disposable income eight years from now after adjustment for inflation and where there are 1000 new high paying jobs in clean low social and ecological impact industries # a city where natural growth is guided and planned to protect the quality of life and where needs are anticipated intelligently and met effectively and efficiently.

This is the city I imagine. This is the city I will try to bring to reality if you elect me. This is the cityview I will try to inspire our fellow citizens to share # oh, with a tweak here, a better idea there, a new thought from this one and a different concept from that arena about this or that aspect. The specifics and particulars are not so important. It's the spirit that is important. I believe that together we can achieve great things. We just need to believe we can, and we must find the will to.

There is another poem # actually a little ditty # that sort of sums up what I believe we need to do and what in a sense my campaign will be all about. A friend # a clown named Boffo who sang it to entertain children and all of us young at heart, gave it to me. It goes like this: " There is a place where the sun always shines and where rainbows fill the air, and if you try and if I try and if we both try together, maybe someday we can find our way there."

Thank you for being here today and letting me share my dreams with you. I promise over the course of the campaign to try to give you more specific ideas of how we can achieve some of these dreams. In the meantime please join me on the journey to the land of sunshine and rainbows.