Chamber of Commerce Q & A

By Kathryn J. Morea

Chamber of Commerce of Santa Monica CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

A. General Issues.

1. How would you propose to address problems associated with homelessness?

Programs which want to help those on the street must be held accountable. For instance, registering those who want services, tying in those services to progress, and sunset clauses on the length of time someone remains in the system. Police need to be allowed to enforce laws against criminal behavior of those transients who are on the street and not actively seeking help. Santa Monica's generosity has been twisted into a lifestyle support which enables street drunks and criminals. We must focus our services on the truly needy who want and need help.

2. Do you favor a "living wage" or "minimum wage" ordinance? If so, how would such an ordinance compare with that in effect in the City of Los Angeles? How would it compare with the ordinance defeated by the Proposition JJ referendum?

I do not favor a minimum wage ordinance over and above the Federally established guidelines. Raising minimum wage often has unforeseen consequences on both large and small business that may cause undue hardship and ultimately result in loss of jobs.

3. Do you believe that the City's current approach to permit parking is appropriate? If not, what changes would you support?

I believe much better alternatives exist. The current policy often creates drastically underutilized public resources (city streets). Donald Shoup of UCLA has worked with cities such as Pasadena to create a model which charges those who wish to park (such as with parking meters) and allocates that parking revenue specifically to benefit to those blocks which generate the money. Street improvements, such as sidewalk repairs, streetlights, and plantings can be paid from this parking fund. The residents and businesses which "timeshare" their on-street parking then have a direct benefit from doing so.

4. What measures do you believe are appropriate to address traffic congestion in the City? Do you favor the current "traffic calming" devices?

I am not in favor of traffic calming major arteries. These must be utilized to move traffic freely through the city.

5. Do you agree with some that the level of service provided by the City's Planning Department and Building & Safety Department is inadequate? If so, what problems do you see and how would you propose to address those problems?

The planning department is ineffective and inadequate. They are unable to manage small reasonable requests without significant delay. Yet they hire more inspectors for surprise attacks on residents and businesses. We need to implement the recommendations made by the Matrix report and determine a long term plan.

B. Fiscal Issues.

1. Do you support Proposition N - the 2% increase in the hotel "bed tax"?

No. I believe it is wrong to simply tax those who do not vote here. It will have negative impacts on our tourist industry and ultimately drive visitors away. If certain city programs are costing too much, then they must be brought within budget. We need to recognize the value of tourism on the City of Santa Monica and work to encourage, rather than discourage it.

2. If general fund revenues were to increase beyond the level needed to maintain current services, would you favor tax reductions or increased spending? If the former, which taxes? If the latter, please list up to three spending priorities.

I favor tax reductions. I'd like to see tax incentives for businesses in Santa Monica, since they are often the ones who are forced to carry the load. Under no circumstances would I favor increased taxes.

3. Do you favor increasing the budget of the Convention and Visitors Bureau?

Yes. Not by increasing taxes, but using those revenues generated by the businesses of Santa Monica.

4. Do you believe the City should provide direct funding to the School District? Did you support the CEPS initiative and the City Council's response?

I believe that schools are a huge concern for most residents and they must be a high priority. A city that prefers to spend 8 million on a 55 bed homeless shelter and gives less to schools has their priorities wrong.

C. Interactions.

1. What methods would you support to increase interaction between the City and the business community, including the Chamber?

I believe the business community is under voiced and underrepresented. I'd like to hear some ideas about this. For instance, allow businesses to help determine the representatives to the Bayside District, instead of being simply appointed by the city.

2. Do you believe there is a sufficient level of cooperation between the City and the School District regarding matters of mutual concern? If not, what steps would you take to improve that cooperation?

Because I work with members of the school, school board and city on the SAMO Parking and Transportation Task Force, I have seen some cooperation in this regard. However, I think it can be much stronger. I would encourage more co-operation and tie city funding to accountability and cooperation with school officials.

3. Do you believe there is a sufficient level of cooperation between the City and Santa Monica College regarding matters of mutual concern? If not, what steps would you take to improve that cooperation?

I believe Santa Monica College operates fairly independently of the city and there should be more cooperation. Shared use agreements and funding should be tied to cooperation by College officials and must be mutually beneficial.

D. Personal.

1. If you are an incumbent, what do you consider to have been your most significant achievement over the last four years? What has been your greatest disappointment?

2. List the three most important challenges facing the City in the future.

1.Living wage and the negative impact this could have on our businesses in Santa Monica;
2.Santa Monica's complete lack of a long term plan;
3."Affordable Housing" projects which are bringing hundreds of new residents into city and schools that infrastructure is not set up to support.

3. What particular personal strengths would you bring to the Council?

I'm persistent. I'm honest. And I'm reasonable.

4. Do you have any conflicts of interest which would limit your ability to make decisions regarding certain matters?

None that I'm aware of at this time, however, it' is possible that certain businesses may be represented by the firm where I am employed. Should that be the case, I would recuse myself from city council decisions involving potential conflicts.

5. Are there any structural changes you favor in City government, such as term limits, districting, or alterations of voting procedures?

I believe my top focus needs to be on issues of vagrants, parking and traffic. Some ideas, such as those brought forth with VERITAS or term limits have merit and warrant further discussion after our immediate concerns are met.