Candidate for
Member, City Council; City of Culver City

Financial Sustainability

Our community, like most others across the nation, is in tough straits. We need to do more with less while maintaining the high-quality services that make Culver City a great place to live and an attractive place for businesses.

• Regularly review our workforce to ensure we are using our resources as effectively as possible
• Maintain a constructive partnership with our employees to ensure they continue to be productive and dedicated
• Evaluate salaries, pensions and benefits to ensure the City is both fiscally responsible and capable attracting the best employees

There's an old saying: "if you're not moving forward you're losing ground." Scott is proud to have been part of the team that has created such a successful balance between economic development and quality of life.

• Aggressively pursue new economic development opportunities by building on Culver City's excellent "brand"
• Foster the City's open and inclusive process to create more "win-win" results like our Downtown and Westfield Culver City
• Ensure our business tax structure is competitve with neighboring communities and that our rules and regulations are protective of the community while being reasonable, rational and business-friendly
• Maintain an open, supportive relationship with existing businesses to keep them in Culver City

Culver City has achieved a unique balance - it's sophisticated and vital while also being a family-oriented community. We need to preserve that balance.

• Support our school district in this time of budgetary crisis
• Expand the range of amenties found in our parks to bring in residents of all ages and abilities
• Keep our neighborhood parks clean and safe and develop neighborhood-centered programs that build a sense of community

Recent actions in Sacramento threaten to imminently shut down the Culver City Redevelopment Agency, the engine of much of our City's progress.

• Protect our Redevelopment Projects from seizure by the state
• Implement the civic vision we've created even if we lose the Redevelopment "tool kit"
• Establish a list of critical priorities, contingency plans, and long-range strategies to maintain City services which have been supported by Agency funds

Culver City is known for its high-quality services, its parks, neighborhoods and business districts. We must maintain high standards to remain a great place to live, to work and to visit.

• Implement a long-range maintenance and improvement plan to keep our roads, bridges and buildings in top condition
• Establish an Urban Forest Master Plan to care for our street trees and sensitively manage their replacement as they reach the end of their life cycle
• Preserve the funding, staffing level, and culture of excellence that are the hallmarks of our Police and Fire Departments

Transportation issues are critical in a densely populated region like ours. More roads are not the solution, but changing habits isn't easy.

• Create a shuttle service to link Downtown, the Expo Line station, and the Hayden Tract office district
• Acquire real-time location technology that lets you know where buses are to make our excellent network more usable by more people
• Build out a network of bike lanes to make it safer and easier to get around

Culver City doesn't toot its horn too much, but maybe it should! From our natural gas vehicle fleet to state-of-the-art irrigation technology, we've been a leader in sustainable practices for years.

• Continue implementing policies to create walkable neighborhoods and make us less auto-dependent
• Implement City-wide business waste recycling
• Educate businesses and the public on best practices in landscaping, conservation and recycling
• Invest in improvements to reduce energy use by the City

Culver City has become an "arts mecca," with nationally-renowned galleries and live theatre. The arts enrich our lives and create a great civic image.

• Create a new home in Downtown for the Jazz Bakery
• Strengthen our art gallery scene
• Bring the arts to new venues and new parts of town
• Continue to provide great free arts programming like the Culver City Music Festival and the Actors' Gang's summer family theatre program