All Blog Posts (10)

Unbelievably exciting. Not exactly what you might expect as my synopsis (the incumbents were re-elected). But here's why. Just over three month ago, I pulled papers, wrangled a few hundred signatures and filed paperwork to get on the ballot. Thus began the process of building out the campaign - figuring out the messaging, prioritizing spend on time and money, and beginning the introduction phase of the election with the goal of meeting key people. Now I'll be the first to admit that I am DEFIN… Continue

So this year SM CityTV got together with the League of Women's Voters and the Center for Governmental Studies to create a series of interviews to let the community get to know the City Council candidates. There are three separate formats - the first are 45 second topical answers; next are individual 5 minutes interviews; finally, you'll see small group debates with 3-4 of the candidates. And hopefully you'll get a good idea of my beliefs, ideas, and why I'm running for Council.
Today we fi… Continue

A little bit about me: I grew up in the heart of politics and civil service– the Washington DC area. My mother is a teacher and my father an architect – so suffice it to say that I have a deep appreciation for two of the issues that I believe play a large part in making a community whole. Having a top educational system and making sensible planning decisions - both play critical roles in the quality of life our residents experience. Just before college, I found myself volunteering for the first… Continue

This year the Santa Monica Daily Press "sent out questionnaires to each candidate, [giving] them 1,000 words to explain their positions on a host of issues important to residents and business owners, as well as shed light on their personalities." So today they published my profile (for the PDF click here - pop-up graphics are below) - which shou… Continue

I think Obama had it correct when he remarked that he, "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills," as a way of pointing out one obvious difference between him and his predecessors. To that point, the Santa Monica Daily Press ran an interesting article on the pool of youthful candidates running for positions in Santa Monica. Frankly, it's exciting to see that there is a groundswell of young energy - aiming to help make Santa Monica a better place. And I'd like to congratul… Continue

If we're in the business of being a great place to live, we need to shed our anti-business reputation. While advising small businesses around the country I've learned that these local operators can be the heart, soul AND the economic engine of the communities that allow them to thrive. The spirit, unique flavor, and tax revenues in these desirable cities dispel the myth that Santa Monica can't be both pro-family and pro-business. Imagine the benefits of having more local business owners and thei… Continue

We can't continue looking at traffic and development SEPARATELY - we need to look at them as one topic - how Santa Monica lives. I'm talking about Quality of Life. And the Quality of Life we want means being able to AFFORD to live here - and still WANTING to live here. If too much development means we've created a community where no one wants to live - with too much traffic, crime and pollution - we've failed. If we take extreme measures and limit development to unreasonable levels - so the burd… Continue

If we continue to look at this issue as one of HOMELESSNESS - we're just going to recycle the same failed solutions - like more shelters. That's NOT the answer. Because for the vast majority of people on our streets - what we're calling HOMELESSNESS is really HELPLESSNESS. We need to provide real help and solutions for the HELPLESS - to not only get them off OUR streets - but off of ALL streets. And while we may not be able to help all of the HELPLESS in our midst become fully functional - we MU… Continue

It's not everyday that the Speaker of the House comes to town. And Nancy Pelosi is definite… Continue

So the signatures have been gathered, the forms have been filled, and the statements have been written. Barring any last minute issues with signature validation (I've collect ample signatures - just in case!) I should be a full fledged candidate for the City Council of Santa Monica. I've committed to making t… Continue