RICHARD BLOOM

GENERAL QUESTIONS:

1. Who are you? Describe yourself in 100 words or less.

   I am Jewish, a parent of two SAMOHI children, a husband, son and son-in-law. I am an experienced family law attorney, mediator and judge pro tem. I assist families in crisis. I have been a member of the Santa Monica City Council for 5 1/2 years. I have served as Mayor pro Tem for one year and have had the great honor of being Mayor for two years. I am passionate in all of my pursuits and try to live by the Jewish proverb that each of us has an obligation to help "repair the world".

2. What is your favorite book? Movie? Food?

Book: "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Movie: "Scent of a Woman" and "Galaxy Quest" ("Never give up – never surrender!")

Food: A toss-up between peanut butter and my own homemade chocolate brownies.

3. How long have you lived in Santa Monica?

23 years

4. Describe your history of community involvement, if any, in 75 words or less.

• Founding member/President, Friends of Sunset Park.

• Board member, Santa Monica Democratic Club

• Vice President, Grant Elementary School PTA

• AYSO Soccer Coach

• Santa Monica Little League Coach

• Member, Santa Monicans for Renters Rights

• Former member, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce

• City Councilmember (since 1999)

• Mayor Pro Tem (2002)

• Mayor (2003 – 2004)

• Commissioner, Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission

• Member, Westside Cities Council of Governments

• Blue ribbon committee member – Bring L.A. Home: The Partnership to End Homelessness

MULTIPLE CHOICE

Please choose the statement with which you agree most. Feel free to explain your answer in 50 words or less.

5. Tourism is one of Santa Monica’s most important industries and has been almost since the city’s founding. Yet, especially in the summer and on weekends, Santa Monica can appear downright crowded. Ignoring the economic benefits, with which statement do you agree more:

A. Tourism creates a major inconvenience for Santa Monica residents.

B. Being a world-renowned magnet for tourism is a tribute to Santa Monica and has made our city a more lively, fun and interesting place to live.

I agree most with "B". On balance, the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. Ignoring economic benefits from tourism is a mistake. One of the reasons we have great schools and parks is because of income from tourism. We would not have been able to double funding for schools without tourist dollars.

6. Over the years, the City has received two kinds of complaints about traffic. Some residents complain that there is too much traffic going through their neighborhoods, often going too fast, and have pressured the City to construct various forms of "traffic calming." Other residents complain that our streets are clogged with so much traffic that it takes too long to drive around town. With which statement do you agree more:

When it comes to traffic:

A. The most important thing is to protect neighborhoods by slowing down and discouraging cut-through traffic.

B. The most important thing is to find ways to speed up the flow of traffic.

I agree with "A". This is both a safety and quality of life issue. Studies show that slowing down traffic dramatically reduces traffic fatalities and injuries. The city works closely with police and firefighters when considering these measures.

7. Over the past decade, more than a thousand apartments have been built or approved in downtown Santa Monica in response to City incentives. With which statement do you agree more:

A. Santa Monica needs more housing to be built, downtown is the best place to build it and the City should encourage more housing to be built there.

B. Downtown is too crowded already and the City should do what it can to discourage more housing development there by increasing regulations and/or downzoning.

I agree with "A". Downtown is a good place for housing. Housing is less traffic intensive than office space. Our policies have created a vibrant neighborhood in our downtown. However, I would clarify that the city currently encourages housing and does not need to alter its laws to encourage more.

8. It’s generally acknowledged, within and without City government, that navigating the building and development permit process in Santa Monica is a nightmare for developers and homeowners alike, and much more complicated and time-consuming than in other local jurisdictions. With which of the following statements do you agree most:

The major cause of the problems with the building process in Santa Monica is:

A. An incompetent bureaucracy suffering from high turnover and bad training and supervision.

B. The Planning Commission, which has demoralized planning staff and made them fearful of approving projects and has slowed down the approval process itself by applying vague and varying standards.

C. The City Council, which over the years has enacted an overly complex set of laws governing zoning, environmental review and building standards.

I do not agree with any of the choices. In the course of setting policies that have enhanced the city by moderating development, we have also created a difficult planning process. We’ve taken steps to correct these problems, especially for homeowners, that we share with many other cities.

9. Preferential parking districts are controversial in Santa Monica. With which statement do you agree more:

When it comes to street parking in residential neighborhoods located near commercial districts or boulevards,

A. The rights of the residents come first, and no resident should have to compete with a non-resident for a parking space on a resident's street at any time of day.

B. In designating preferential parking districts, the City needs to be more cognizant of the needs of employees and customers.

C. The streets belong to everyone, and the City should get out of the business of designating preferential parking districts.

I have always agreed with "B". However, when there is a non-resolvable conflict between residents and business, resident’s interests must come first.

10. True or false: The Third Street Promenade has become primarily a destination for visitors and does not cater to local residents. Explain in 50 words or less.

False. The Third Street Promenade draws from a regional market but also serves the local community. I work adjacent to the Promenade and serve as the council’s liason to the Bayside District that oversees the Promenade. Many local residents visit and enjoy all that the Promenade has to offer, every day.

11. Pick one and explain in 50 words or less:

A. The City’s policies attract an influx of homeless who would not otherwise come to Santa Monica.

B. The homeless come to Santa Monica for reasons outside the City’s control.

Homeless people don’t come here because of city policy but we do need strong, enforced laws that curb anti-social behavior. 84,000 people in the County need homes. We cannot solve the problem alone. That is why I represent the city on Bring LA Home, the regional plan to end homelessness.

12. With which of the following statements do you agree most. Santa Monica’s traffic problems are the direct result of,

A. City policies approved by the SMRR majority, including traffic calming, the development of the Promenade and the fostering of tourism.

B. Major developments -- such as the large office complexes in the city’s industrial corridor -- approved in the mid-1980s by councils controlled by non-SMRR pro development factions.

C. Regional growth outside the control of the City Council.

The primary cause is "C", regional growth – proven by the fact that traffic is generally worse elsewhere. Had SMRR majority councils in the past not restricted big development, the problem here would be far worse.

13. With which statements do you agree. You can choose more than one.

Affordable housing:

1. Creates blight.

2. Pays back hotel and restaurant union workers for their political support and creates more tenants to vote for Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights.

3. Addresses a legitimate need, especially in Santa Monica.

Conservatives and progressives agree that affordable housing is a critical need throughout the state. Santa Monica builds enough affordable housing to fulfill State requirements and not significantly more. Lack of affordable housing in the region is an important one of many causes of homelessness.

14. With which statements do you agree. You can pick more than one. Community input in planning and building design,

A. Improves Projects

B. Is overly skewed towards pleasing nearby neighbors as opposed to meeting the interests of the community as a whole.

C. Unreasonably slows the process and is a way for opponents to eliminate new development.

D. Needs to be streamlined.

There is no doubt that involving the community in development decisions improves projects. Chamber backed, pro-development interests want to reduce and eliminate public process so that they can unleash a tidal wave of unrestrained development. (Think: "Los Angeles.") These are the same people who want you to vote against incumbents.

15. With which statement do you agree most. Santa Monica tenants in rent-controlled units,

A. Need more protections from harassment by landlords eager to re-rent units at market rates.

B. Are being subsidized by landlords who can't charge fair rents and make a profit.

C. No longer need strong rent control policies because vacancy decontrol has given landlords more opportunity to make a fair return.

D. Should not have majority control of the City Council.

"A". I am proud to have supported laws protecting tenants from harassment. The current economic climate makes it profitable to turn over apartments to new tenants. We’ve seen too many cases where this motivated harassment. Our strong policies protect all tenants, however long they have lived in their units.

16. In the past two years, the number of laws passed by the City Council has increased from 32 in 2002 to 41 last year. This is:

A. A reasonable response to the concerns of residents.

B. A council that tries to please everyone.

C. A council that believes it knows what’s best for the City and likes to impose its will.

"A" City councils everywhere enact laws on matters of both large and small importance to residents. A city council should be judged by the quality, not the quantity of its work. I am very proud of the work we have done during my two years as Mayor.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

17. What would you do to improve Santa Monica? (50 words or less)

1. End homelessness. I’ll continue to fight for the regional solution of Bring L.A. Home: The Partnership to End Homelessness.
2. Enforce laws, including those recently introduced by me, to stop homeless anti-social behavior.
3. Reduce traffic/parking problems by controlling over-development, bringing light rail here and implementing citywide parking strategies.

18. What is your "wish list" for Santa Monica? (Maximum of 5 items)

1. End homelessness.
2. Maintain neighborhood quality of life.
3. Ensure great schools and parks!
4. Bring Exposition Light Rail to Santa Monica (I’ve successfully lobbied for funding the first leg!)
5. More music and art

19. What is the best thing about Santa Monica?

The best thing about Santa Monica is the diverse people who live here and care deeply about their great community.

20. What is the worst thing about Santa Monica?

The worst thing about Santa Monica is continuing gun and gang violence.

21. What is your favorite place in Santa Monica? Your least favorite place? In 30 words or less give your reasons.

Favorite place: I love riding to the top of the Pacific Park ferris wheel with my family. Looking out over the whole city with my family nearby is very special.

Least favorite place: Driving eastbound at Centinela and Pico. Reason: Who would ever want to leave Santa Monica??? Los Angeles has much worse traffic, far more overdevelopment and no ferris wheel.

22. A measure on the November ballot calls for increasing the City’s hotel bed tax. Do you support or oppose the measure?

I strongly support Measure N. It’s a fair increase in the bed tax that will bring ours in line with neighboring cities. Passage will bring approximately $3.5 million to the city – paid entirely by visitors who use our city’s resources. We can use the money for schools, police and other important needs.

23. Do you support the $135 million Santa Monica College bond measure on the November ballot?

The college bond measure relies on an as-yet unrealized partnership between the city and Santa Monica College. I am unable to support the college bond measure until the city and college are able to agree on the terms of the partnership.

24. An analysis by The Lookout found that Santa Monica spent $1,906 per resident to provide basic services in fiscal year 2003-04. By comparison, Culver City spent $1,349; Pasadena spent $1,244 and Torrance spent $1,005. Do you think the City can cut back on its spending or is spending the right amount?

This type of comparison between cities does not take into consideration the significant differences between the cities. For example, Culver City has no pier, no "Third Street Promenade" and no beach – all of which cost money to maintain but each of which also produce significant resources while contributing to the enrichment of life in our city. Revenue from these resources is utilized for the benefit of the entire community. So, while these cities spend less per resident, they also do not, for example, contribute $6 million per year to make their public schools excellent.

Over the course of more than a century, Santa Monica has had many personalities, usually more than one at any given time depending where you are standing. A tony resort and haven for the rich and beautiful; a honky-tonk beach town known for the Pier and P.O.P. and Muscle Beach for everyone else; a blue-collar factory town and arsenal of democracy; the wide-open "Bay City" of Phillip Marlowe; a "leafy suburb"; a working-class city of dingbat apartments and little bungalows; a conservative bastion run by real estate and business interests; the "Peoples’ Republic of Santa Monica"; and other historical realities you can probably think of, not to mention today’s reality of regional center for retail, entertainment and white-collar employment. What historical era or personality of Santa Monica do you most identify with, and how does that relate to your vision of Santa Monica’s future?