PATRICIA HOFFMAN

GENERAL QUESTIONS:

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

I have lived in Santa Monica for the last 25 years and have been active in the community for almost as long. I have been a tenant as well as a homeowner here, I owned and operated a business here, and I raised my three children here. I care about people; those who live here, those who work here, and those who visit. I have demonstrated my commitment to the people of Santa Monica, from my two terms on the school board to my vast experience on various committees, commissions and boards.

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

I am far too eclectic to have favorites. I read all kinds of materials. My movie choices tend toward light-hearted comedy. I usually don’t like "heavy" movies. I like spicy food, often from other countries or different regions of the U.S.

3. How long have you lived in Santa Monica?

I have lived here for 25 years continuously, but I also lived here in the early and mid-seventies for three years.

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

• Elected Member, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD)

Board of Education (twice VP and twice President)

• Member and Vice-Chair, Financial Oversight Committee, SMMUSD
• Member and Vice-Chair, Bayside District Corporation Board of Directors
• Member, Special Education District Advisory Committee SMMUSD
• Member, Intercultural Advisory Committee SMMUSD
• City of Santa Monica Charter Review Commission
• City of Santa Monica Working Group on Youth
• Member and Vice-Chair, Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women (COSW)
• Executive Board Member, Franklin, Lincoln and Samohi PTAs
• Vice-President, SMMUSD Council PTA
• Commissioner, Region 20 AYSO Soccer
• Registrar, Region 20 AYSO Soccer
• President, Santa Monica Democratic Club
• Steering Committee Member, Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights
• Executive Committee, Community Corporation of Santa Monica
• Founding Member, Santa Monica AIDS Project
• Board Member, Meals on Wheels

I am or have been an active member of all of these and quite a few more organizations.

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.

Tourism creates inconveniences for residents and causes wear and tear on the City. However, it is impossible to ignore the income generated, since it helps us provide services we have come to expect, like public safety, social services and school funding.

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.

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.

Traffic should be neither stop-and-go nor speeding through neighborhoods. Traffic calming, when well designed and implemented, should move traffic through the City using the main arteries, rather than impeding the flow of traffic. Speed bumps should only slow traffic to the speed limit, not ten m.p.h. below the limit.

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.

Santa Monica has suffered a net loss of affordable units. State law superseded local rent control rules. Downtown is crowded, but it is the appropriate place for the increased density since services are also located there. Also, residents of the downtown area don’t need cars as much to get around.

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.

The dysfunction in the planning department has many contributing factors, the most important being that there is no clear line of responsibility. The department answers to too many bosses: the Council, the Planning Commission, the City Manager (who supervises the Director) and the people of Santa Monica. I would clarify the chain of command and implement the recommendations of the Matrix Report.

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.

As in the other issues, balance and common sense are needed here. Around SMC, severe restrictions are necessary. In most other places, two-hour parking should be allowed in restricted zones. The required turnover guarantees residents the space that they need and gives the public a place to park as well.

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.

It sometimes feels as though the Promenade doesn’t cater to locals. However, year after year, when intercept and telephone surveys are done, we learn that the Promenade is still a major destination for residents. Most Santa Monicans still visit the Promenade regularly.

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

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

The homeless come to Santa Monica for many reasons. The development of homeless services followed the arrival of a large homeless population—homeless services did not get here first. Working with Los Angeles and the region to implement the Bring L.A. Home recommendations is the next step we must take.

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.

I’m more interested in finding solutions than on fixing blame. There are a number of steps that can be taken to facilitate traffic flow. Synchronized signals and smart signage are two. We also need to make it easier to get around without the use of a car.

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

Affordable housing:

A. Creates blight.

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

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

This one is easy. Affordable housing is crucial to maintaining our social and economic diversity, a requirement for any healthy City. The majority of people getting Community Corporation housing are from Santa Monica. Community Corporation builds and maintains housing for working families and individuals, seniors and the disabled.

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.

Community input includes the Architectural Review Board and the Planning Commission. Their hearings and deliberations improve projects and help meet the needs of the community. There is a need to streamline and clarify the roles of the developer, neighbors, ARB, and the Planning Department and Commission. We can do better.

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.

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

Rent control has allowed tenants to age in place and in peace. It has brought stability to our community. In terms of participation in our schools, families of children in rent-controlled units have been identical to homeowners. We must continue to protect tenants from harassment and massive rent increases.

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.

I think that we pass too many ordinances. While 41 is not that onerous, it is nearly one a week. It becomes difficult to administer that many laws in a fair and even-handed manner.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

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

I will continue to demonstrate my leadership by setting priorities, balancing the budget and building consensus. I will actively seek out your help in finding solutions to protect, preserve and enhance the livability of Santa Monica.

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

• A healthy environment with clean air and water
• Sustainable development
• Excellent schools, parks and cultural opportunities
• A sense of safety and security in all of our homes and neighborhoods
• Peace and prosperity and goodwill to all

19. What is the best thing about Santa Monica?

Santa Monica is already a great place to live, work and raise children. The best thing about Santa Monica is Santa Monica.

20. What is the worst thing about Santa Monica?

The worst thing is that we don’t have our own broad circulation printed daily newspaper (with apologies to the SMDP).

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

My favorite place is my home because it is filled with people and animals that I love. My least favorite place is probably standing in line at the DMV.

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

I favor the measure. The money raised cannot be hijacked by the State. The 2% increase also makes our tax comparable with that in other local cities. People who are spending $300.00 a night for a hotel room won’t go to somewhere else rather than pay an extra $6.00.

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

I favor the College Bond. I have always supported education and improvements to educational facilities.

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? (See analysis)

I wish that other cities could spend what we spend, because our spending goes towards support for our schools, social services, buying land to increase open space, our dry-weather urban run-off recycling facility, and affordable housing. All of these things improve the quality of our lives.

25. 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?

My grandparents met a ballroom on the pier in 1923. Santa Monica always seemed so romantic to me when I was growing up in Van Nuys. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven when I first moved here in 1970. Santa Monica has been my permanent home since 1979. In fact, I agreed to marry my husband and accompany him to Seattle for his Family Medicine Residency if he agreed to move back here afterwards.

I have found Santa Monica to be an amazing place. We have 85,000 residents in a huge metropolitan area and yet to me it feels like a small town. I run into people I know wherever I go. We have beautiful tree-lined streets and good schools. We have the ocean and the Big Blue Bus. We have galleries and studios and theaters. We have neighborhood businesses and top-notch emergency services. Lots of community people are involved in making the decisions that affect our lives, and consequently better decisions are made.