Embedded Files
The following are my answers to the questions asked at the September 28, 2022, candidate forum hosted by the Corona del Mar Residents Association. It was held at the OASIS Center and moderated by Alex Crawford of Good Morning Newport. His expected co-moderator, Riley Hayes, was at the hospital tending to his wife and their newborn child.
The forum itself had a format difficult to translate into the Question & Answer template of the others.
A month earlier, the candidates were given an opportunity to introduce themselves in the Fall 2022 Election Edition of their community newsletter, where the responses can still be read.
Corona del Mar Residents Association Questions
Corona del Mar Residents Association Questions
QUESTIONS DRAWN FROM THE HAT
The following questions were drawn from a hat, with one being asked of each candidate. Click on the question to see what I would have answered.
1. What is your favorite beach?
If the question is about Newport Beach, Crystal Cove
2. What’s your favorite restaurant or “date-night” place in CdM?
I am not enough of a restaurant goer to have a meaningful opinion.
3. When meeting with constituents, when would you prefer to meet – mornings, lunch, evenings, etc.? We don’t want to meet with a grumpy councilperson!
The best time is whenever the constituent wants. It's the council person's job not to be grumpy.
4. What’s your favorite walk in CdM?
Ocean Boulevard
5. Name one positive characteristic or accomplishment of your opponent.
As a Planning Commissioner, Erik has been especially diligent about reaching out to proponents and opponents of the projects that come before them, and working out a compromise. Although well-meaning, it is not obvious Planning Commissions should be doing this, for it is generally assumed they base their decisions exclusively on the information presented at their hearings.
6. Where is the best place to find cougars in CDM?
This was the question asked of me. However, from where I was standing, "cougar" sounded like "tutor," which was puzzling. And when it was repeated, it sounded like "Tudor" (as in Henry the Eighth), which was even more puzzling. Then someone suggested a cougar was an older woman looking for a younger man, and I passed.
The best place in CdM to look for a cougar (known to many as a mountain lion) is Buck Gully.
7. Who do you root for in the battle of the bay football game?
At a forum in CdM, candidates would be tempted to say that in this game between the Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor High Schools, they root for the CdM Sea Kings.
Bu my answer would be I don't attend the game and have no favorite.
YES/NO QUESTIONS
The following questions were responded to by raising green or red card. Click them to see my response.
1. Are you a current member of CdMRA?
No. But I have been occasionally in the past.
2. Have you attended a CdMRA meeting (monthly or annual) in 2021 or 2022?
Yes. I attend about half the monthly meetings
3. Will you attend CdMRA meetings regularly, if elected?
That depends on how many other Council members attend. It the past the Council members from Districts 5, 6 and 7,
If those other three show up, attendance by the Council member from District 3 (which I would be from) would create the potentially illegal situation of a majority of the Council being present without proper notice.
4. Are you a fan of the CDM Christmas Walk beer garden?
No.
5. Would spending money on seasonal electronic signage on major thoroughfares in the City (e.g., Newport Coast, MacArthur, Newport Blvd) be an effective way to inform beach visitors when lots are full or parking is limited?
Yes.
6. Have you hiked Buck Gully?
Yes.
7. Do you think city codes are adequately enforced in the City?
No.
8. Have you lived in the district that you represent or plan to represent for the last 5 years?
Yes, although Council members in Newport Beach do not represent districts. There is one from each district, but not for the district. Each represents the entire city.
9. Do you believe that there is a traffic problem in the City or CDM in general?
I go wherever I can by bicycle and have not noticed any particular problem, although I can imagine from the perspective of the motorist it could be different.
10. Would you support a different measure (other than Measure B) to elect a mayor?
I don't think an elected mayor is right for Newport Beach. I would prefer to see a yearly rotation based on seniority.
11.Should the City’s campaign financing laws be changed?
Yes.
12.Should the new General Plan include a sustainability section?
Yes.
13.Should there be a more aggressive approach to wild fire prevention and management in the City?
The present approach seems reasonably well balanced.
14.Would a Balboa-like trolley system, and using the City Hall parking structure, be an effective way to divert traffic from the beaches and flower streets in CdM?
Possibily
15.Is the city doing enough to address sea level rise?
No.
Questions submitted with RSVP's
The following questions were submitted by email but not asked at the forum.
What specifically are you going to do to be readily available to your constituents?
I have posted my phone number and email address and will continue to maintain this website and circulate my newsletters inviting people to contact me.
If elected, I would plan to hold monthly in-person office hours at locations throughout the City. Past Council members who have tried them have found them not very well attended, but it continues to seem worth trying.
I will also advocate for the Town Hall meetings some Council members have hosted, at which City staff highlights efforts relevant to areas, be rotated among the Council districts.
How long have you owned and lived in your property in Newport Beach/Corona Del Mar?
I have lived in my home overlooking the upper Back Bay since 1980 and owned it since 1993.
Will you work to reduce further the number of short term rental permits and to find better ways strictly enforce short term rental rules?
Yes.
As indicated elsewhere, I strongly support the cap, but I also believe imposing a limit while continuing to allow transfer of the permits on sale of property has improperly created a special, privileged class of property owners who enjoy increased value to the detriment of their neighbors.
I don't think the permits should permanently attach to particular properties.
I also think it is unfortunate there is not greater transparency about interactions between the City and the Coastal Commission, for it has been said the CCC might have been comfortable with a lower cap than the Council initially asked for. So I believe the Council should have been asked if it wanted to request a lower limit.
Where do you stand on Prop 1?
It used to be that abortion rights were not in the purview of city council elections. However, recent actions in San Clemente and Temecula make it clear that cities have the ability to impact abortion rights. Calif Prop 1 would put women's reproductive rights in the California constitution. How are you planning to vote on Prop 1? And you can no longer demur by saying it's not a city issue, nor can you bring up the red herring that Prop 1 would allow abortions through a woman's entire term (not true).
The City of Newport Beach, like the cities cited, is a municipal corporation created to provide services to its residents.
Proposition 1 is a statewide ballot measure to amend the California Constitution.
I believe our City's involvement on all ballot measures should be limited, where helpful, to posting an impartial analysis of its impact on the municipal corporation.
I don't see it as the Council's role to pass resolutions purporting to represent the City's residents' views on issues. The residents speak for themselves, the Council does not speak for them.
That said, my personal view, as just one resident, is to agree with the critics that the language of Prop. 1 is overly broad and ambiguous. But I also trust courts will interpret it to be an affirmation of current law in California. So I will be voting "yes."
How and will the City Council candidates support Arts, Culture and Historical programs provided by the City Arts Commission, and specifically the Sculpture Exhibition in the City Civic Center Park ?
I believe the Civic Center Park was planned as a passive nature park with some minor, unobtrusive sculptural accents.
I do not believe it was intended as a site for a rotating sculpture exhibition. However, since that activity has proved popular, I would continue to support it, and would hope the state funding it briefly enjoyed could be restored.
I also believe the City Arts Commission should place more emphasis on the historical and cultural aspects of its role, not just visual and performing arts.
If you could make one change in our city laws or codes, what would it be and why?
I would like to unwind some of the changes made to our City Charter with Measure V in 2010 and Measure EE in 2012.
These both consisted of multiple changes, some of which had been previously rejected by voters, improperly presented as a single yes-no vote.
How would your plan to address homelessness in Newport Beach change if elected?
I think Newport Beach has done a reasonably good job of addressing homelessness.
However, it has not pursued this is a transparent manner, relying on direction from a Homeless Task Force that appears to meet privately without public notice. I believe those meetings should be open.
And, without knowing what its Homeless Task Force may be recommending, Newport Beach does not appear to have done its share in pursuing the ultimate solution for these unfortunate people, which would seem to be providing permanent supportive housing for them.
How will you address the ongoing homeless/transient problem in CDM. The numbers went from 60 to 90 of reported homeless in town.
We have had over 3 years of unsafe and unhealthy environment at and near the Transit Station on Avocado which filters into town. City Net Services is great but it needs to work hand in hand with the Police in enforcing existing laws. Allowing people to live on the street to suffer without treatment is not helping them and creates a public safety and liability issue for the residents, businesses and city. Please help work towards a real long term solution.
See previous answer.
On of my opponents, Erik Weigand, has suggested has suggested closing the OCTA Transportation Center north of our City Hall. Even if OCTA would allow this, that suggestion seems contrary to our City's commitment to encouraging a variety of mobility options.
If you are opposed, specifically, what has your opponent done or failed to do that you would do differently?
One of my opponents, Erik Wiegand, has served as a City Planning Commissioner since 2015.
Before the hearings, it appears he routinely meets privately with the proponents and opponents of a project, trying to broker a compromise. While this is undoubtedly well meaning, I do not feel it is something Planning Commissioners should be doing. My understanding is they are supposed to reach decisions based solely on the information presented publicly at the hearings, so everyone knows what the decision will be based on and has a chance to correct it if they think the Commissioners are receiving wrong information.
In 2016, he voted to recommend the Council approve the Museum House proposal despite widespread public opposition. The Council approval was later overturned as the result of a citizens' petition.
This May, he seconded the motion to approve the nearly identical Ritz Carlton Residences tower, despite it being on land not designated for residences. I tried to appeal that decision to the Council, but City staff refused to process the appeal.
My other opponent, Amy Peters, seems like a very nice lady, but prior to announcing her candidacy I am not aware of her ever attending a City meeting, so I am unaware of her past actions or positions.
What is your position on SB 9, the bill that will allow multiple dwelling units on a single lot even in neighborhoods zoned single family
Newport Beach has, as required by the state, implemented the code changes needed for a minimally-acceptable implementation of SB 9, but I resent this state intrusion into what should be a local zoning matter.
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