October 14 Candidates' Forum

Brian Campbell. Boy was I snookered on this candidate.

I had him as one of my four favorite choices of candidates for the upcoming City Council election.

Had I known what I know now, he would not be mentioned well with most of the other candidates.

Here is a little background and then the answer to the question all candidates were posed, along with Brian's answer.

The City Council approved the construction of a 22-unit condominium project on Highridge Road. That development will block views of residents higher on the hill and it will also include several units of lower-priced units which are part of the mandated 'affordable housing' needs of our city.

The question that was posed to all the candidates was, "What was the best decision the City Council made in the last four years and what was the worst decision the City Council made in the last four years?

Several of the candidates mentioned that the Council's approval of the Highridge condominium project was the worst decision the Council made.

But Brian went farther. Actually he went off the deep end.

Not only did he sight the approval of the condominiums on Highridge as the worst decision, he also stated that he wanted the project built on, and read this quote carefully, "Western Boulevard"!

Now this might be another example of a Rancho Palos Verdes resident either not wanting to include Eastview and Western AVENUE as being an equal part of Rancho Palos Verdes. Or perhaps he just doesn't care about one of the densest residential and business areas of the city or Rancho Palos Verdes.

Brian, it is "Western AVENUE"! It is a State designated highway and it was and still may be the longest continuous AVENUE on this planet!

Also Mr. Campbell, the area of Eastview provides a great amount of property tax revenue to the city of Rancho Palos Verdes. It also provides a great deal of business tax revenues and sales tax receipts to the coffers of Rancho Palos Verdes.

We have two of the three largest Supermarkets in Rancho Palos Verdes and Western AVENUE has the ONLY Trader Joe's in Rancho Palos Verdes as of today.

For all of the good I heard from Brian Campbell up to tonight, he basically wrote eastern R.P.V. and especially the Eastview area off his map.

So, if he really considers us to be second class to the rest of Rancho Palos Verdes, I urge all reading this blog to consider other candidates over Brian Campbell in this coming election.

Hopefully we Eastviewers can demonstrate to Mr. Campbell that even though we don't vote in great numbers, we will surely vote for other candidates that may serve us better.

So now I will write about the other candidates who came to the forum on October 14.

Anthony Misetich. Mr. Misetich had his best showing in the three forums I have attended. His opening remarks were better this time than before.

His pluses include his relationships with the business community, more so I think in San Pedro, but his ability to communicate with Councilwoman Janice Hahn and Supervisor Don Knabe.

I found his ease of smiling to everyone, friendly. I think he could be considered by those folks who are more conservative in their politics than I am, but I wouldn't be unhappy if he was one of the two new Councilmen. I just won't be able to vote for him.

Craig Mueller. Mr. Mueller also had a very good forum presentation. He objected to Brian's claims that the Highridge condominiums should be built on Western and he was the only candidate to mention Ponte Vista and his concerns about that large proposed development on our border with San Pedro.

Mr. Mueller and I can't disagree more about the proposed 2% increase in the Transitory Occupancy Tax (TOT) that voters will approve or disapprove in this election.

Craig wants everyone to vote NO on the slight increase to the TOT even though neither of the owners of businesses that would be affected by the increase object to the increase.

Mr. Mueller wants as much done as possible to help Terranea survive and perhaps he feels that even a 2% increase, from 10% to 12% in room tax would be a breaking point to someone thinking about staying at Terranea.

But my feeling is that if someone is willing to pay $300.00 a night for a hotel room, the increase of the TOT from $30.00 to just $36.00 won't break their bank or their thoughts of staying at the hotel.

Craig and all the other candidates mentioned the possible landslides in the lower San Ramon and Tarapaca Canyon areas and the need for our city to spend funds to get that potential disaster fixed.

If Craig really wants the work funded to fix the roads, they it is my opinion, along with a great many others that the increase in the TOT is exactly something that should be used for part of the repairs.

The TOT is a user fee that won't be paid by many of our city's residents but will aid Terranea and Trump and visitors to the coastal areas of the peninsula.

John McTaggart. I have opined all along that I honor and appreciate the service Mr. McTaggart has given to our city. His current membership on at least three committees demonstrates his continued support to Rancho Palos Verdes and its residents.

But I continue to call for Mr. McTaggart to step aside and allow others who also want to serve our city the chances to do so.

Unfortunately at this forum, Mr. McTaggart did not present himself as well as he could have and I think we need to consider whether Mr. McTaggart has the ability and stamina to serve a four-year term.

The two new Councilmen will have challenges from day one that will put pressures on their shoulders and I got the impression during this latest forum that Mr. McTaggart may not be ready to shoulder the needs the office now commands.

Jim Knight. Mr. Knight did a wonderful job during the forum and I wish I could have three votes in this election.

I would have absolutely no problem whatsoever if Mr. Knight won a spot on the City Council.

He is up front about the issues that are important to him and those issues are also important to me.

I feel he deserves consideration and had either of my current choices dropped out, I would strongly urge folks to vote for Jim Knight.

Jeff Lewis and Paul Tetreault. These two gentleman are my two choices for seats on the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council.

Both of them have been endorsed by four of the five current City Council members and that tells me that both of them will work well with the remaining three members, beginning in December.

It also tells me that they will be the best 'elders' in two years when the remaining three members leave because of term limits and are replaced by three new faces.

I agree with the platforms and ideas of both candidates. I am most comfortable with watching Jeff and Paul join the Council and I feel they have my interests and the interests of Eastview and the whole of the east side of Rancho Palos Verdes in mind.

Both Jeff and Paul have stated their objections to having on-campus housing at Marymount and the two of them don't hesitate to tell you of their opposition to having Ponte Vista as a giant development on our borders.

Jeff if most forthright with his support of the Annenberg Project which will bring a $40 Million Dollar enhancement to the lower Point Vincente area and a very large expansion of native plants and animals to our city, all without increased taxes to any of us!

I find that Jeff Lewis and Paul Tetreault are my first preferences to win seats in the upcoming election.

If it comes to pass that Jeff Lewis and Jim Knight are chosen, that is also fine with me.

I can understand if voters decide that Craig Mueller and/or Anthony Misetich win a seat on the Council.

I hope very few, if any vote for Brian Campbell. If you want to vote for Brian, please consider Anthony Misetich over Brian if you are of a more conservative mindset than I am.

I still wish that John McTaggart will step aside and allow Jeff, Paul, Jim, Craig, or Anthony to serve.

I think our city would be dealt a disservice if we have to have a special election during the next two to four years if Mr. McTaggart is unable to serve a full term.

As for the TOT increase, please vote YES! Our city needs the funds that visitors who use our roadways can help us with.

If Palos Verdes Drive East becomes not drivable due to a landslide, Terranea, Trump, residents, and other businesses all around the area, including Marymount will suffer greatly.

I think it is a very small increase in a user fee that will be used for the benefit of everyone and will help insure that routes to and from the area remain open.

Please vote YES on the TOT increase!