Daily Breeze Endorses Duhovic, Emenhiser, Knight

Here is and editorial that appeared in the October 24th edition of The South Bay Daily Breeze.

"A look at the field for RPV council

A big turnover is coming in Rancho Palos Verdes. On Nov. 8, voters elect three new City Council members.

More members are leaving, due to term limits, than staying. But the change isn't significant just because of quantity. The two remaining councilmen are relative newcomers to the panel. Both Brian Campbell and Anthony Misetich are just halfway through their first council terms.

That makes strong connections to the community and city workings even more important among the seven active candidates for the soon-to-open seats. However, while we see the strengths of current candidates and former council members Susan Brooks and Ken Dyda, we feel it's important for the city to look forward, not back. The City Council should be focused on capturing the city's future, not former, glory.

Differences are subtle - if not nonexistent - among all the candidates on issues that have dominated headlines in the past several years. All prize open space, are wary of Marymount College's expansion plans and cite fiscal sanity, public safety and infrastructure as priorities. (We must, however, commend Dyda for his detailed emphasis on preventing Portuguese Bend from becoming "Portuguese Bend Bay.") Civility in the city's dealings with staff and the public has also been a common theme.

But if we must choose, our recommendations go to Dave Emenhiser, Jim Knight and Jerry Duhovic.

Both Emenhiser and Knight would bring to the council long records of cityservice, and both currently serve on the planning commission, a post that assures a strong knowledge of some of the issues most vital to maintaining the character and general plan of Rancho Palos Verdes.

In addition to the planning commission, Emenhiser has also served on the city finance advisory committee and worked with PV Seniors and the Chamber of Commerce. He's well liked and has the backing of every current City Council member. We see in him a good listener who's easy to work with and brings enthusiasm to public service.

Knight's commitment to preserving open space (he has earned the endorsement of the Sierra Club) will be important as Rancho Palos Verdes evolves. We like the level-headed approach he's suggested for relations with city staff, emphasizing a need to balance appropriate compensation with workload and financial constraints, and his repeated intention to re-engage the community to set the city's agenda.

Duhovic's current work for the city comes from a different though important perspective; he is currently vice chair of the finance advisory committee. We like his desire to maximize recreational and youth sports opportunities and his interest in making the most of resources like the nature preserve (with the caveat, of course, that any such moves must be navigated with long-term preservation also in mind). He also displays a good sense for balancing that interest with protecting revenues, noting that right now, for example, there's no rush for improvements at Grandview and Hesse parks.

Two other candidates intrigued us. Eric Alegria's perspective as a newer resident with a potentially long future in the city could be an important one on the council. However, we share the concerns of the some in the community that Alegria hasn't been around quite long enough. As suggested earlier, not every council member need be a lifelong resident or a founder, but at least a year or two seems ideal to be a better informed councilman with a stronger connection to the community. Dora de la Rosa, meanwhile, has provided solid leadership as president of the Peninsula school board, but throughout the campaigning we wish we would have heard a few more solid opinions from her on issues specific to Rancho Palos Verdes.

With such talent in the pool for City Council all around, we look forward to seeing what the future holds for the city. But right now, we believe Emenhiser, Knight and Duhovic are the strongest options to lead Rancho Palos Verdes through whatever comes next.
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