White Paper on Torrance's Financial Condition - and a Path Forward

Policy Platform

Unifying the City is critical to our progress. I believe we should:

• Establish Community Councils. Bring together community nonprofits, faith-based groups, homeowner associations, and other organizations to ensure City services address important community needs.
• Stop Hate and Celebrate Our Diversity.  Crack down on hate crimes, teach self-defense courses to seniors, and introduce signage that declares Torrance a Hate Free City.  Work with the arts community and the Torrance Chamber to show how our diversity and international character can highlight our culture and our economy.
• Promote and Expand the City’s Volunteer Program. Leverage our community spirit to help schools and seniors and enable the City to serve even more people, building on the current program of 2,000 volunteers.
• Improve Communication. We get better feedback – and make better policy – if we better inform City residents of important issues facing the community. We need to think differently and comprehensively about including the public in the City’s -- and the community’s -- efforts, events and actions, especially leveraging digital technology.

Experience/Qualifications to Lead the Plan

• Led a dozen local nonprofit organizations - in the arts, economic development, environment, Torrance history, and community service - in a board member capacity.
• Approved El Camino’s presidential task force to stop hate.
• Called for self-defense training for seniors to stop hate against the AAPI  and other communities.
• Advocated for signage at El Camino College – a Hate Free campus.
• Served on the board of the Go for Broke National Education Center, which educates the public on the valor of Japanese American veterans of World War II and their contributions to our nation.
• Instituted the first African American Advisory board and the first Spanish language TV outreach partnership at the Red Cross Southern California blood bank.
• Oversaw one of the nation’s largest volunteer programs – the national Red Cross blood donation program, leading more than 3 million volunteers.
• As a councilman, initiated Torrance 2.0, which revamped the City’s digital communication (e.g., establishing an email newsletter) and, as a commissioner in 1999, initiated “Open Mic Night” to leverage the City’s TV station to improve outreach.
• Advised El Camino on overhauling its digital and overall marketing strategy.

Policy Platform

• I support the intent of the City’s first steps to address homelessness. I would work with the City team to:
• Put a high priority on finding alternative locations to the current pallet program location, leveraging funds from the County and other governments.
• Take other actions (such as Project Roomkey and Project Homekey) that can help the estimated 300 people who are without homes, 20% of whom are not sheltered. 
• Partner with other agencies and expand the team, inclusive of volunteers, to encourage those living on the streets to become housed.

Experience/Qualifications to Lead the Plan

• As a Councilman, I interacted frequently with the South Bay Council of Governments to implement regional solutions.
• At El Camino College, I supported the Warrior Pantry, which offers healthy food items and toiletries to students to help them succeed in their classwork without distractions caused by food insecurity.

Policy Platform

Public safety is a critical local government service. I would work with the City team to help make neighborhoods safe by doing the following:

• Ensure public safety remains a top priority in Torrance.
• Ensure excellence by evaluating paramedic, fire and emergency response times and triaging.
• Partner with other agencies and organizations such as El Camino's planned Public Safety Training Center, which can provide local, enhanced training for recruits and incumbent staff.
• Support the City's Principled Policing program, a Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)-certified course on procedural justice and implicit bias, to improve public safety training and ensure the fair administration of justice.
• Utilize new technologies and processes (such as specialization, with non-badge carrying professionals carrying out specific public safety tasks, such as the CSI team).
• Reduce the burden on public safety personnel by leveraging other specialties (such as social workers) and trained volunteers and retirees (who can help with financial crime investigation and in other areas), as well as enhancing training and psychological support for badge-carrying team members.
• Recruit and retain public safety team members by considering referral bonuses, housing policies to encourage team members to live in the City, and workers compensation administration reform.

Experience/Qualifications to Lead the Plan

• Approved the Public Safety Training Center at El Camino College.
• As a Councilman, approved adding a paramedic response unit to enhance services.
• On the Torrance Council, scrutinized the budget to find funds to save two public safety positions, slated to be cut during the Great Recession.
• Authorized the creation of the professional CSI team.
• Appointed by the State Senate, as a Councilman, to the California Council on Criminal Justice.
• In fall 2021, after two former officers were charged with spray painting swastikas on an impounded car, organized counsel to the City from local clergy and a civil rights organization.

Policy Platform

Approximately 17% of Torrance residents are over 65.  To help these residents, I would work with the City team to:

• Become an AARP Age Friendly Community, developing an action plan to "make neighborhoods walkable, feature transportation options, enable access to key services, provide opportunities to participate in community activities, and support housing that’s affordable and adaptable,” consistent with the actions of the Commission on Aging. 
• Leverage volunteers, community organizations and technology to improve outreach, particularly to shut in seniors.

Experience/Qualifications to Lead the Plan

• On the Council, initiated “Seniors, Don’t Be Scammed” to educate on fraud and financial abuse.
• Kept bus fares at 25 cents for seniors; supported the “dial a ride” program to help seniors and disabled residents.
• At the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, investigated crimes against seniors as a law school intern.

Policy Platform

• Enhance a close working relationship with Torrance Unified to improve services, reduce costs and help our schools remain top performing.
• Work collaboratively to improve shared facilities and field usage, coordinate services (such as after school programs and community education), investigate shared vendors, and coordinate teen programs.
• Continue the City’s help for schools, including crossing guards and school resource officers, for the safety of our school age children.

Experience/Qualifications to Lead the Plan

• As an El Camino trustee, supported dual enrollment so Torrance students can earn college credit while at high school.
• At El Camino, advocated for Open Education Resources, which saved students $1 million in textbook costs annually.
• Campaigned for Measures Y and Z to help improve Torrance schools.
• As a Torrance Commissioner, ensured that students had access to the Torrance plunge.

Policy Platform

Torrance is a balanced City – and we should strive to maintain this balance, adhering to State laws while ensuring we maintain the character of our community. I would work with the City team to:

• Preserve Torrance’s quality of life by making sure it remains a balanced and family-oriented community.
• Oppose over-development and cut-through traffic caused by the wrong project in the wrong place and out of character with the neighborhood.
• Advocate at the State level to fight Sacramento over-reach. Work with our state representatives to fight erosion of local control.
• Institute revitalization zones, which integrate holistically residential, commercial, and industrial areas. In particular, the Downtown Revitalization Zone provides a great opportunity to organically and comprehensively further improve downtown Torrance.
• Continuously improve operations at the permit center, developing key performance indicators to provide efficient service.
• Enforce the Hillside Overlay Ordinance.

Experience/Qualifications to Lead the Plan

• While on the Council, I worked with the League of California Cities to advocate that redevelopment funds be preserved to support local projects.
• As a Councilman, I scrutinized development projects, supporting projects that were consistent with the character of the community – and opposing those that were not.
• On the Council, I advocated for historic preservation to enable residents to maintain the character of Old Torrance. I also approved the consolidated permit center, designed to unify City services.

Policy Platform

The best social policy is a good job - and good jobs come from good businesses. I would work with the City team to:

• Expand the economic development team to ensure that Torrance remains business friendly, inclusive of working with volunteers and staff at the Torrance Chamber. 
• Expand business visits to identify ways to continue to support the local economy.
• Set up frequent Business-City meetings to ensure City policies and actions improve the business climate.
• Work with the Torrance Chamber to be a champion of local business.

Experience/Qualifications to Lead the Plan

• First started working in economic development in the early 1990s, helping the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation attract technology businesses.
• Led two economic development organizations in Southern California.
• Received an economic development award by a community college district, recognizing actions to train workforce and provide support for small businesses.
• On the Council, I catalyzed the creation of the South Bay Entrepreneurial Center in Torrance, to assist start up firms.
• At El Camino College, I approved many measures to train new and incumbent workers – as well as to connect El Camino students to jobs.

Policy Platform

Torrance must have effective Operation and maintenance of streets, sewers, sidewalks, trees, transit and water to protect our environment. To improve in this area, I would work with the City team to:

• Reduce waste throughout the City, especially from an energy and water perspective.
• Curb pollution from stormwater runoff, making capital improvements to repair broken pipes using grants from state and federal sources.
• Explore alternative transportation options, including micromobility that uses multiple means to help people travel locally,, from a currently planned trolley system on wheels to promoting neighborhood electric vehicles.
• Monitor and implement a coyote management program, consistent with recommendations from state experts. 
• Advocate for regular reporting to ensure refinery safety and, consistent with the City’s strategic plan, encourage regulatory entities to investigate other alkylation technologies.
• Increase tree planting and usage of native plants.
• Continue the noise-monitoring system at the Torrance Airport.

Experience/Qualifications to Lead the Plan

• On the Council, initiated the first energy and water audit, leading to $300,000 in annual electricity and water savings.
• Authorized expanding the green waste program Citywide when I was on the Council.
• As a Councilman, championed Torrance taking part in the South Bay Bicycle Master Plan.
• After seeing reports critical of the City, shepherded measures to streamline and expedite processing of solar panels on homes.
• On the Council, oversaw the rebranding of Torrance Transit and the use of hybrid electric buses.
• Awarded an “Environmental Champion”, for my work on the Council, by the LA League of Conservation Voters.
• Oversaw the development of the Traffic Management Center, which improved light synchronization and implemented “permissive left” technology.
• Served on the Madrona Marsh Foundation board.
• Initiated the electronic noise monitoring system at the Torrance Airport.