Qualifications on Line in Redondo Beach Races : No ‘Big-Ticket Items’ in District 3, Martin Tells Her Opponent

Charging that incumbent Marcia Martin is not a leader, challengerSteve Colin says that District 3 has taken a back seat to other City Council districts during the last four years.

Martin contends that her district has a lower profile because it is primarily residential and does not have as many “big-ticket controversial items.”

Colin is attempting to unseat Martin in Tuesday’s municipal election for the seat representing the district--loosely bordered by Marshallfield Lane, 190th Street and Paulina Avenue and abutting Hermosa Beach and Torrance.

Martin said that District 3 cannot be compared to other city districts because the others are in the spotlight more often: District 1 with the beachfront, District 2 with the pier-harbor area, District 4 with the Galleria at South Bay and District 5 with TRW and Aviation Park. Her district is residential and does not covet huge shopping centers and apartment complexes, she said.

And, Martin contends, District 3 actually has benefitted from its low profile because she has been able to persuade the council to pump more money into the area for street resurfacing, playground equipment and parks, contending that less money has been spent on major developments.

Colin’s Charges Told

Colin, 29, a personal injury attorney, is critical of Martin’s record, saying that she does not represent the district, that she echoes the views of other council members and bows to pressure to vote with the rest of the council.

Martin, 35, a security services specialist at TRW, disagrees. She said that she voices her opinions--and those of her district--during meetings and has often been the lone dissenting vote on many issues.

Martin said she tries to work with the mayor and other council members rather than against them. She said that by doing so, she has been able to negotiate a number of compromises benefiting the district. “I’m not someone who comes in and is a loudmouth and makes a lot of trouble,” she said. “There’s leadership and there’s troublemaking.

“I do my own thing. . . . But am I going to be a rabble-rouser that goes around and causes trouble? No. I’d rather work together.”

In that respect, she contrasted herself with Colin, a civic activist and the chairman of the Public Improvements Commission. Colin, Martin said, does not compromise, looks only at the negative side of issues and does not consider building on the positive.

Lists Accomplishments

Martin said some of her accomplishments during the last four years included her role in preserving 10 acres of open space, obtaining resurfacing for six miles of streets, obtaining an agreement for city acquisition of the Franklin School site for a park or community center by about 1990, turfing and irrigation of the Beryl, Birney, Jefferson and Madison school sites, getting rubber mats placed over the railroad tracks on 182nd Street, having a fence installed around the railroad right-of-way to prevent dumping, and getting improvements--such as a sports center, bleachers, restrooms and backstop--at Washington-Adams School.

Citywide accomplishments, Martin said, include her role in getting additional police officers, adding a police substation on the pier, reducing the density bonus, increasing the development requirements for parking and open space and opening of the Galleria, the Sheraton hotel and the community center in what was formerly the Patterson School.

Martin said she has been working to get the business district bordered by 190th Street, Meyer Lane and Mary Ann Drive, declared a redevelopment area so businesses can get assistance in cleaning up their buildings.

“I’d like to see more done but you’ve got to start somewhere, and I think we have a good start,” she said.

No Projects in Mind

Martin does not have any particular projects in mind for the next four years, she said. “I’m not on City Council because I have big, grandiose things in mind, that I’m going to change the city. I’m on City Council because I think I’m a good representative of District 3.”

But, she said, she would like to see a new complex for City Hall, the police department, a civic center and a library started within the next four years. That project has been discussed for years by the city.

According to Martin, the most controversial issue in her district in the last four years was the proposed widening of Prospect Avenue and Flagler Lane.

She said she went door to door, called residents and contributed money for the printing of literature against widening the streets.

Voters in November, 1984, voted overwhelmingly to reject the widening.

Colin said that Martin took a “safe position” when she voted against the project and did not play an active role in defeating it. He said he went door to door talking to people and passed out leaflets to get the project defeated.

Colin charges that Martin has hindered public input by holding only one district meeting in four years, by initially voting against televising City Council meetings and allowing video cameras in council chambers, and by voting to meet twice a month instead of four times. She has also voted to limit public comment to three minutes each during meetings and to schedule residents’ comments at the end of the meeting.

Focus on Awareness

Colin said that if elected he would try to keep district residents aware of issues through mailings and, if people did not attend district meetings, it would mean he was not be working hard enough.

In a campaign flyer, Colin said that he will work to preserve open space and to ease traffic on residential streets.

Martin said that Redondo residents voted in June, 1986, to permit the City Council to reduce its weekly meeting schedule to twice a month as a wy to save money.

She said she has held a district meeting annually. The meetings were not well attended, she said, and were costly in terms of city staff overtime and mailing of announcements to residents.

Those who did attend district meetings usually attended City Council meetings as well, she said. People with specific problems usually call or write rather than attend meetings, she said.

Martin said she mails out the two, city-alloted mailers to residents each year and tries to combine information on city issues with a questionnaire to gauge district opinion.

Colin was also critical of Martin for what he said was her failure to keep a campaign promise of four years ago to remove piles of rocks in Dominguez Park. “Dominguez Park is probably one of the largest open spaces in the area, and we’re not doing anything to improve it,” Colin said.

Large Boulders Removed

Martin disagreed. She said although there are still some rocks in the park, the large boulders that had been stored there for the harbor breakwater have been removed as has other debris. “Fifty thousand dollars is going into Dominguez just to check out the dirt,” she said of an approved soil study.

Colin, who worked on the unsuccessful effort last fall with Alice DeLong and Mayor Barbara Doerr to limit campaign contributions, said he doesn’t know how much money he will spend during the campaign. He said he has already spent about $3,000--a combination of his own money and contributions from friends and relatives. Colin is single.

Martin said she plans to spend only what she gets in contributions, which, she said, is about $6,000 so far. Her campaign statements show that she has received contributions from several harbor interests, the Redondo Beach Police Officers Assn. and Forest City Enterprises, the developer of the Galleria at South Bay.

Martin is a divorced mother with two children who do not live with her. She is studying public administration at El Camino College.

She said she would like to become a police officer and eventually work in police or city management. She worked for eight years in a variety of jobs for the Redondo Beach Police Department until she was elected to the City Council in 1983.