Candidates Address the Issues in Torrance Election

On the ballot in Torrance’s election Tuesday are candidates for mayor, three City Council seats, city treasurer and city clerk. Here are candidate statements taken from interviews with The Times.

CITY COUNCIL

Mike Botello

Age: 43

Occupation: El Camino College law and real estate professor

Comments: The first problem is how we are going to approach the issue of safety. We have to do everything we can to replace officers and keep a full deployment. Then there is the question of our economic base. How do you have the city of Torrance retain the present businesses and attract new businesses? We have to tout our safety and go out and reach for those businesses. . . . I also think we have to address the issue of true AIDS education for our children.

Marcia Cribbs

Age: 58

Occupation: Certified public accountant

Comments: I consider coequal the safety in the neighborhoods, parks and malls and the retention and attraction of businesses. With limited financial resources we are gong to have to be extremely careful. We cannot afford a policeman on every corner. We also need a permanent economic development committee to retain and attract businesses. I think we have to do some privatization. I am not so dumb as to think that business does everything right or government does everything wrong. There are some services that can be done better under contract.

Burton Fletcher

Age: 43

Occupation: Business professor at El Camino College, lawyer

Comments: I am at the forefront of the push for a major expansion of the volunteer reserve (police) officer system. I am the only candidate who is advocating council districts for increased council accountability. I am advocating that we restrict contributions from special-interest groups. . . . I advocate increased citizen participation and oversight in the area of economic development by the creation of an economic development commission. . . . I believe that the Police Department will better serve our community if an advisory police commission provides guidance in such areas as neighborhood watch, mall and park safety.

Joe Martinez

Age: 35

Occupation: Business lawyer

Comments: I want to emphasize the priority of public safety and address the rising concern over crime. I would like to see another community lead officer added to the program . . . and use the old tried-and-true Neighborhood Watch program. I think we could invigorate that. I’m a real proponent of the use of volunteers--not to replace city employees but to supplement them. Another area the city has to take a hard look at is airport operations. We have to look at raising some of the fees.

Mike Mauno

Age: 36

Occupation: Project manager for financial institution

Comments: To stem the rate of crime and violence, you need additional citizen participation. I’m advocating that the city create the Torrance Public Safety Advisory Committee. . . . We need to focus more on preventive action, whatever it might be. I’m also advocating a Torrance area youth corps. It is similar to the Peace Corps but it’s focused on Torrance youth. What I would like to see is an individual or department or phone number that a citizen can call to register their concern relating to city services.

Jack Messerlian

Age: 48

Occupation: Urban planner

Comments: We have got to send a message to criminals that they are just not welcome in Torrance. If we need to hire more police offers, then we ought to. We’ve got to come up with a new set of laws to hold parents responsible for minors who are involved in graffiti activity. . . . We need to stimulate the economic growth of the city. We can attract (jobs) to Torrance by doing one of several things. One is to streamline the regulatory process. We’ve got to market the facilities that we have and the quality schools that we have. We need to establish a buy-in-Torrance-first program.

Jose (Joe) D. Quinones

Age: 57

Occupation: Air-conditioning and heating technician for the city of Torrance

Comments: All (the candidates) want the same things: better police and fire protection, youth programs and bringing business to Torrance. Why would you want to vote for me? The answer is experience. I have the experience of working 35 years within the system. I know how the city works from the inside. Because of the diminishing revenues, the new buzzword is privatization, which is just another way of saying contracting out. If the person does not write the contract just right, the contractor will not do it. The city was designed and formed to perform certain services for its citizens and we do them best.

Gerry Rische

Age: 59

Occupation: Retired teacher

Comments: Public safety is the most important issue. I disapprove of advisory commissions. You elect people to take the heat and if you don’t like it you throw them out of office. Another important issue is economic development and jobs and maintaining our quality of life. Another thing we can do is buy in Torrance. I have been in the community 37 years. I think I am an independent spirit. I don’t have a hidden agenda. What you see is what you get.

Dan Walker

Age: 53

Occupation: Business management and public relations consultant

Comments: The most important issue is public safety and eliminating crime to the greatest possible extent. I want my wife to go shopping or for a walk without feeling threatened. (I advocate) taking our police forces back to a proactive stance to stop crime before it starts. People elect a city councilman to be responsive to their needs; we don’t need layer upon layer of government (such as a public safety committee).

Steve Whitehead

Age: 41

Occupation: Dow Chemical executive

Comments: I feel that safety is the most important thing to myself, residents and businesses. . . . City government must operate more like a business. It’s not a business, but they have to have more of a business approach. With the trash business or water services, if the private sector can do it cheaper, they should be allowed to. You have to aggressively market this area and bring in more high-tech jobs and high-tech businesses. It’s always great to have more cops, but having more policemen is a way to treat the symptoms. I’d like to look more toward the long-term future of this community.

Hope Witkowsky

Age: 53

Occupation: Marketing and sales

Comments: The safety of the citizens--I believe that that is a very important thing. I also feel that we need to develop a strategy of bringing businesses to Torrance through various incentive programs. I propose to have every block in Torrance covered by Neighborhood Watch. Once you get the citizens involved again you get that caring and small-town feeling again. There are two groups of people that I think we need to buddy together with and do some programs. One is the school board and the other is the chamber of commerce. . . . Let’s educate people to shop here in Torrance so we can pay for the services that we need to provide.

CITY CLERK Sue Herbers

Age: 48

Occupation: Secretary

Comments: The most important issue (is) having the right person in the job. I am the candidate who has the organizational and administrative skills to come in and do the job. It is not a political job. I would like to make the office more accessible--to bring it to the level that people would be able to use. I would like to make a series of brochures and cards that explain where people should go when they have a problem. I find that a lot of people don’t know how to use (City Hall). . . . I would like to give the service I would expect if I were on the other side of the counter.

Gary Spero

Age: 28

Occupation: Lawyer

Comments: In his official candidate’s statement, Spero proposed deleting unenforceable ordinances that waste tax dollars. He says he will draft a simple index for the Municipal Code so Torrance residents will have easy access to laws that govern them. He advocates an open-door policy that welcomes the concerns and suggestions of citizens.

Mark Wirth

Age: 43

Occupation: Councilman, communications technician

Comments: I view the clerk’s office as the access point for the citizens to city government. I think it’s also important to remember that it’s an elected post, which guarantees accountability to the citizens. . . . I have those two strengths. I understand the importance of accountability because I am an elected official and because of my experience with city government I understand the importance of the administrative role of the city clerk. The other thing I’ve talked about is campaign finance reform. What I would do is put a number of different options before the council and see what they thought about them.