10 Competing for 3 Council Seats

Community unity, public safety and continued redevelopment are the issues that have dominated the campaigns of 10 candidates seeking three seats on the City Council.

The newcomers will fight to fill the seats of Mayor Mary Ann Jones and council members Walter K. Bowman and Tom Carroll. They are not seeking reelection.

Candidates include Del Davis, a consultant to the Long Beach Economic Development Bureau; administrative analyst Leo Friedland; business owner Nicholas Eighmy; business representative Louis Giampapa; and college professor Lydia Sondhi.

Also running are Frann Shermet, national coordinator for the U.S. Decathlon; businessman Todd W. Seymore; regulatory compliance analyst Susie Linde; businessman Mike McGill; and police officer Frank McCoy.

To unify the community, Davis proposes town hall meetings, which would involve the community and the City Council in decision-making. Friedland, Giampapa and Sondhi have also said that unity was key.

McCoy would maintain public safety by bringing the Police Department to its full staffing capacity and improving its community policing efforts. McGill has a similar platform, and if elected, would address the two aging fire stations.

Eighmy said bringing back the daytime curfew for juveniles would prevent much of the daytime crime, such as burglaries and vandalism. But Linde said that nighttime crime is a bigger problem and can be addressed through better monitoring of conditional-use permits, which are awarded to businesses such as bars and nightclubs.

Redevelopment remains at the top of the candidates’ lists. Sondhi, Shermet and Seymore hope to continue the Lincoln Avenue redevelopment, but Eighmy said the city already has spent too much money on the project.

Two measures are also on the November ballot: Measure B, which would implement a planning commission, and Measure C, also known as the People’s Right to Vote Charter Amendment. Under Measure C, no ordinance or regulation delegating planning agency powers can go into effect unless first approved by a majority of the voters at an election.

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Cypress Races

Here are the 10 candidates seeking three open seats on the Cypress City Council in the Nov. 3 election:

Del Davis

Age: 48

Occupation: Retired Navy officer

Background: Cable commissioner; Lions Club of Long Beach member; past member of Lakewood Rotary Club; resident for four years

Issues: Wants to build community unity through town hall meetings; dedicated to keeping Cypress safe by supporting police and fire efforts; wants to encourage positive economic development

Nicholas Eighmy

Age: 55

Occupation: Printing company owner

Background: President Boys and Girls Club of Cypress; member, Friends of Parks and Recreation of Cypress; 1997 Man of the Year, Cypress Chamber of Commerce; board member, Hotline drug program; board member, American Youth Soccer Organization; resident for 23 years

Issues: Wants to spend less money on Lincoln Avenue redevelopment; opposes Planning Commission ballot measure B; wants to reduce daytime crime and vandalism by bringing back daytime curfew for juveniles

Leo Friedland

Age: 67

Occupation: Administrative analyst

Background: Recreation and Parks commissioner for eight years; member of Orange County Trails Committee for 5 years; Cypress Community Festival chairman; Arts and Crafts Committee chairman; board member, California Assn. of Recreation and Parks Commissioners; resident for 18 years

Issues: Dedicated to developing more recreational facilities, continuing redevelopment of Lincoln Avenue and encouraging community unity

Louis Giampapa

Age: 47

Occupation: Business representative

Background: Volunteered with Boys and Girls club; Cable and Technology commissioner for four years; former president and member, Athletic District Club; member, Finance Review Committee; resident for 20 years

Issues: Fighting crime in the city by maintaining the police force; continuing redevelopment on Wicker Drive, with a possible multiuse facility that would benefit all residents; managing a more “user-friendly” City Council that cooperates with businesses and residents

Susie Linde

Age: 41

Occupation: Regulatory compliance analyst

Background: Volunteer, Cypress Federal Little League; executive board member, Friends of Cypress Cultural Arts; member, adult day-care task force; resident since 1980

Issues: Increasing revenue by lobbying the state to keep a bigger share of property tax and better marketing the city; increasing public safety by building the police force and better monitoring conditional use permits for night-life business; opposes Measure C

Frank McCoy

Age: 36

Occupation: Lieutenant, Long Beach Police Department

Background: Coach and team member, softball league in Long Beach and football league in Garden Grove; formulating and advising Long Beach police explorer program; resident for more than two years

Issues: Expanding Cypress Police Department to bring to full staffing levels and budget strength; expanding community policing efforts; funding more after-school programs for children; supporting senior programs by making sure funding for programs is not neglected

Mike McGill

Age: 38

Occupation: Businessman

Background: Chairman, Cypress Adult Day-Care Task force; member, board of directors, Boys and Girls Club of Cypress; former board member, Cypress Pops Symphony; member, youth advisory board for St. Irenaeus; resident for more than 10 years

Issues: Focus on public safety by maintaining police staff and beginning to address city’s two aging fire stations; maintaining momentum of Lincoln Avenue redevelopment and bringing in business leaders to help guide direction of development; ensuring all ends of city are provided with the same infrastructure and services

Todd W. Seymore

Age: 38

Occupation: Businessman

Background: Working on a certificate program at Cal State Fullerton; volunteer, Habitat for Humanity; member, board of directors, Homeowners Assn. for condominiums in La Palma; involved with local churches’ volunteer work, including Grace Church in Cypress; resident since 1967

Issues: Dedicated to keeping streets safe by maintaining police force; favors redevelopment on Wicker Drive and Lincoln Avenue

Frann Shermet

Age: 59

Occupation: National coordinator for the U.S. Decathlon

Background: Chairwoman for two years, Cultural Arts Commission; member, Lincoln Avenue redevelopment committee; member, Sorrento housing tract committee; past president, Soroptimists International of Cypress; past president, Literacy Volunteers; resident for 30 years

Issues: Continuing to fight crime and maintain public safety; continuing redevelopment of Lincoln Avenue; encouraging youth activity by providing more recreation services and resources

Lydia Sondhi

Age: 49

Occupation: College professor

Background: PhD in housing and interior design, University of Missouri; Damron Elementary School PTA; member, Cypress School District’s Advisory Committee for School Planning; member, board of directors, California Faculty Assn., Cal State Long Beach; academic senator, College of Health and Human Services, Cal State Long Beach; resident for 13 years

Issues: Maintaining public safety; creating sound economic base for the city; working with residents, business and industry to “grow” the city through expansion, rehabilitation and beautification

Source: Individual candidates