Even though the City of Rancho Palos Verdes will have the front door of single family housing closer to anything built at Ponte Vista, then any single-family home in San Pedro, or anywhere else for that matter, there are still many individuals who consider those residents who live just feet away from the entrance to Ponte Vista to be thought of as having little say in what is built on the 61.53 acre site.
On November 6, 2007 the membership of the City Council may change due to the election being held that day.
Anyone and everyone, especially voters in Rancho Palos Verdes are invited to a Candidates Forum to be held on Thursday October 18, 2007, beginning at 7:00 PM, at the auditorium of Crestwood Street Elementary School, 1946 Crestwood Street, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.
All five candidates for the three seats being contested to the City Council have agreed to meet and discuss their candidacies, three very important issues for the east side of the City, and also have a great deal of time spent addressing questions from the audience.
Information is key in deciding whom to vote for and here are Web sites for the candidates and the League of Women Voters:
http://www.palosverdes.com/douglasstern/
http://www.palosverdes.com/tomlong
http://www.wolowicz4rpv.com/
http://www.votewright4rpv.com/Welcome.html
http://www.electdonreeves.com/
http://www.lwvpvp.org/
http://www.smartvoter.org/2007/11/06/ca/la/race/01883000/
In the upcoming election, three candidates are incumbents and running to retain their City Council seats:
Mayor Tom Long
Mayor Pro Tem Doug Stern
Councilmember Steve Wolowicz
Two candidates are looking to unseat incumbents:
Mr. Don Reeves
Mr. Paul Wright
During the Forum, all five candidates will be offered the opportunity to discuss their positions on three specific issues that are being set aside due to their importance. These issues are certainly not the only issues candidates can offer positions on, and we hope there will be a wide range of issues presented at the Forum.
Three issues seem to be of great importance to many voters in the eastern part of Rancho Palos Verdes and especially the "Eastview" area:
The Storm Drain issue and the two measures on the ballot. Not every resident of the City is required to pay the fee/levy/tax, especially in our area of Rancho Palos Verdes
Ponte Vista.
While the members of the City Council do not have much real control over the permanent inclusion into all aspects dealing with students living in the "Eastview" area and the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, for many years parents in the area, and others, have been embroiled in attempting to become full members of the P.V.P.U.S.D. We hope all five candidates will be willing to share their positions on this "hot-button" topic.
The majority of the Forum will be spent having audience members ask questions. We are also welcoming candidates' supporters to help "spin" their candidate and we hope to see lots of interaction in the processes of campaigning and politicking.
"Eastview" and the east side of Rancho Palos Verdes is actually the sleeping giant, in terms of potential voters and what impact they might have on the entire City. It is very sad to note that in the previous City Council election, only 11% of the voters cast ballots, in this area.
This area needs to become more involved in the affairs of Rancho Palos Verdes if residents of the area hope to fight issues with more clout. As residents of the area have learned to organize to fight weapons of mass development across the street from the City, they also need to become more involved and participate more in the governing of themselves, through the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
I hope everyone can get the word out about the Forum on October 18. I think if we "pack the house" we will demonstrate to all the candidates, and more importantly ourselves, that we are standing up for our City and are willing to become more involved so that we can show strength through leadership to get the things done that we feel is important to all of us.
The Forum is one of a great number of Forums and meetings candidates have been involved with. It has the potential to bring the candidates closer to all of us and let them all know that we are not going to remain asleep, drowsy, or even particularly patient in matters that involve us.
Please bring your open minds, questions, comments, and enthusiasm to the Forum and we should have a great time.
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