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Election season opens in Redondo Beach
On March 6, 2001, Redondo Beach voters will be get a chance to elect a mayor, three councilmen and three school board members. The filing period for the next municipal election closed Friday, officially opening the gates for Redondo Beach’s political races.
Redondo Beach Mayor Greg Hill is challenged by mortgage broker Mario Yeaman who launched a last minute campaign to get on the ballot. Signature verification was still in progress on Yeaman’s application, which came in at 5:26 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, the last day applications were accepted.
Hill, who started his campaign before the Nov. 7 general election, said he wasn’t surprised to see another candidate entering the race.
“It’s going to be a lively campaign season as usual in Redondo. If I didn’t have a campaign I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. I’m very pleased with the support I’ve been able to get so far,” Hill said.
In District 4, Planning Commissioner Kurt Schmalz and Deputy Attorney General Conrad Schroeder are seeking the seat of termed-out Councilman Bob Pinzler.
Schmalz has served on the city’s planning commission since 1995 and was also on the panel that was predecessor to the public safety commission. He said he was seeking office to improve the city’s management of development and help usher through the Heart of the City plan for the waterfront.
“In my district in particular there are real opportunities involving Artesia Boulevard, including improving access for the people that live around there,” Schmalz said. Pinzler is supporting Schmalz.
Schroeder is a deputy attorney general and former deputy district attorney. He said he was prompted to run by a sense of neighborhood commitment. As a prosecuter, Schroeder said he wanted to make sure north Redondo gets its fair share of police resources and planning code enforcement and that quality of life issues are not overlooked.
“I want to make sure we’re not forgotten up here. We have our own ‘Heart of the City’ up here on Artesia that we’re trying to improve,” he said.
In District 2, businessman James Coleman is running against Councilman Kevin Sullivan. Coleman, who lives in a harbor area condominium, said he was prompted to run by concerns about the future of his neighborhood with the Heart of the City plan.
“Every city experiencing some growth needs to be ruled by a common sense approach. I really have some concerns about the traffic and the effects on the quality of life in the area,” he said.
Sullivan emphasized keeping the ball rolling on the projects he had helped start.
“I want to continue what we started. City Hall was pretty much in disarray four years ago, there’s been a great improvement in the atmosphere at City Hall. We’ve started a development project in the harbor that’s going to change the whole waterfront,” Sullivan said.
District 1 Councilman Gerard Bisignano will run for reelection unopposed, as will City Attorney Jerry Goddard. This fall, the city council raised the city attorney’s salary for the upcoming 2001-2005 term. One of the reasons given was that the higher salary could attract more qualified candidates to run for the office.
In the Redondo Beach Unified School District, incumbents Rebecca Sergeant, Val Dombrowski and Robin Shaw are seeking to reclaim their seats. Two challengers, former school district accountant Helen Sellers and student Judy Swanson, are seeking to join the board.
Former City Manager Paul Connoly is running unopposed for the two remaining years of former school board member Zeke Zeidler’s term.
To avoid the same problems plaguing the federal election decision in some Florida counties, Hill advised Redondo Beach residents to vote carefully.
“We have the same kind of ballot in Redondo Beach, so remember to push that chad all the way through,” he said.ER