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Candidates aim for the 'Heart' as campaigns draw to a close
by Jason Dietrich
For Redondo city council candidates, in both north and south Redondo, the issue they hope will get voter's pulses racing in the March 6 municipal election, is the "Heart of the City" proposal for a new residential and shopping district in the harbor-area.
In District 4, the part of North Redondo that includes most of Artesia Boulevard and the Galleria at South Bay mall, Deputy Attorney General Conrad Schroeder and planning commissioner Kurt Schmalz, are vying for the council seat left open by termed-out councilman Bob Pinzler.
Schroeder’s campaign has focused on his status as an outsider to city politics. He opposes large-scale investment in the "Heart of the city" plan and has characterized his opponent as a member of the city’s political insider’s club. He notes that Councilmen John Parsons, and Mike Gin and Mayor Greg Hill, as well as outgoing District 4 Councilman Bob Pinzler support Schmalz.
"They’re circling their wagons around him. They know he’s going to just go along with whatever they’re agenda is. I don’t think that’s healthy," Schroeder said.
Schmalz said his endorsement by the incumbent councilmembers prove he has the support he needs to be able to represent his district.
"You need to get three votes on a five-person council, that's how you bring it home to North Redondo. I've already got that support. This is a problem-solving business. You've got to find ways to get something done, not point blame," he said.
Schroeder also said that Schmalz's membership in Redondo Beach's Rotary Club, which Gin, Parsons and Hill are also members of, could make the club a driving force in city politics. He said he is unaffected by those kinds of outside obligations.
"I’m going to be a strong advocate for District 4. That’s not inconsistent with being a team player, but I’m not going to go along with whatever the council wants 5-0. It looks to me like he’s going to be a lapdog for those guys. If I’m elected I’ll be a guard dog for the people who elect me," he said.
Membership in a non-political service organization doesn't affect his ability to serve North Redondo Schmalz said. The council's effectiveness comes from cooperation, and Redondo Beach has been plagued by past city councils that worked against each other, he noted.
"My opponents message comes off as negative and somewhat extreme. If the council is going to work together, the negative approach is just not going to work. It seems like a bit of a desperation shot," Schmalz said.
Redondo District 2
In Redondo's District 2, which includes the area around Redondo Union High and the harbor-area, incumbent Kevin Sullivan is being challenged by local businessman James Coleman.
Coleman is says he opposes development in the harbor on the scale proposed in the "Heart of the City" plan. Sullivan was part of the city hall team that originated the idea.
Coleman has also been campaigning on a platform of fiscal responsibility. He said the city council had been remiss in spending more than half a million dollars on consultants for the 'Heart of the city' plan without consulting voters to see what they want.
"We’re going into economically uncertain times. It’s time for us to be very cautious. We need to address our basic infrastructure more than we need a project like this," Coleman said.
Sullivan said that plans to revamp the businesses along the waterfront were still in the theoretical stages, that consultants have yet to return with concrete suggestions.
"If we decide to do it, the investment we make in the planning for the 'Heart of the city' will come back to us 10 times in terms of tax revenues. Right now, the old Edison Plant land isn't being used optimally. If 75 percent of that land comes back as developable real estate, it will produce tax revenue for the city forever," Sullivan said.
Coleman said that the money that's being spent on the 'Heart of the City' project could be better used for infrastructure repairs, or as a down payment on a remodeled police station.
"For them to talk about using a bond to pay for a new police station, when we’re spending that kind of money on consultants, just to develop a concept -- that’s a very expensive concept," he said.
According to Sullivan, the city's ambitious capital improvement plan, which was approved last year, will address the issue of the city's aging infrastructure.
"We’re looking for outside monies, wherever they're available, and we're in a position now where we can put our money in reserves to start looking toward repairs and renovations to public safety facilities," he said. ER