Tucker takes the long view in his latest run for City Council

City Council candidate Peter Tucker. Photo

During the renovation of Upper Pier Avenue at the beginning of the decade, then Councilmember Peter Tucker insisted that the city install lengths of two-inch conduit under the pavement. Although there weren’t yet any wires or cables for the conduit to protect, Tucker foresaw that the city could save on future construction costs by installing it during repaving.

It was, using a favorite term of Tucker’s, “pre-plumbed.”

Tucker is one of seven candidates seeking three open seats on the Hermosa Beach City Council in the upcoming November election. He has the longest record of public service of any candidate in the race, having previously served multiple terms on the City Council and Planning Commission. And in Tucker’s mind, history and experience are more important than ideology. Indeed, although he proudly offered the example about potential electric vehicle charging stations, Tucker has positioned himself in opposition to the environmental progressivism of the current council. Instead, he has emerged as the candidate who, literally, knows where things are buried.

Tucker was ousted from the council in November 2015, coming in third behind current council members Jeff Duclos and Justin Massey. He said he had concerns about where the new council would take the city, but decided to give them a chance. Then, over the past summer, he began talking with residents about issues facing the city. At the same time, he was feeling out the support he would find for a potential run, and decided to run once again.

Some of what Tucker was hearing was directed at the municipal carbon neutrality goal that was initially included, and later dropped, from PLAN Hermosa, the city’s revisions to its General Plan and Local Coastal Program, which was adopted earlier this year.

Resident Frank Waddles said a perception of rapid change emanating from the council, especially during the General Plan process, had alienated some residents, and that Tucker represented an important counterweight.

“They’re at a stage where there’s a lot of new things on the horizon. And with all the new stuff that’s happening, the experience of Pete is even more important,” Waddles said.

Tucker may benefit politically from the fact that he lost an election just a month before the draft of PLAN Hermosa was released, but his long tenure on the council overlapped with several prominent environmental initiatives — including the city’s initial declaration of a goal of carbon neutrality in March 2010.

Tucker said he understands the idea of a “low-carbon future,” and acknowledges that he helped approve the Cool Cities Initiative as far back as 2006. But he said to be surprised by what he saw when the draft of PLAN Hermosa was released. The scope of change and intimate detail concerned him.

“This is paradise. The bigger threat [with a General Plan] is that we’ll mess this up,” Tucker said, gesturing at the Pacific Ocean and pristine beach.

Tucker is a former contractor and works as a senior building inspector, and his experience in the construction industry has left him convinced that municipal carbon quotas are not necessary. The energy saved from increasingly energy-efficient building designs and appliances, he reasoned, will drive the necessary reductions in carbon emissions. He recalled attending a talk at a recent conference given by an author of the California Green Building Standards Code.

“He said, ‘I’ll show you how to cut your power by 50 percent. I’ll make sure you’ve got good insulation, redo your windows, and teach you how to turn off your lights,’” Tucker said.

Among Tucker’s favorite topics is the use of consultants on city projects. Tucker feels they not only over charge the city for their time, but their recommendations tend to be more costly than necessary.

Tucker pointed to the reconstruction of the city’s fire house. During the debate over whether to maintain the city’s independent fire department, a city consultant produced estimates over how much the fire house would cost to replace. There was one figure for a “headquarters” station, necessary if the city kept its own department, and a lower number for a neighborhood station, what it would need under the Los Angeles County Fire Department. But, Tucker pointed out, both numbers were millions of dollars more than what the county itself later said it could rebuild the station for.

Tucker, ever grounded in the practicalities of construction, has also joined the chorus of criticism over the lack of progress on sewer updates after the imposition of a special fee. The current council funded and approved a plan to move forward on several major public works projects, including sewers, earlier this month, but Tucker said that if elected he would push for a citizen’s oversight committee of sewer fee proceeds and similar fund pools, to ensure adequate progress.

Even though no longer on the council, Tucker remains a fixture at city meetings. And when he speaks during public comment periods, his comments tended to be laden with history, rooted in practicality, and hopeful about consensus — not much different than how he sounded when he was on the other side of the dais.

“I don’t always agree with what they do. But every time I get up there, I try to come up with a solution,” Tucker said.

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