Primary nominating elections are being held on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. In addition to federal and state offices, there are several Pasadena elected offices on the ballot.
For 2020, there are several competitive races in Pasadena.
For Mayor, incumbert Terry Tornek is running for re-election against Councilmember Victor Gordo and entrepreneurs Jason Hardin and Major Williams.
For City Council, in District 2 attorney and city comissioner Tricia Keane is running against businessman Kevin Litwin, educational adminstrator Boghus (Bo) Patatian and economist and city commissioner Felicia Williams. In District 4, incumbent Councilmember Gene Masuda is facing business owner Joe Baghdadlian, businesswoman and commissioner Charlotte (Char) Bland, and educator Kevin Wheeler. In District 6, incumbent Councilmember Steve Madison is facing activist and non-profit executive Ryan Bell and attorney Tamerlin Godley. Councilmember Tyron Hampton is running unopposed for re-election in District 1.
Each election season the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce queries candidates for local office with a questionaire related to issues of interest to our members. We also ask questions that may help acquaint our members and their employees with the candidates. Each candidate is emailed the same questions at the same time (and reminded to respond).
Here are the questions and answers from the candidates who chose to respond, in the order each responded. Responses are presented exactly as submitted with no edits, corrections or changes.
Here are the questions and responses (by office being sought):
MAYOR OF PASADENA:
1. Why are you running for office?
Mayor Terry Tornek: I have a strong commitment to public service and to Pasadena where I have raised my family. During my first term, I have made progress on the items I raised back in 2015 and I have launched several long-term initiatives that I would like to make certain are more firmly rooted.
- 2. What qualifies you to hold office in Pasadena?
- Mr. Tornek: I have the educational background (BA from Princeton in Public & International Affairs, MS from Columbia in Urban Planning), the business experience working for a large international corporation and my own firm, the volunteer service with housing non-profits and the governmental experience as Planning director, Planning Commissioner, 2 term City Councilmember and Mayor.
- 3. What is the one issue you believe is most important to voters? How will you address the issue?
- Mr. Tornek: Maintaining the City’s financial strength while providing high quality services. I am Chair of the Budget committee and am acutely aware of what our financial strengths and weaknesses are.
- 4. Economically, what are Pasadena’s strengths? Its weaknesses?
- Mr. Tornek: We have a vibrant real estate market with a growing real estate tax base; we are especially strong in hospitality, medicine/research, innovation and education. Our residents expect high quality services that cost a lot. We have to be careful not to repeat the mistake of building in structural deficits.
- 5. Is the City of Pasadena adequately supporting local economic growth? Please provide a brief example or examples to support your response.
- Mr. Tornek: City government works hard to attract new business and to support existing businesses. The economic development staff is constantly meeting with businesses to understand their needs; I meet with potential new businesses to answer their questions; all City departments are responsive to business issues from Water & Power to Pubic Works and Police.
- 6. Is the City of Pasadena’s spending its financial resources in a way that addresses issues of importance to voters? If you would like to reprioritize spending, how would you like to see public funds allocated and why? (You need not give dollar amounts, but if you can point out areas of emphasis, that would be helpful.)
Mr. Tornek: Most of our General Fund Budget is allocated to Public Safety which is entirely consistent with the will of the people. When available, I would allocate more to capital improvements to update aging infrastructure.
- 7. Does Pasadena support its small business community? Are there areas where support could be more robust?
- Mr. Tornek: Yes; but support could be more robust. We need to work harder at controlling fees and simplifying procedures.
- 8. Does Pasadena’s General Plan continue to serve the needs of the city and its citizens? If you would seek changes to our city development plans, what would those changes be?
- Mr. Tornek: Yes; but recent State interventions in local land use planning has complicated our process. We are currently examining the impacts on new State laws to understand how we might revise our Specific Planning process.
- 9. Pasadena has a Green City Action Plan in place. Do you think the plan is adequate to address Pasadena’s contribution to climate change? If you believe changes are warranted, what would those be?
- Mr. Tornek: Our Climate action Plan continues to evolve with changing circumstances and new technology.
We must be careful to control utility costs while getting more green.
We also have a tremendous challenge with solid waste now that traditional recycling has been undercut by Chinese policy.
- 10. In ten words or less, what do you do for fun?
- Mr. Tornek: Learn from my 7 grandchildren and travel.
- 11. Is there anything else you would like us to know about yourself or your candidacy?
- Mr. Tornek: I have enjoyed being Mayor, worked hard at it and tried to deliver on all my commitments. I listen carefully to what the residents have to say and hope to have an opportunity to continue to serve.
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 2:
1.Why are you running for office?
Kevin Litwin: Initially I wanted to make sure there was more than one person on the ballot, secondarily I am doing it because I want to make sure the person in office has no party affiliations, which I do not.
Tricia Keane: I am running to represent District 2 on the Pasadena City Council because I believe that I am uniquely suited to protect the Pasadena we know and love while acknowledging the need for Pasadena to move forward and adapt to an ever-changing social and natural environment. Pasadena is facing some critical issues, including how we are going to respond to homelessness, how we are going to ensure housing affordability, and how we are going to make our City sustainable into the future. Pasadena has been a leader in important social, land use, and environmental efforts over the years, and we need to re-establish our City in that important role.
I am the only candidate for District 2 with direct experience in local government to know how to navigate cities and get things done within the governmental structure. I have real-world experience to know when to work within the structure, but also when to push on the structure, when to change the structure, and when to use options outside the structure to get things done.
2.What qualifies you to hold office in Pasadena?
Mr. Litwin: I am successful in Business, the C.O.O. of a company about the size of our city, I am also well versed in government processes as a State and City Commissioner.
Ms. Keane: I have nearly two decades of direct, real-world experience working in and with local government that has provided me with the skills needed to be a successful Councilmember.
- Attorney with Latham & Watkins, advising clients on land use, planning, housing, and environmental matters for approximately six years.
- Los Angeles County Senior Deputy County Counsel representing the Regional Planning Department from 2007-2013.
- Director of Land Use & Planning, then Deputy Chief of Staff for Councilmember Mike Bonin, serving as a key strategic advisor, leading the office’s legislative and policy teams on a number of important issues like housing, homelessness, planning, and transportation from 2013-2019.
- Currently Deputy Director of the Los Angeles City Planning Department, responsible for making sure the largest planning department in the country is running smoothly, efficiently, and is accountable for the success of its policies and programs.
Even more importantly, I have had the opportunity to bring that experience home, and put it to use for Pasadena. For nearly a decade, I have been appointed by Councilmember Margaret McAustin to various commissions, committees, and boards:
- Member and Chair - Recreation and Parks Commission (2011-2015),
- Member and Chair - Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee (2011-2015)
- Member and Chair - Oak Grove Area Improvement Project Subcommittee (2014)
- Member and Secretary - Planning Commission (2016-2019)
- Member and Chair - Design Commission (2016-2019)
- Member and Chair - Arroyo Advisory Group (2017-2018)
- Member - Rose Bowl Operating Company Board of Directors (2019-Present)
- 3. What is the one issue you believe is most important to voters? How will you address the issue?
- Mr. Litwin: Safety and Security. Working with the executive Staff to analysis the Police Department and to see if we can shift percentage allocations around to boost up PPD’s over 10% of the annual.
- Me. Keane: Ensuring housing is affordable to all income levels in Pasadena, especially our workforce. We are currently building affordable housing, and that needs to continue. However, we cannot forget about housing our workforce - our City employees, the people who work in our schools, take care of our children, or provide the services we all rely on. This “missing middle” housing is missing from the conversation. Housing our workforce will help us achieve a better jobs-housing balance in the City, which in turn can help reduce traffic impacts. Perhaps even more importantly, it can help preserve the economic diversity that makes Pasadena a vibrant community with opportunities for everyone. If elected, I would work to update our zoning code to remove any barriers to “missing middle” housing, including by allowing for “form based” zoning that complements our neighborhood character while providing creative solutions for housing our workforce.
- 4. Economically, what are Pasadena’s strengths? Its weaknesses?
- Mr. Litwin: Strengths: Our venues and events, city center and business corridors. Weaknesses: Almost the same, when Rose Bowl starts facing outside competition, that will have an impact.
- Ms. Keane: Financially, one of Pasadena's strengths has been the fiscal discipline of the City Council to date, with its practice of no deficit spending. It will be important to ensure that the City Council continues to carefully steward the City's financial resources.
Economically speaking, Pasadena has an edge over other cities in the region because we are home to innovative institutions, from biotech and life sciences incubators to Caltech, with access to top-notch talent, but we also maintain a small-town community feel that makes Pasadena an attractive place to call home.
As a City, however, we have work to do to better manage the potentially significant assets that we have, namely, the Rose Bowl stadium and the Pasadena Convention Center. The Rose Bowl, in particular, is going to face challenges now that there are brand new stadiums in the area competing for events. We have a legacy stadium that has the charm of being a historic resource but the challenges of being nearly 100 years old. This is a significant challenge for the City that I'm excited to take on as a member of the Rose Bowl Operating Company Board of Directors.
5. Is the City of Pasadena adequately supporting local economic growth? Please provide a brief example or examples to support your response.
- Mr. Litwin: Doesn’t appear to be. Some of it I believe is just a State wide issue, we constantly see companies fleeing California for Texas, Idaho, Nevada, etc…we need to put more pressure and kickback towards the State Legislature.
Ms. Keane: It appears that Pasadena is doing a good job of attracting good jobs, and as many residents will comment, there is a significant amount of development activity. Yet, a very real challenge facing economic growth and potential impacts associated with it, is the lack of a good jobs-housing balance. There are a lot of well-paying jobs in Pasadena, and some of them pay well enough for employees to afford to live in Pasadena. However, Pasadena is also a destination for entertainment and socializing, and that requires jobs in the service industry that are often minimum wage. People earning minimum wage cannot afford to live in Pasadena and instead must commute long distances to work here. That impacts their quality of life with long commute times, and quality of life in the City with increased traffic. A lack of affordable housing also impacts our school enrollment. As cities become increasingly unaffordable, employers have trouble attracting top talent, and in some cases, decide to leave because their employees cannot afford to live near where they work. We, as as City, can do more to ensure that Pasadena is accessible to all income levels, which in turn helps to ensure a diverse City with a vibrant economy.
- 6. Is the City of Pasadena’s spending its financial resources in a way that addresses issues of importance to voters? If you would like to reprioritize spending, how would you like to see public funds allocated and why? (You need not give dollar amounts, but if you can point out areas of emphasis, that would be helpful.)
- Mr. Litwin: No. See my answer to question number 3.
- Ms. Keane: We have a housing and homelessness crisis, and those two issues come up more than perhaps any others when discussing the challenges currently facing the City. Yet, if you look at how the City allocates its spending, you would not know that these are some of the most pressing issues that we face. I would encourage that we look at future budget cycles through a lens of how we can direct resources to focus on solving homelessness. I believe we need to allocate more funding to our Housing Department so that money can be leveraged into more affordable and supportive housing units. Our Housing Director has a strong track record of leveraging limited resources into significant funding. We also need to allocate resources to support homelessness prevention programs. Whether this is done by establishing City programs directly or partnering with local non-profit and faith-based institutions to broaden the scope of their prevention programs, our budget needs to better reflect the City's commitment to this critical issue.
- 7. Does Pasadena support its small business community? Are there areas where support could be more robust?
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- Mr. Litwin: Not from the feedback I am getting, small businesses are telling me it’s getting harder and harder to maintain, many rising cost and challenges navigating city processes. In our district we have a parking issue that needs to be addressed especially in the Washington business district. I am a parking guy, it’s 90% of what my company does.
- Ms. Keane: Pasadenans support small business, and from what I've seen, residents are happy to patronize businesses owned and operated by our fellow Pasadenans.
I believe, however, there are regulatory barriers that make it hard for small businesses to open, and make it particularly difficult for small businesses to reuse vacant space in existing commercial buildings. One direct example is the fact that opening a new business in an existing commercial space, especially in one of our charming old buildings lining so many of our commercial corridors, requires bringing parking "up to code." Having to provide more parking than the building was originally built with because the type of business has changed often makes it prohibitive for a new business to move in, or to do so economically. This primarily impacts small business, and it's an easy fix. We can change parking requirements so that new businesses reusing existing space do not need to provide parking beyond what is already there, or we can allow businesses to more easily satisfy parking requirements through the use of shared parking, off-site parking, or other parking management solutions. These small businesses are often frequented by people who live in the immediate neighborhood, which is who they are intended to serve, and the customers often walk or ride bikes to get there. A great example of this community-serving commercial revitalization can be seen at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Hill Avenue. It's a vibrant, thriving commercial corner now, and most of the customers are from the immediately surrounding neighborhood. Yet, some of the business choices were based on parking calculations rather than on what the neighborhood wanted or needed.
8. Does Pasadena’s General Plan continue to serve the needs of the city and its citizens? If you would seek changes to our city development plans, what would those changes be?
Mr. Litwin: I haven’t thoroughly reviewed it yet, once again in my meeting with Steve Mermell and my experiences with State Parks, General Plans are very well thought out, one of the main weaknesses I have been told about for the GP is housing, but I do enjoy my single home residence neighborhood. Reviewing the transportation of the city and it’s streets, what are the next steps to the 710 and 110 freeways, we need those addressed.
Ms. Keane: The City's General Plan took several years to update, and we are still in the process of adopting the implementation plan, including Specific Plan documents and Zoning Code updates. From that perspective, we don't know for sure yet if the General Plan, and it's implementation tools, are really working the way we intended them. However, there have been concerns expressed that we are already bumping up against housing development capacities in some areas. The General Plan provides for a 5-year review of the development caps, and we may need to evaluate whether the development capacity has been appropriately allocated.
9.Pasadena has a Green City Action Plan in place. Do you think the plan is adequate to address Pasadena’s contribution to climate change? If you believe changes are warranted, what would those be?
Mr. Litwin: In my meeting with the city manager, we talked a bit about this, some great improvements were made getting off of Utah Coal and into natural gas, I believe we are at a good start. In my conversations with residents, many people question our recycling bin program, some think its making it into general disposal, others think we are selling it off to overseas and there it is creating a disaster. I would like the city to look more into this.
Ms. Keane: We can always do more. The crisis of climate change is real, and the need for local action, especially in the current national political climate, is undeniable. While we have immediate and pressing needs like homelessness and housing affordability, it is imperative that we prioritize sustainability and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the most critical impacts of climate change from happening. We need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels in every way possible. Nearly 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the state come from passenger vehicles. We can reduce the distance we drive by locating housing near jobs and services in neighborhoods. We can give people options to get out of their cars and choose to walk, bike, or take transit by making it more pleasant to walk with better sidewalks and street trees that provide shade, making it safer to bike with protected bike lanes and safe bike routes, and making it more convenient to take transit by increasing the frequency of service. These are all individual actions that can have significant cumulative results. We can also push the market to give consumers a choice to avoid single-use plastic. Reducing fossil fuel consumption by reducing plastic use has the benefit of both reducing emissions and also reducing the need for additional landfill space, and we're running out of that as well.
- 10. In ten words or less, what do you do for fun?
- Mr. Litwin: Yard work on weekends and locally dining out.
- Ms. Keane: I run a lot - ultramarathons are my favorite.
- 11.Is there anything else you would like us to know about yourself or your candidacy?
- Mr. Litwin: In conclusion, my 3 main priorities will be safety and security, working to find ways to help our small businesses and whatever support we can provide towards our schools. My office is in LA and I do business in Pasadena, but mainly I live in Pasadena, it’s a great sigh of relief when leaving LA’s border and coming into Pasadena’s. LA is a disaster right now and I do not want anything modeled after them. I have a great job and enjoy what I do, I am going to be doing it for decades ahead, planning for retirement. I am not looking at a career in politics, just making sure my neighborhood/city doesn’t fall apart. I worry that one day, in my drive home from LA, there will be no distinguishing between towns if we don’t continue to act in addressing the items I will be fighting for mentioned above.
- Ms. Keane: I have lived in Pasadena for over 17 years - almost my entire adult life - and I have been lucky to call Bungalow Heaven home for the past 15 years. I was raised in the Midwest, and had instilled in me from a young age, the values of hard work, dedication, and the responsibility to do good. I am dedicated to doing good, and want to get good, progressive things done for District 2 and the City.
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 4:
- 1. Why are you running for office?
- Kevin Wheeler: To fight high density rezoning in East Pasadena.
- 2. What qualifies you to hold office in Pasadena?
- Mr. Wheeler: I’m a concerned citizen.
- 3. What is the one issue you believe is most important to voters? How will you address the issue?
- Mr. Wheeler: Traffic. I will oppose high density rezoning and over-development in East Pasadena.
- 4. Economically, what are Pasadena’s strengths? Its weaknesses?
- Mr. Wheeler: Strengths: Desirable location, diverse population. Weaknesses: Over-development, homelessness, slow, aloof responses from our city permit department.
- 5. Is the City of Pasadena adequately supporting local economic growth? Please provide a brief example or examples to support your response.
- Mr. Wheeler: No. Minimum wage hurting mom and pop businesses. There should be a split minimum wage based on whether or not employee is claimed as a dependent on income tax returns.
- 6. Is the City of Pasadena’s spending its financial resources in a way that addresses issues of importance to voters? If you would like to reprioritize spending, how would you like to see public funds allocated and why? (You need not give dollar amounts, but if you can point out areas of emphasis, that would be helpful.)
- Mr. Wheeler: No. Hire fewer consultants. Invest in infrastructure and disaster preparedness.
- 7. Does Pasadena support its small business community?
- Mr. Wheeler: Not enough. Are there areas where support could be more robust? Beyond a split minimum wage, we need a city resolution allowing small businesses to transport small volumes of food scraps from restaurants and residences without having to apply for a franchise hauling permit or pay a 26% hauling fee.
- 8. Does Pasadena’s General Plan continue to serve the needs of the city and its citizens? If you would seek changes to our city development plans, what would those changes be?
- Mr. Wheeler: No. Less over-development in East Pasadena. More investment in public transportation.
- 9. Pasadena has a Green City Action Plan in place. Do you think the plan is adequate to address Pasadena’s contribution to climate change? If you believe changes are warranted, what would those be?
- Mr. Wheeler: No. More paper packaging over plastics. More city staff using bicycles. Allow ADUs to be built on top of detached garages if they are not higher than the dominant structure (house) in order to maximize permeable land. Review polices on hardscape. We must tie our development to our water supply.
- 10. In ten words or less, what do you do for fun?
- Mr. Wheeler: My rock band 3Fing3rs just opened for Los Lobos.
- 11. Is there anything else you would like us to know about yourself or your candidacy?
- Mr. Wheeler: I’m from East Pasadena, for East Pasadena.
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 6:
1.Why are you running for office?
Tamerlin Godley: First, I love Pasadena. It is a beautiful city and I want to be a part of the leadership that creates and maintains the aspects of the City we all love the most. Second, Pasadena is a microcosm of the issues that we face generally as a society but at a more manageable scale. If we can address these problems in thoughtful ways here then those solutions potentially can be scaled up. Third, now more than ever we need to show that democracy works. That people can disagree but still collaborate to solve difficult problems in respectful ways. I want to model that servant based, respectful leadership. It starts at the local level. Fourth, we only have one woman on our City Council and she is not running again. I strongly believe we need more women on the City Council and we need someone enthusiastic and engaged about doing this job now.
2.What qualifies you to hold office in Pasadena?
Ms. Godley: The daughter of a teacher and a CHP officer, I grew up in Napa. My first political memory is walking door to door for a Presidential candidate at the age of six (with my Mom of course!). Even then I was hooked on the power of listening, engaging and advocating for important issues and ideas. Since last March I have been walking door-to-door in District 6—meeting my neighbors, hearing their concerns, and discussing important issues. I have been to thousands of homes and walked on everyone’s street. I can honestly say that no one is more knowledgeable about the concerns and experiences of the people in my district.
After graduating from UCLA in 1987, I taught fourth and fifth grade in South Central Los Angeles for two years. This was a challenging experience and a powerful learning experience for me in what is needed to educate our most vulnerable students. I knew after those two years that I wanted to be involved in some way with public education policy over the course of my life. I will bring my understanding of education policy to my role on the City Council.
After teaching, I got my Master’s Degree in English from Cal State Northridge and my law degree from USC. I had my son 7 weeks into my first year of law school. He is now 26 and lives in DC. I clerked for a federal judge for a year. I started at Munger, Tolles & Olson in 1997, made partner in 2005, and I have been practicing law for 22 years. I was the first woman to make partner at my firm who had been pregnant as an associate. My daughter is now 19 and a sophomore at Penn State. My husband is a math teacher and boys basketball coach at Bonita High School in LaVerne. I will bring the judgment, problem solving, and legal know-how that I have honed over my legal career to the City Council. I also know how to juggle important priorities and I bring the perspective of a mother to the City Council.
I generally practice in the area of entertainment litigation but I have focused my pro bono work on two main areas: education and police best practices and oversight.
Primary Center Task Force. Beginning in 1997 and as I began my law career, I served on the LAUSD Primary Center Task Force, a public/private partnership lead by the LAUSD Superintendent and the Mayor of Los Angeles, to build K-3 neighborhood schools. When the task force began, LAUSD had not built a new school in 30 years—the bond passage percentage was too high back then to get the necessary votes. Young children were boarding buses to attend school far away from home, further diminishing their parent’s ability to participate in their education. We worked with neighborhoods and the private sector to identify available lots and procured them at reasonable prices, incentivized timely construction, and opened a number of beautiful neighborhood schools. I know how to work with the private sector to create win-win solutions.
Rampart Commission. In 1999-2000, I served on the Rampart Commission investigating misconduct in the LAPD and the systemic failures that led to that misconduct. I was one of the key drafters of the section of the report on Discipline—both the analysis and recommendations for reform. I am well-versed in police best practices. Ensuring public safety is one of the key charges of the City Council.
South Pasadena School Board. In 2001, I was elected to the South Pasadena School Board. I served on the SPUSD School Board from 2001-2005. I understand what it means to serve on a policy-making board and how to get things accomplished, the requirements of the Brown Act, the role of staff, and the importance of listening and responding to constituents.
Community Involvement. In 2008, we moved to Pasadena. (I have lived in the Pasadena/South Pasadena area for 30 years and District 6 for 11 years.) In Pasadena, I served on the Pasadena Human Relations Commission. I have been on the Board of Armory Center for the Arts for the past 10 years, and am a past President. I serve on the Boards of Muse/Ique and the Los Angeles Review of Books as well. I have deep connections within the community.
I am also a member of the Pasadena Educational Foundation Board, serving as Vice President of Community Engagement, Vice President of Board Affairs, Chair of Strategic Planning and I am currently Chair of the 50thAnniversary Committee. I have been very involved with public education issues over the years and with PUSD in particular—I know and understand education policy and PUSD. This is an important attribute that I will bring to the council. All of the PUSD School Board members that are endorsing are endorsing me. We have a mutual respect and the ability to cooperate for the benefit of our children.
Citizens Commission on Jail Violence. In 2011-2012, I served as one of the lead deputy general counsel for the Citizens Commission on Jail Violence, leading the investigation into the misconduct of the Los Angeles Sherriff Department and making recommendations for reform. Again, I was one of the drafters of key sections of the report. From 2014-2018, I served on the LASD Inmate Welfare Commission under Sherriff McDonnell. I have a good understanding of our jail system and the reforms necessary to keep all of us safer.
Defeating Vouchers. In 2015, I became deeply involved with stopping school privatization efforts. I represented children and parents in Nevada public schools and led the litigation team that blocked implementation of Nevada’s sweeping voucher program that would have gutted Nevada’s already insufficient public education budget. Thereafter, I founded—with the Education Law Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center—an organization called Public Funds Public Schools, which is committed to providing advocacy and other support to individual states to protect public education funding. I know how and when to use litigation for the social good.
Democracy and Inclusion. In 2017, I was asked to join the Equal Voices Advisory Counsel of the National Democratic Institute (“NDI”). NDI is led by Madeline Albright and works to promote democracy in developing countries. The Equal Voices Advisory Council focuses on the inclusion of diverse voices in developing democracies. I will bring my experience in democracy systems, fostering inclusiveness, and consensus building to the City Council.
Finally, as noted, we only have one woman on our City Council and she is not running again. This is unacceptable for the City of Pasadena. On March 4, the City is rolling out a commemorative logo to celebrate 100 years of women voting. It looks ridiculous next to the boys club that is the Mayor and City Council. We need to change this indefensible situation this election.
3.What is the one issue you believe is most important to voters? How will you address this issue?
Ms. Godley: Addressing Homelessness. From walking door-to-door, I know that homelessness is the number one issue on the minds of the residents of District 6. There are two distinct aspects of the homelessness challenge. First, we have people that are falling into homelessness. Currently, we let people slide into homelessness and then use resources to find them, count them, and to try and get them back into housing. Instead, we need to keep people from falling into homelessness in the first place. There are four main populations that fall into homelessness: people experiencing hard financial circumstances (including the elderly unable to maintain housing on fixed retirement incomes), emancipated foster youth, veterans, and people coming out of jail. The City can have the most impact with the first population. A program in Chicago that helps people avoid eviction by paying back rent and a few months going forward has shown remarkable success—a year after receiving the short term boost 75% of people are still in housing. It is not only less expensive to keep people in housing than to help them back into housing later, it is also less disruptive for the individuals and their families. We need a proactive model and I want to champion that in Pasadena. For the remaining populations that fall into homelessness, we need to work with our non-profit, County, State and Federal partners to keep these populations in housing at the outset to stem the pipeline. Foster youth should not be emancipated to the streets. Likewise, the County should be pushed to scale up the programs it has for those coming out of jail, which programs provide job training, housing placement, and tapering housing subsidies. These programs are not only keeping people housed, they are reducing recidivism from 80% to 20%. I want to be able to say that Pasadena had zero people fall into homelessness in any given year.
Second, we have those that have been on the streets for 18 months or more with all of the trauma that this entails. This issue involves an honest discussion about how we are going to humanely address mental illness and substance abuse issues. We closed our mental hospitals decades ago and have been hiding some part of this population in our jails. We are no longer doing that and we can now see the enormity of the problem. We need to work with non-profit, State and County partners to provide humane facilities with support services for people with mental health challenges. In the meantime, we need to work doggedly to try and get homeless people to accept services and to keep them in shelter/voucher beds and off the streets on a nightly basis. In addressing this issue, we need to work with people who have been homeless for extended periods and found their way back to more stability. I firmly believe in the saying “Nothing about me, without me.” As we seek to help, we need to seek the wisdom of those that have been there.
4.Economically, what are Pasadena’s strengths? Its weaknesses?
Ms. Godley: The sales tax increase has stabilized Pasadena’s financial situation. There also seems to be better systems in place to monitor and identify red flags following the $6.7 million embezzlement scandal. Pasadena’s challenges include increased debt, falling revenue from the Rose Bowl and golf course, and the pension burden. Pasadena is ranked ninth in total debt per capita for cities over 50,000 within the state. We need to manage our debt and pension load carefully going forward.
5.Is the City of Pasadena adequately supporting local economic growth?
Ms. Godley: On the positive side, people in my District feel very confident in the Old Town BID and the technology infrastructure for those with access to the high speed fiber optic network. On the downside, restaurant owners in particular feel the burden of multiple new requirements that increase their expenditures and that have been rolled out in short succession, making it difficult for them to stay open. Local businesses are critical to the success of Pasadena and we need to be in close partnership and communication with them to support their growth.
6.Is the City of Pasadena spending its financial resources in a way that addresses issues of importance to voters?
Ms. Godley: I know from going door-to-door that the two most important priorities for the residents of District 6 are: homelessness and support for public education. I discussed the changes I would pursue on homelessness above.
On public education, PUSD is doing some amazing things for children—many people just do not realize it because they do not have a personal touch with the schools. The reputation has not kept up with reality. For example, we have thriving dual immersion language programs where students begin learning a foreign language in Kindergarten. All third graders learn the violin. Every middle student participates in a robotics program. And, we have one of the first in the country App Academies at PHS, with a four year curriculum build around computer programming. I have been working with the Pasadena Educational Foundation for over 10 years, raising money for the schools. Ten years ago we launched an effort to increase parent giving to the schools. We started small but this last year, parents of children in PUSD gave $1.8 million to their schools. That is more than double what South Pasadena raises. There is strong support for our public schools from parents within the schools. It is important for our City Council members to know the good that is going on in our schools and to trumpet and support this effort.
Of course, we also face the challenges that come with educating a higher percentage of children in poverty and trying to educate students with far less funds than available to private schools. Among other issues, the City must be active in working toward food and housing security for children in poverty and ensuring quality pre-school for our students. The schools handle what happens during the school day for school age children but the City is tasked with minimizing the risks our children face when they are not at school and before they get there.
7.Does Pasadena support its small business community? Are there areas where support could be more robust?
Ms. Godley: The City needs to be in active communication with the small business community on a regular basis to hear concerns, address needs, and make changes to support small business. Small businesses are one of the foundations of our financial stability and economic prosperity.
8.Does Pasadena’s General Plan continue to serve the needs of the city and its citizens? If you would seek changes to our city development plans, what would those changes be?
Ms. Godley: Many people believe that there has been too much development within the City of Pasadena. We need to take those concerns seriously and consider whether and to what extent the General Plan has facilitated unwanted development. We also need to consider whether technology and other developments require a change in the plan.
9.Pasadena has a Green City Action Plan in place. Do you think the plan is adequate to address Pasadena’s contribution to climate change?
Ms. Godley: The Climate Action Plan is a good start. But, we need to build upon this plan to accelerate our efforts. Specifically:
Clean Energy and Air Quality. We need a plan to move all City vehicles to electric over some reasonable time horizon and to make sure we have the infrastructure necessary to significantly increase resident use of electric vehicles. We need to maintain and increase incentives for residents to move to electric vehicles and a plan for increasing use by lower income residents. We need to further build out our charging stations.
Pasadena buys its power from others, which is targeted to be largely renewable by 2027. We need to make sure we stay on track for clean and renewable power sources. We need to incentivize residents to use solar. We need to think creatively about how to effectively incentivize residents to use mass transit.
Water and Electricity Use. Currently we send people report cards that tell them how much water and electricity they use but does not provide any tools for changing and reducing that usage. We need to develop and utilize smart meters and then provide specific and personally tailored information to residents that help them to meaningfully reduce their water and electricity usage. We should also partner with the private sector to provide consulting services for reduction use. We should consider meaningful incentives for water and electricity conservation efforts. We need to use non-potable water for City land where possible as well as privately held land that could use non-potable water, like golf courses; we need to develop infrastructure to ensure that this is possible.
Reduction of Waste
Residents want to be responsible recyclers but they are confused about what to do. We need to work with other public and private actors to make reduction of waste achievable for the average person. We need to work with the private sector so that there is a business model by which the materials are actually recycled or, alternatively, develop a public model that ensures maximum recycling. We need City practices and procedures in place that reduce City waste and waste at City venues.
10.In ten words or less, what do you do for fun?
Ms. Godley: Support high school and college sports, time with friends and family, travel, reading, and entertaining.