H, yes
Dear ER:
Voting yes on Hermosa Beach Measure H will generate much needed revenue for our City without taxing residents or harming local businesses. A Transient Occupancy Tax – also known as a “TOT” or “Hotel Bed Tax” — is a fee on guests who stay overnight in our hotels. This charge is one of the most direct ways for our City to collect revenue from visitors, which helps them pay their fair share of city services.
Our current rate of 10 percent was approved in 1990. According to our City Finance Director, your YES vote on Measure H to increase the TOT rate to 12 percent would generate an estimated additional $440,000 in annual revenue from existing hotel rooms. The proposed 12 percent is in line with neighboring cities and is quite reasonable for a destination with wide sandy beaches, historic small town atmosphere and a beautiful coastline.
Measure H is endorsed by the City Council. It also has broad support from residents, who put this initiative on the ballot by circulating a petition that gained over 560 signatures in just 12 days. A Yes Vote on Measure H means more money to solve the problems facing our city.
Marie Rice
Hermosa Beach
Great, Scott for school board
Dear ER:
Our schools have struggled with overcrowded facilities for years, yet effective leadership has been largely absent from our current board. It’s time our board matches its talk with action.  James Scott is that catalyst of action. I’ve had the privilege of working with James as part of our Leadership Hermosa Beach Class of 2015. I believe his passion for our schools’ children and his experience in education is exactly what our school district needs. He’s a parent of two daughters in Hermosa, he has 19 years of experience in elementary school education and he’s managed the day-to-day operations of an elementary, K-8th grade school for the past eight years. On November 3, please vote for James Scott for School Board.
Arcadia Berjonneau Keane
Hermosa Beach
Heartily approve
Dear ER:
I met Ken Hartley nearly a decade ago and I have always known him as a ‘get it done’ kind of guy. He was one of the original residents who helped get the Neighborhood Watch off the ground by becoming a Block Captain and he has continued with the goal of making a safer Hermosa Beach to this day. Prior to moving to Hermosa Beach, Ken was a volunteer firefighter. He and his department were first responders to the tragedy on 9-11. They set up the area to triage large numbers of patients. His actions leaves me with a humbling feeling over man’s never ending desire to help others in need.I say we have a champion with Ken Hartley, whom we can elect to advocate for residents, businesses, employees and visitors with balance in our wonderful city of Hermosa Beach. Ken Hartley has my vote for Hermosa Beach City Council on November 3.
Tracy Hopkins
Hermosa Beach
Incumbent on candidates
Dear ER:
The nine significant environmental impacts of the proposed oil drilling project still loom over Hermosa Beach and the Santa Monica Bay. I urge you to vote for Jeff Duclos and Justin Massey for City Council on November 3. Duclos and Massey both opposed Measure O and communicated to Hermosa Beach voters the environmental risks associated with the proposed oil drilling project.  On March 3, 2015, almost 80 percent of Hermosa Beach voters agreed that oil drilling is not for Hermosa Beach. Hermosa Beach paid E&B Natural Resources $17.5 million, pursuant to the settlement agreement. Yet, Hermosa Beach is still facing possible litigation from E&B because E&B has not agreed with the city regarding the amount the city owes in interest on the $17.5 million. E&B previously raised other disputes regarding E&B’s rights to convince Hermosa voters to allow it to drill for oil in the future. These disputes have not been resolved.
Keep this in mind when you hear City Council candidates tell you that the oil issue is over. Â It is not over. Â
My wife and I are also voting for Patti Ackerman and Monique Ehsan for the School Board. Â Ackerman and Ehsan are both dedicated to making the right decisions to improve the conditions of our schools. Â We are also voting Yes on Measure H, the hotel occupancy tax, which has been endorsed by a majority of the Hermosa Beach City Council. Â
Hany Fangary
Hermosa Beach City Councilman
Reeling in Fishman
Dear ER:
When the Hermosa Beach City Council signed off on the Settlement Agreement
with E&B Natural Resources in 2012 they justified their actions by claiming to have put Macpherson “behind us,” and to have “stopped the bleeding.” Mayor Howard Fishman even boasted that the agreement would “remove the cloud of crippling litigation that hung over the city.”  It doesn’t.
Among other significant flaws, the agreement fails to specify when interest payments on the $17.5M commence. (Incredibly, Fishman recently offered to use his “personal connections” to negotiate with E&B over this issue.) The agreement even lacks a termination date for the original lease. In other words, the City may still owe E&B millions in interest and the lease may be in effect in perpetuity. Litigation anyone? Â
Since March 3, when voters overwhelmingly rejected oil drilling, the City has spent tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees in connection with oil. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are not out of the question. If this is Fishman’s idea of what to expect from “leaders with proven experience,” then voters need to be wary. The agreement Fishman calls “terrific” continues to place the health, safety, and financial well-being of our community at great risk. It will do so for years to come.
Justin Massey is the only candidate for Hermosa Beach City Council with the knowledge, training, and experience to have rejected the Settlement Agreement from day one. We need him on the city council. I urge anyone who wants to keep oil out of Hermosa Beach to vote for Massey on November 3. Â
George Schmeltzer
Hermosa Beach
Tucker up
Dear ER
I love Hermosa Beach. This is my home,  where my wife Sienna and I plan to live for the rest of our lives. I care deeply about our city and always have. At every opportunity, I have given back to the community. I started as a volunteer when my children were in youth sports programs and I’ve continued over the years:  on the Vetter Windmill restoration, on the Veteran’s Memorial construction and restoring the Tim Kelly statue.  As my engagement grew, I was appointed to the Planning Commission and later elected to City Council.
As a councilmember, I was on UPAC, leading the improvements on Upper Pier, and more recently I’ve worked with CalTrans on plans for Pacific Coast Highway and Aviation Boulevard.(An exciting transformation is coming). I would like to clarify to Hermosa Beach council candidate Justin Massey that former Councilmember Jeff  Duclos,and I were on the Council that approved the  E&B oil agreement leading to Measure O and the ban on oil drilling in Hermosa — something I’ve always opposed.
I’m proud of my service to our city. Our election is nonpartisan, but I have a record to run on. I don’t need to run on a party slate nor as part of a ticket with anyone else. Citing my record, I was recently endorsed by the Daily Breeze. In a time when our city is facing major developments, experience counts.  I know what’s worked in the past and what we need to do in the future to keep Hermosa the “Best Little Beach City.”  I ask for your vote on Nov. 3.
Peter Tucker
Candidate and Hermosa Beach  Councilmember
No landing in sight
Dear ER:
A visitor to King Harbor will see about 30 empty mooring buoys in  the main channel. These are rarely used by visiting boats as there is no dinghy dock to tie up to and go ashore. Occasionally, some of the local boats will tie up on one of these buoys for a hour or so to watch the sea lions or just sit and enjoy a drink.  Now the Redondo City Council has decided to charge any boat that stops, even for a short time, the full $24 day fee. This means that virtually no boats will use the buoys. The city was supposed to use Chevron funds to build boat ramps and a sailing center.  Nothing to make things nicer for the local residents or harbor tenants ever seems to get done by the Redondo City Council. Â
Paul D. Gerhardt
Redondo Beach
Sea Breeze cleared the way
Dear ER:
The Redondo Beach city council shot itself in the foot when it approved the Sea Breeze (Cape Point) project at 1914-1926 Pacific Coast Highway  (“Redondo Council leaves mixed-use moratorium on table,” ER Oct 22, 2015). I agree with City Attorney Mike Webb’s assessment that  the Sea Breeze approval weakens the council’s argument for a moratorium. This is yet another reason why the Sea Breeze project was so pivotal to the other projects that are in the pipeline. The mayor, council and city attorney Webb just rolled over when they had the opportunity to create a viable change.
Bruce Szeles
Torrance
