Redondo revenge
Dear ER:
Congratulations Redondo Beach You just messed up again by voting down the fun. Measure B was supposed to be a way for us Palos Verdians to set up a little home away from home. Us people from Palos Verdes like to do a little something called “slumming.” When we go slumming we leave our beloved haven of richness and travel to the lower altitudes in order to gawk at poorly dressed miscreants. Our normal place of gawking is San Pedro, but it has just become a little too dangerous.
We set our eyes on your quaint little beach side community some time ago. We were going to wear giant sunglasses and go silently mock the ruffians who frequent the pier, and maybe even get to know some of them. Of course you simply cannot go slumming and then expect to drive two cities over to crash. The plan was to erect some condos so we could take our afternoon siestas before getting completely blitzed and verbally assaulting the fans of whichever team is playing USC in football. Then we were going to see a late night movie on the pier. Absolutely delightful. Now all of that has changed. We have to walk (or jump on our servants or poorer friends’ backs) to the Portifino. It’s going to happen. We will get our condos. We always get our condos, but now you must rue the day you annoyed the likes of us.
Sincerely,
Dave Peaverton
Palos Verdes
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A Sully idea
Dear ER:
Jim Sullivan seems to have very selective hearing (“Money under the pillow,” ER Letters. April 2, 2015). Yes, there are hotels, plural, being planned for Hermosa Beach: “Clash” on Hermosa Avenue, the “Strand & Pier” project, and the OTO Development project at 11th and The Strand. This isn’t something new.
Nor is the talk of finally raising our TOT, our hotel occupancy tax, to something that is at least at the same level with most of our neighbors. Currently it is two percent less than some of our neighboring cities and, in some cases, four percent less. Some of us have been advocating this for at least 10 years. Why should we be giving away our prime tourist destination at cut-rate prices?
And where does he get the notion that this inevitably means three-story or five-story hotels, as he speculates? Again, selective hearing. All of us who have stepped up to speak for raising the TOT have said that it is with the directive that these new hotels be built within our existing 30-ft height limit. The voters of Hermosa Beach will never permit an increase in the height limit, just as we didn’t permit Hermosa Beach becoming an oil town.
Making these inevitable hotels too big is what would indeed “kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs,” as it would destroy the small beach town quality of life that these tourists seek when they come to visit Hermosa Beach. Having a fair TOT for these additional and existing hotel rooms could bring an additional million dollars a year into our city without financially burdening the residents or the hotel owners. On the contrary, these are dollars that will provide the quality infrastructure and services that these hotel developers and the hotel guests will expect from a quality town. In the marketplace you get what you pay for. As someone who is in the real estate business, Sullivan should agree with that.
Dency Nelson
Hermosa Beach
Follow the bouncing balls
Dear ER:
The Hermosa Beach Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission is considering an application to add permanent, new volleyball courts. Hermosa Beach has long been seen as the ideal location for beach volleyball due to our wide beach, clean sand, comfortable temperatures and great residents, businesses and facilities. With the welcome growth in beach volleyball nationally and worldwide, Hermosa has a wonderful opportunity to host more youth and adult tournaments, and to welcome athletes from around the world who come to Hermosa to live and train. As the tournament schedule has grown it has become apparent that additional courts are needed for the residents who are increasingly having difficulty finding courts on which to play. The courts on this application, if approved, will be paid for, installed, and maintained by Hermosa residents. They won’t cost the city anything. This is a great example of residents coming together to make a positive change in their community, one that benefits us all in a healthy way.
Dave Fulton
Hermosa Beach
Branded
Dear ER:
District 3 City Council candidate, Christian Horvath, accepted $4,000 from a developer last January, who just happens to own property adjacent to the AES site (no wonder Horvath supported Measure B). Only after it was discovered two months later did he return the check. He said in another paper,“It came from someone I don’t know and I am very appreciative.”
Horvath now admits he not only knew the contributor, he went to his house to solicit the donation. Quoted last week in the Easy Reader, he said,“We spoke for probably about five, ten minutes, and after talking with him, he wrote me a check.”
Yes, it’s time for campaign finance reform in Redondo Beach where there are currently no limits, and an elected official can take huge sums from a donor and still vote for their project, without even disclosing the obvious conflict.
Is it legal? Yes! Moral and ethical? You be the judge and speak with your vote.
Candace Nafissi is by far more qualified than Horvath anyway. She has eight yearsof legislative experience working for then State Assembly Member, Ted Lieu (now our Congressman) and holds a masters degree in public administration.
Nafissi also opposed Measure B and supports a reasonable revitalization of King Harbor, not the huge overdevelopment Horvath supports.
If you live in District 3 and are tired of elected officials taking money from developers and then supporting huge projects, vote for Candace Nafissi for City Council.
This is a vote by mail election only, no polls will be open. Your ballot will be mailed to you on April 13. If you don’t receive one and you are registered to vote, call the Redondo Beach City Clerk and request one. Ballots must be postmarked by May 12.
Bill Brand
City Council Member, District 2
Redondo Beach
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Volunteer of the year
Dear ER:
I am a Redondo Beach resident of district 3. In deciding who should be our next councilman, I look to what each candidate has done for our community thus far. Christian Anthony Horvath started a petition last year to address the Ensenada Parquette, helped organize and launch Tedx Redondo and registered over 6,000 Redondo Beach residents for the Blue Zones Project.
Hovarth has also made significant investments in the future of Redondo Beach. Through the North Redondo Beach Business Association he provides annual scholarships to Redondo Beach students interested in owning their own small businesses.
In recognition of all of his volunteerism, he received the Redondo Beach Volunteer of the Year award in 2013.
Christian’s opponent has only lived in District 3 since July of 2014 while Christian has been a resident of District 3 for more than 10 years.
Redondo Beach deserves a councilmember who wants a better Redondo, not one who uses Redondo as just another step in a political career.
Joanne Galin
Redondo Beach
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Back rooms politics
Dear ER:
Surprise, another 200 room Redondo hotel project was kept under wraps until after the Measure B vote. This is exactly what is wrong with piecemeal land planning. How can residents ever gauge the true traffic impacts under an ever expanding waterfront density plan? Who knows what else has yet to be disclosed. It needs to be made clear that people who voted against Measure B are not anti-anything. They are actually more progressive than those supporting the on-going failure of piecemeal land planning. For true consensus to ever form all the cards need to be put on the table in plain view. If you were running this, is that not how you would go about it? We need to finish a complete master plan for the entire area and then have a complete understanding of the cumulative impacts. Then, and only then, we can finally go about agreeing on something and actually start working together to implement it. There is a clear distinction between the two District 3 candidates. Only Candace Nafissi has proven she understand the importance of a real master plan. Her opponent supported the piecemeal failure of Measure B and was totally out of touch with the fact that a $4,000 campaign contribution was related to a behind the scenes push for a yet another 200 room hotel project. Redondo residents can stop the game playing and make some real progress on cleaning up our waterfront by supporting Candace for District #3.
Gary Ohst
Redondo Beach
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Easy to say no
Dear ER:
Candace Nafissi has stated that she is against The Waterfront Project even though the market analysis of The Waterfront Project clearly shows that the project would be beneficial to our community. Among other claims, the analysis disproved her claim that only chain stores and restaurants would survive. Nafissi should share her plan to improve our waterfront area.
Every representative needs to keep an open mind about a project that will improve the community, even if he/she has personal reservations.
I lived in Hermosa Beach for more than a decade and have lived in Redondo Beach for 29 years. I chaired a South Bay based non-profit for 30 years that leased office space for several years on the Redondo pier. So much needs to be done around the pier, that I support full-scale revitalization as the best way to benefit our beloved Redondo Beach. Thanks to Measrue B’s failure, we will now be looking at the AES Plant for many more years to come. Do we also want a timeworn pier area for many more years to come?
Ron Troupe
Redondo Beach
Dear ER:
Redondo District 3 candidate Christian Horvath now can’t backpedal fast enough. Three weeks ago, when Horvath’s campaign finances were thankfully first reported, it then took only seconds to do a simple search of Horvath’s largest contributor, local developer Mohamad Pournamdari, and immediately learn of a Hawthorne councilman having been convicted of felony corruption as a direct result of his close association with Pournamdari.
We now know Horvath’s original claim of Pournamdari being a “stranger” was, at best, an intentional and gross misrepresentation since, when pressed, Horvath subsequently admitted to visiting Pournamdari’s home and soliciting the huge donation from him. Horvath either already knew of Pournamdari’s criminal association and didn’t care, or wasn’t even smart enough to do that very simple search of his targeted benefactor. Either way, Christian Horvath has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is unworthy of the public trust, let alone elected office.
The elected and appointed officials who continue to support Horvath thereby carry guilt by association.
But thankfully, the political tide is finally beginning to show signs of turning for the better in Redondo Beach, as measured by the failure of Measure B and rapidly growing resistance to the CenterCal plan to grossly overdevelop the waterfront and significantly limit access to our regional harbor. To continue on this crucial path of improved community decision making, it’s critical that Redondo District 3 voters now elect Candace Allen Nafissi on May 12.
Gerry O’Connor
Manhattan Beach
The Right Family for City Council
We all know that Redondo Beach is a spectacular place to live, work and raise a family. City Council candidate Christian Horvath, a family man and small business owner in Redondo, perfectly reflects that ideal.
So does his wife Dr. Michelle Charfen. Besides being a wife and mother in Redondo Beach, Michelle has dedicated her work to our community, just like her husband.
After graduating from Harvard Medical School, she completed her residency in the South Bay. Today she teaches parenting courses to families in Redondo Beach and works at Providence Little Company of Mary, the closest hospital to Redondo Beach, as an emergency medicine physician.
They both care about helping families in our community and are committed to helping Redondo Beach grow and thrive. Christian and his wife’s dedication to the Redondo Beach community prove to me why Christian is the perfect candidate for City Council.
Yvonne Vick
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
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Dear Editor:
Political corruption, through contaminated and illegal campaign contributions, bribes, or outright kickbacks, is American as apple pie including the “tainted” contributions to Redondo Beach city council candidates (“’Tainted’ contributions complicate hotel plans near AES,” ER, 4.2.15).
The most important antidote is constant and conscientious civic oversight and vigilance of elected officials. These same politicians, under pressure, pass legislation to prohibit corruption, but fissured with loopholes allowing escape hatches for their misdeeds. For example, legislators have devalued the open meeting Brown Act and the California Public Records Act by incorporating more exemptions and barriers to the public’s right to know.
The Pew Research Center notes “Americans have long had a cynical view of politics and politicians.” Yet, “Despite the low regard Americans have for politicians, most profess faith in the system… and, “believe that voting gives…them some say in how government runs…” However, in reality, voter turnout remains devastatingly low. In the 2013 municipal elections, only 21% of registered voters in Manhattan Beach cast ballots. In the 2015, the percentage dropped to 17%. As a result, none of the five councilmembers received votes from over 85% of the electorate confirming a belief among residents the city council minimizes the interests of our community.
You and I need to overcome the cynicism that we cannot affect government action and replace it with the confidence that says that citizen participation is the lifeblood of democracy. This requires critical thinking skills needed to analyze issues and develop strategies, the information-gathering aptitude to determine the facts, and the communication skills to persuade the appropriate decision makers.
Sincerely,
Edward C. Caprielian, Ph.D.
Letter to the Editor
Actions, Not Words
I proudly serve as Redondo City Council candidate Christian Horvath’s Campaign Committee Treasurer, sign all his financial disclosure reports, and face liability imposed by the California Fair Political Practices Commission for errors or omissions.
Our opponent’s attempt to fabricate a scandal where none exists requires me to clarify the facts regarding a donation that came under our scrutiny, prompting us to return the contribution.
We accepted a $4,000 donation offered without strings and promptly reported it to City Hall. Upon learning about concerns related to the donor, we issued a press release to the area’s major newspapers explaining our decision to return the funds, and did so.
Our opponent’s innuendo campaign does a disservice to the constituents by trying to create an illusion of impropriety where none exists. The only deceitfulness in this campaign has been the attempts of Mrs. Nafissi and her proponents to distribute false information and accusations about Mr. Horvath.
We will never accept donations that obligate us to anyone. From this experience we have learned that large donors need more diligent vetting.
Our actions speak louder than baseless accusations. Christian’s campaign reported everything, voluntarily went to the press to ensure public awareness of our concern, and gave back every penny.
Moving forward, Christian continues to canvass District 3, every day, meeting residents and earning votes.
John Gran
Redondo Beach
Dear Easy Reader Editor- Please see my letter below…
Dear ER:
I only have one question for Redondo District 3 voters. Do they want a city council that is effective, cohesive and works as a team to improve our beautiful paradise, or do they want to continue to be held hostage to the whims of a few divisive, chaotic, polarizing characters? If you want the former, vote for Christian Anthony Horvath, who has strong and long-term ties to this community and has involved himself over the years to ensure our lovely Redondo is healthy and remains that way.
Sincerely,
Erika Snow Robinson
Redondo Beach
