Events of the last few days have gotten me to thinking. I really want to run a positive campaign. In recent local elections, we have seen unneccesary attacks which are not only bad for candidates, but for residents, and for our city as well. Because at it's core, Santa Monica is a positive place. A city that has always been known for warmth, friendliness, amazing beauty, and carefree fun in the sun. Kind of like this:
We will get back to that, and I will help get us there. I will be the candidate of unity, because this is what we all want; we all share the same goal. As you read the rest of this, keep in mind these words from the Queen of Soul, a lady deserving of all our respect--"Accentuate the Positive."
There are some candidates who mention a concern about crime as an afterthought, but I have lived it for the last several years. I founded Santa Monicans against Crime when I noticed an alarming change in the city where all my children were born. A city where they used to play with their friends outside and run in and out of our home, through a door that was never locked. That has not been the experience of my youngest, who is currently at SamoHi. The running into our home he does is to get away from a hostile person chasing him on the way home from school, and through a door that is locked.
I've been a lifelong journalist, including helping start the iconic KTLA Morning News, and writing a weekly show there on successful minority entreprenuers. I put those skills to use in documenting the changes that have happened to our beloved city, and inviting all of those concerned to contribute. We have been the eyes and ears of the crimes we have witnessed on the streets, or experienced. It has also become a place where victims of crime, all random, can reach out and feel helped, and listened to. And that is what I will do on Santa Monica City Council. I will be the voice of those who feel they have not been heard. I have been to countless City Council meetings and Commissions--including one I attended with several homeless people who needed me to speak for them--and I know what it feels like to be completely ignored.
Mostly, I want to give back to my cherished city, a city which has given me so much. As JFK famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." In this case, I will amend country to city. I know there are several challenges we face right now, but the most pressing is crime. If every time you walk out the door to go to the grocery store, or gas station, or bus stop, or just for a walk, and your head is on constant swivel, it is impossible to focus on anything else. If someone is screaming at you, or threatening you, or chasing you, in that moment nothing else matters. We can't find solutions to other problems, until we fix this safety crisis. And until we come together as citizens, and elected officials. I have friends on both sides of the fence, and I genuinely like people on both sides of the fence. Because I listen, and because I truly care. I promise I will do my best to be fair and just to everyone, and I thank you for listening.