Our public spaces should work for everyone.

Santa Monica has some of the best public spaces in the world. Our parks, beaches, and streets should be places where families feel welcome, kids can play, and neighbors can gather. Right now, too many of them aren’t.

Drug use in parks. Encampments blocking sidewalks. Intersections that feel unsafe to cross on foot or by bike. These aren’t abstract policy problems. They are daily quality-of-life failures that directly impact the people who live and work here.

Santa Monica residents deserve better. And they’re not wrong to demand it.

And it’s not just residents who feel it. Santa Monica’s economy runs on people wanting to be here. Visitors, shoppers, diners, tourists. When public spaces feel unsafe or unwelcoming, they stay away. That hurts local businesses, kills foot traffic, and hollows out the street life that makes this city worth visiting in the first place. Clean and safe is not just a quality of life issue. It’s an economic and imperative one.

On homelessness:
Santa Monica spends more per capita on homelessness services than almost any city in the region. The result has not been less homelessness. It has been more.

That’s not a coincidence. When one city offers dramatically more services than its neighbors, it becomes a destination. Beverly Hills and Culver City are not solving Los Angeles County’s homelessness crisis. Santa Monica shouldn’t be expected to either.

I support a regional approach, real shelter and treatment options, and enforcement of basic public order. What I don’t support is Santa Monica continuing to absorb a countywide problem while our parks and streets pay the price.

What I support:
Enforcing baseline public order. Parks are for everyone. Sidewalks are for walking. Drug use in public spaces is not acceptable. The city needs to set and hold a clear standard.

Safe streets for people. Too many Santa Monica intersections are dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. I support protected bike infrastructure, better crosswalk design, and streets that are safe for kids and families to use.

A regional homelessness strategy. Santa Monica should be at the table pushing Los Angeles County to carry its share. We can be a compassionate city without being a pressure valve for a problem that requires a countywide solution.

Accountability for outcomes. The city has spent heavily on homelessness with little to show for it. Every dollar spent should be tied to a measurable result: people housed, people treated, public spaces restored.
The bottom line: Clean, safe, accessible public spaces are not a luxury. They are the baseline.

Santa Monica used to meet that bar. We can get back there.

Santa Monica should be one of the great destinations on earth. We’re squandering it.

Walk down the Third Street Promenade on a Tuesday afternoon. Count the empty storefronts. That’s not a pandemic hangover. It’s a policy failure.

Santa Monica has every natural advantage. We have the pier. We have the beach. We have walkable neighborhoods, great weather, and a regional draw that most cities would kill for. And yet we’ve spent decades making it harder to build here, harder to open a business here, and harder to stay here.

Endless process. Committees. Community meetings. Appeals. While other cities move, Santa Monica deliberates.

The result is a city that punishes people for trying. Want to open a restaurant? Prepare for months of permitting, unpredictable fees, and no clear timeline. Want to build housing? Get in line behind years of reviews and appeals. Want to invest in this city? Good luck figuring out where to start.

That’s backwards. A great city should roll out the welcome mat for people who want to build here, open here, and put down roots here. Santa Monica has the bones to be one of the best cities in the world. We just keep getting in our own way.

What I support:

Cut the fees and the red tape. Starting a business in Santa Monica should be fast and affordable. That means lower business fees, streamlined permitting, and a clear, predictable process from application to opening day.

A business concierge. Small business owners shouldn’t need to hire a consultant just to open a coffee shop. The city should have a dedicated resource to help businesses get off the ground, navigate permits, and connect with city services.

Shot clocks and dashboards. Every business application should have a clear timeline. Every department should be held to it. And the city’s performance should be public. If we’re serious about being open for business, we should be willing to prove it.

Events and activation. Santa Monica’s public spaces are an asset. We should be programming them aggressively: markets, festivals, pop-ups, performances. Activity draws activity. A vibrant street brings in more businesses, which brings in more people.

Invest in the corridors. Third Street Promenade, Main Street, Montana Avenue, Ocean Park and the Pier each have distinct identities and distinct needs. The city should have tailored strategies for each, not a one-size-fits-all approach that serves none of them well.

Clean and safe as a foundation. None of this works if people don’t feel comfortable being here. Safe streets, clean public spaces, and a welcoming environment are prerequisites for a thriving local economy, not separate issues.

The bottom line: Santa Monica has everything it needs to be a world-class city for residents, visitors, and businesses alike. We just need a City Hall that acts like it.

Santa Monica needs more neighbors.

California’s population has doubled since 1970. Santa Monica’s population is roughly the same size it was then. That means millions more people competing for the same homes, the same streets, the same city. Prices didn’t go up by accident.

For decades, Santa Monica has made it harder and harder to build. The result is predictable: prices skyrocketed, families got squeezed out, and the people who keep this city running can’t afford to live here anymore. Teachers, nurses, young professionals, service workers. Gone.
That’s not an accident. It’s the outcome of choices made at City Hall. And we can change it.

I believe Santa Monica should be a city where people can put down roots. Where a family that loves it here can actually afford to stay. Where your kids have a shot at living near you someday.

What I support:

More homes in more places. Santa Monica has great bones: walkable neighborhoods, transit access, a strong local economy. We should be adding homes here, not rationing them.

Lower fees and faster permitting. Development fees in Santa Monica are among the highest in the region. Long, unpredictable timelines drive up costs before a single unit is built. We need a system that is fast, predictable, and affordable to navigate so that building homes here is actually feasible.

Using every tool and incentive available. ADUs, infill development, transit-adjacent density: proven ways to add housing without bulldozing existing neighborhoods.

The bottom line: Scarcity isn’t inevitable. It’s a policy choice. I want to make a different one.

Santa Monica has a lot going for it. Strong staff, serious revenue, and a new city manager who gets it. Now we need to build the systems to match.

City government is hard. Santa Monica delivers thousands of services every day: parks, permitting, public safety, infrastructure, housing programs, homelessness response. Most of it works. Some of it doesn’t. And too often, it’s hard to tell which is which.

That’s the problem. Not bad intentions or bad people. A lack of transparency, unclear metrics, and no consistent way for residents or council members to know whether programs are actually delivering results.

I’ve spent my career building systems that make complex organizations easier to manage and easier to hold accountable. That’s what I want to bring to City Hall.

Where we can do better:

Permitting and planning timelines. Businesses and homeowners regularly wait months for decisions that should take weeks. That’s not a staffing problem, it’s a systems problem. Clear workflows, clear deadlines, and clear ownership can fix it.

Program outcomes. Santa Monica invests heavily in homelessness response, housing programs, and community services. Those investments deserve an honest accounting. What are we spending, what are we getting, and what do we do differently when something isn’t working?

Budget transparency. The city’s budget should be readable by a normal resident. Not just a line-item spreadsheet, but a plain-English accounting of where the money goes and what it’s buying.

What I support:

Public performance dashboards. Residents should be able to see how the city is performing in real time: permitting timelines, response rates, program outcomes. If it’s not measured, it’s not managed. If it’s not public, it’s not accountable.

Shot clocks on city decisions. Every permit, every planning decision, every business license should have a clear deadline and a clear owner. Predictability is not a luxury. It’s the baseline for a city that wants to be open for business and easy to live in.

Metrics tied to every major program. Every significant city program should have a clear answer to one question: how do we know if this is working? That’s not a gotcha. It’s just good management.

The bottom line: Santa Monica has the people and the resources to be a model city. With better systems, better transparency, and a sharper focus on results, we can get there.