October 4, 2010 -- The Lookout Staff submitted questionnaires to the 23 candidates running for seats on the City Council and Board of Education. The candidates were given the same timeframe to answer the questions and were limited to 150 words per answer.

During the next several days, the Lookout News will publish the candidates’ answers verbatim. The profiles for the four-year City Council race will be published first, followed by the two-year City Council race and lastly the Board of Education race. They will be appear in alphabetical order based on the candidates’ first names.

Name: Bob Holbrook
Running for: 4-year City Council seat
Status: Incumbent

How long have you lived in Santa Monica? In what neighborhood do you live?
Native Santa Monican, 68 years. North of Montana neighborhood.

Why are you running for office and why should residents vote for you?
My twenty years as a Council member have given me a wealth of knowledge and experience to guide me in making better decisions for our city. My decisions have always been based on what’s best for Santa Monica and our residents. I will continue protecting Santa Monica’s natural beauty and ambiance. We must preserve what we love about Santa Monica. I bring commitment, experience and profound respect for residents to the council. I am eager to continue working for you.

Why do you enjoy living in Santa Monica?
Santa Monica’s natural beauty and climate make living here great. But meeting people that live here is what I enjoy most. They are talented, generous, caring, intelligent and very protective of their city.

How would you rate the current City Council? What particular decisions stand out for you that made you form that opinion?
The current City Council works well together. We just finished a long difficult Land Use and Circulation Element project. It is a plan for the future of Santa Monica. I am pleased that the council adopted this plan after a thorough and detailed public process which included participation by hundreds of Santa Monica residents.

What is the most frequent complaint you hear on the campaign trail? What do you plan to do about this issue?
It seems that complaints vary almost daily depending on what group I am talking with. What it all boils down to – many residents would like Santa Monica to remain unchanged. It is difficult to prevent some changes because we are part of an enormous metropolitan region and the population of California continues to grow. I voted for our Land Use and Circulation Element that will only allow moderate growth. We will watch development and growth closely and make adjustment to our zoning ordinances if necessary.

Should Santa Monica residents be allowed to vote on major development agreements? Why or why not?
It is impractical to hold an election requiring the public to vote on development agreements. In many instances the same project could be built without a development agreement. The agreement generally allows the City to negotiate with the developer for a better project than if the developer files for a typical building permit. The public elects the City Council to make the final decision regarding development agreements.

Where do you stand on Measure Y, the half-cent sales tax proposal, and Measure YY, the companion measure that would recommend 50 percent of the tax revenue go to education?
I support Measure Y and Measure YY.

Solve the traffic problem in Santa Monica in under 150 words.
We are now building phase 3 of our computerized traffic signal control system to move traffic along. The completed system will help, but other measures are also needed. We have to encourage people to use public transportation and commute on bicycles when possible to get more cars off our streets. I favor using traffic direction personnel at our busiest intersections to move cars along and prevent grid lock. We should have light rail by 2015 and this will help to reduce traffic.

If you were emperor with absolute authority for a day and could do one thing for Santa Monica, what would it be?
I would see that our schools were fully funded so that our children are well educated and accept the responsibility to sustain Santa Monica for future generations.