October 6, 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 appear in alphabetical order based on the candidates’ first names.

Name: Kevin McKeown
Running for: 4-year City Council seat
Status: Incumbent

How long have you lived in Santa Monica? In what neighborhood do you live?
I’ve lived in Santa Monica most of my life. I moved here in early 1976, when I took a job as general manager of KROQ radio. KROQ was in Pasadena at the time, but I wanted to live in Santa Monica!

For over 34 years, I’ve called our one-bedroom apartment home (the “our” part is more recent; Genise and I were married last December). I live between Wilshire and Montana, about a mile from the beach, near Lincoln Middle School. Before I ran for City Council, I was chair of the Wilshire/Montana Neighborhood Coalition, now known as Wilmont.

Why are you running for office and why should residents vote for you?
At Ruth Seymour’s retirement event recently, the truth was revealed: as a former KROQer, I ran for City Council to get a regular talk show on KCRW.

Just kidding.

With gratitude toward all the community members who contribute ideas and effort for making Santa Monica a better city, I’m running for re-election on my record of responsiveness to residents.

Year after year, residents have supported and inspired me to continue protecting our neighborhoods and quality of life, as City Council’s leading voice for preserving Santa Monica’s charm and character, limiting building heights, and reducing commercial over-development and traffic.

I strongly believe in involving the public at every stage of local governance, and my record shows that I listen closely to public input and bring it into the decision-making process.

Why do you enjoy living in Santa Monica?
Well, I moved here for the beach, and great weather… Didn’t we all? I still love the beach, and the Pier, and the view from Palisades Park… but I’m asking to continue to serve as a Councilmember, not a tour guide. What I really love about Santa Monica is that we’re an independent city with a strong sense of community, great neighborhoods, and great neighbors.

We all care passionately about our town, and keeping it special. I’ve led the fights against overdevelopment, traffic, and the loss of housing for working families and our middle class. I’m also a strong advocate for parks, bicycling, schools, and the other activities and amenities we all enjoy. I want to keep working for residents to make Santa Monica a livable, sustainable city. One of the things I enjoy most about living in Santa Monica is serving as your Councilmember. .

How would you rate the current City Council? What particular decisions stand out for you that made you form that opinion?
Clearly I’ve differed with my colleagues on some issues. Some might say I’ve paid a price for retaining my independence and choosing not to “go along to get along.” I was the only Councilmember to vote against all the last-minute height increases in the LUCE, and the only one willing to move forward with “clean money” in Santa Monica. I’d like to see our Councilmembers empowered to be their best selves, by removing the undue influence developers, corporations, and outside special interests seem to achieve through campaign contributions.

I wish the Council would get more involved with our Boards and Commissions, which are a crucial community resource. I’m currently Council liaison to the Planning, Housing, Landmarks, and Arts Commissions, as well as our Task Force on the Environment — and I attend all those meetings along with neighborhood group meetings, issue workshops, etc.

What is the most frequent complaint you hear on the campaign trail? What do you plan to do about this issue?
Residents seem to feel the Council, as a whole, doesn’t listen to them, particularly on issues of development. To me, one of the benefits of holding elective office in a relatively small town is the ability to be in significant communication with our constituents on an ongoing basis, not just during election season.

When residents take the time to tell their Councilmembers how they feel on an issue, as they did in overwhelming numbers recently on the Land Use and Circulation Elements, it disturbs them to see decision-makers influenced instead by last-minute changes proposed by developers.

I consider my communication with and responsiveness to residents to be a crucial element of being an effective Councilmember, and I will continue to make myself available to listen carefully and then represent residents’ interests.

Should Santa Monica residents be allowed to vote on major development agreements? Why or why not?
The biggest advantage to our residents of the Development Agreement process is that it allows us to negotiate for better public benefits right up to the moment of final approval. Putting DAs on the ballot may sound righteous and populist, but doing so would mean the development deal was already locked in at the moment it was worded for the ballot measure. Residents would be able to vote only yes or no, and we’d have lost our ability to modify and improve the proposal.

Wouldn’t we rather have developers putting their money into public benefits, instead of running political campaigns to get projects passed?
I’m open-minded about having some projects of exceptional impact go to the ballot, particularly if larger policy issues are in play. For instance, in 1990, we passed a measure that not only stopped a particular hotel on the beach, but protected our beaches against future development.

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?
California state government has cut school funding drastically, and recently took $21 million from our City coffers. We can still make our local city and schools work by guaranteeing local revenue that Sacramento can’t grab.

Measures Y and YY create that ongoing locally controlled revenue stream, and I support both, as well as RR, the renter protection measure.

What’s particularly encouraging about Measures Y and YY is that they represent our entire community working together for the common good. Essential municipal services and excellent schools contribute to the well-being of everyone, and we are a community that values education, public safety, and social justice.

Measure Y gives stability to schools, senior programs, and everything in between. Measure YY affirms our commitment to an excellent public education for everyone. We should all work to make sure they both pass.

Solve the traffic problem in Santa Monica in under 150 words.
County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky won’t attend afternoon meetings in Santa Monica any more… because of traffic.

Regional mass transit may help to some extent, but here in Santa Monica we have to stop building ourselves into gridlock. Commercial development generates about three times as much traffic as housing does, and my commitment to get jobs and housing back into balance is one reason I’m endorsed by the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City.

We need to make cars less necessary, with attractive mobility options — from bicycling, to mass transit, to plain old walking (is that too pedestrian?).

Last week I proposed free bus passes for all Santa Monica residents, paid for by transit-oriented development on city land near future light rail stations. I hope we’re ready for some visionary progress, not more years of being stuck in traffic.

If you were emperor with absolute authority for a day and could do one thing for Santa Monica, what would it be?
My colleagues won’t even let me have a turn at being Mayor, so there’s no chance I’ll be emperor! But if I were…

I’d move things.

I’d move Water Gardens and other mega-office complexes right onto the freeway on-ramps, so their traffic wouldn’t go through our town. While I was at it, I’d move back into town all the people displaced by the freeway decades ago. I’d move the proposed Expo light rail maintenance yard out of our Pico neighborhood.

I’d move curbs on quiet residential streets closer together, to calm traffic and allow more trees. I’d move boulevard bike lanes between parked cars and the sidewalk, as in European cities. I’d move the airport out of town, or at least the flight paths from over Sunset Park and Ocean Park.

And I hope that moves you.