October 8, 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.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: David Ganezer
Running for: 2-year City Council seat.
Status: Challenger

How long have you lived in Santa Monica? In what neighborhood do you live?
I have lived with my beautiful wife and two children in Wilmont since 1998. Prior to that I lived in Ocean Park.

Why are you running for office and why should residents vote for you?
As a publisher of the Santa Monica Observer, a local newspaper, I am familiar with the issues and I hear from my readers. They are tired of a city government that wastes money. They don’t like that there are major developments being proposed. They want traffic problems solved and more parks built. They want a government that is for the people. I want to be a part of the government that the people want.

Why do you enjoy living in Santa Monica?
I like the beach. I like the warm weather. I like the people. I like living in a small community where I can easily run into a familiar face. I love Santa Monica, and that is why I want to run for City Council and make a great city even greater.

How would you rate the current City Council? What particular decisions stand out for you that made you form that opinion?
This council has made lousy decisions that show it is more interested in satisfying developers and politically correct special interest groups than the people of Santa Monica. The Arizona boycott was a silly move that wasted time. The city staff recently made a good proposal after a year and a half of work for the purchase of homes from an Arizona company to make Mountain View Homepark a better place to live. Rather than approve it, the council forced staff to needlessly spend more time finding a new business.

The recently passed general plan update (LUCE) is too development friendly, allowing building heights our fine city should not have. Also, the council voted for a sales tax proposal that will harm working-class families and small businesses. Sadly, it is not shocking coming from a government that cares more about where you place a sidewalk sign than issues that actually matter.

What is the most frequent complaint you hear on the campaign trail? What do you plan to do about this issue?
Traffic! People are tired of taking 30 minutes to get somewhere that should take 15 minutes or fewer. Despite the assurances by our City Council members that they are working on methods to reduce traffic, I do not see the problem being solved until we have new leadership. These proposed developments on the eastside of the city will gridlock Santa Monica. We must make sure these proposals are either significantly downsized or that very specific measures are taken for the developers to offer benefits that will reduce traffic.

Should Santa Monica residents be allowed to vote on major development agreements? Why or why not?
Yes, at least those that are significantly large. When there is a large development that will affect people’s lives for decades, it should not be left to seven people to make the decision. The people must have a voice. This is not a foreign concept. It has been done in plenty of other cities.

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 do not support the measure because this tax hurts small businesses and the working class. The City Council needs to make real cuts in the budget, and not put the burden on the people it is supposed to serve. However, I do support the advisory measure. If this tax passes, I would prefer half the money go to the school district rather than the wasteful city government..

Solve the traffic problem in Santa Monica in under 150 words.
The most important thing is to hold developers accountable for the traffic they will create, and to make sure the amount of traffic is minimized as much as possible. If they are developing under a development agreement, they must offer traffic reduction measures as public benefits such as free bus passes for workers/residents, limited parking spaces to encourage carpooling and public transportation use and other creative measures. Also, we need more bike paths in safe areas to encourage biking and creative incentives to encourage bus riding by our younger residents. There is no reason why teenagers need to be driving in this small city when we have such a great bus system.

If you were emperor with absolute authority for a day and could do one thing for Santa Monica, what would it be?
I would create a law that would prevent a sales tax from ever being proposed for this city.