He may not necessarily consider himself the Pico Neighborhood's candidate for city council, but the passion in Don Gray's voice comes when he talks about the place where he lives.

The "often ignored neighborhood," as Gray calls it. "That's made me more in tune with the needs of neighborhoods -- always being on the short end of the stick," he said. "There's a crack dealer in my alley and I don't know anywhere else in the city you'd find that. When kids see that kind of behavior, it becomes a viable option."

Community policing would provide some of the answers, Gray says. Cultural and social programs would help, too. And so would electing city council members by district.

"To have an at-large city council doesn't represent the needs of neighborhoods," he said.

Gray, a non-fiction writer who will be coming out with a book in June about sleeping disorders, believes Santa Monica also could build the strength of its neighborhoods through affordable housing. Award the housing not just on the basis of income but also as an incentive to attract certain types of professionals to the city. Police officers. Teachers. Nurses.

"Then you'll have them living in the neighborhoods," he said. "You can use affordable housing as an inducement to get people into the city. It's a win-win for the city."

Also important, Gray says, is giving renters a chance to own homes. What worries Gray is Santa Monica's fast-paced growth. His answer?

"Do a new master plan," he said. "What we have is a spaghetti code that goes on endlessly. We need to decide what kind of city we want. The current plan is based on what we allow, not on what we'd like to see in 20 years."

What Gray doesn't want to see is more massive development, more density, more cars.

"If it doesn't contribute to the way we want to be as a city, then I say no," he said. "No one is taking buses. Get them out of their cars. Get them to places they want to go. Let's use the Exposition Corridor so people can take public transportation to LA."