Redondo Beach City Council Race--5th District

After months of stumping, envelope stuffing and even a court battle or two, the contest for Redondo Beach’s 5th District City Council seat comes down to the wire Tuesday with a runoff election between a local businessman and a well-known retiree.

Michael Herman, who runs a family-owned beer distributing firm, and Joe (Chief) White, a retired construction superintendent, were the top vote-getters in a five-way race for the March 5 municipal election. The winner will fill the soon-to-be-vacated seat of incumbent Councilman Ron Cawdrey, who stirred controversy earlier this year by seeking a third term in office despite the city’s two-term limit.

At stake are a number of pressing local issues: What to do about traffic in the congested North Redondo district? How elaborately to develop Aviation Park? Whether Robinson Street’s steep grade should be made one way uphill to help curb accidents or be open to two-way traffic to avoid inconvenience to local drivers.

The winner’s vote will also be crucial on a number of citywide matters, ranging from the design of the new Redondo Beach pier to concern about gang-related crime.

Also awaiting the winner is a plan to reconsider a recent exclusive garbage collection contract awarded by the council to Western Waste Industries. Opponents of the contract believe that the city’s garbage collection should be determined by competitive bidding, but they were outvoted 3 to 2 by a council majority led by Cawdrey, a Western Waste advocate.

Here, briefly, are the two candidates’ backgrounds and their stands on some of the major issues facing the city and District 5.

Michael Herman

Age: 35

Occupation: Beer wholesaler for family business, Bay Distributors. Has lived eight years in Redondo Beach. Member of the General Plan Advisory Committee. In charge of his company’s plan to comply with new air quality regulations by employee car-pooling to cut traffic.

Joe (Chief) White

Age: 63

Occupation: Retired construction superintendent for Anastasi Construction Co., a major South Bay developer. Also owned a cocktail lounge on Artesia Boulevard for more than 10 years and sold real estate. Has lived in Redondo Beach 34 years. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

* What can be done about North Redondo’s traffic problem?

Herman: Improve the main arteries to discourage cut-through traffic, as the council already is doing. Promote car-pooling and van-pooling.

White: Hire a specialized traffic engineer.

* What about gangs, especially on the north side?

Herman: Encourage the city to contract with the Los Angeles County probation department’s Gang Alternative and Prevention Program (GAPP), a 3-year-old program that identifies school-age children at risk and helps channel them into other activities.

White: “The gang situation’s just not that bad out here. If they keep talking it up, it will get bad, but a lot of these kids are just wayward kids who need something to do.”

* Should Aviation Park be given a new gymnasium and developed into a state-of-the-art recreational

complex, or kept as is and turned into a more modest community park?

Herman: “I’m for leaving things as they are, and adding to them.” Proposes keeping the existing gym and building a teen center and affordable community pool on undeveloped land. Wants to limit operating costs.

White: Keep the existing gym and build a community pool, but build it indoors for maximum use. Don’t build more than the city can afford to operate.

* Should Robinson Street be made one-way uphill, or kept as a more convenient two-way street,

despite concerns about the safety of the grade?

Herman: Complete an environmental impact report and proceed with the safest alternative. “Convenience is important, but the thing I’m most concerned about is the safety of the neighborhood.”

White: Open it to two-way traffic. “It has the community bottled up, and the neighbors mad.”

* What sort of a redesign would you like to see in the new Redondo Beach pier?

Herman: Prefers the simple V-shaped design with Mediterranean architecture. Also wants to ensure ample security. “A lot of people are concerned about the quote-unquote ‘bad element’ that goes down there, and I would be sensitive to that.”

White: Has not studied it closely, but of the proposals put forth, prefers a simple V-shaped design with a Victorian-style architecture.

* Would you be willing to reconsider the exclusive trash collection contract recently

awarded by the council to Western Waste Industries?

Herman: Yes. “I don’t have anything against Western Waste . . . but I’d like to take a harder look at the contract.”

White: Yes. “I’m for competitive bidding.”

* What makes you different from your opponent?

Herman: “I’m working and I work in the district. And being involved in ownership of a local business is important, because I understand budgets and cutbacks. The city is facing a potential deficit and our business is down too.”

White: “Experience. I’ve been around this community a long time.”