Meet the candidates

Editor’s note: Our election coverage of the Ventura City Council candidates continues this week with incumbent Ed Summers and challengers Brian Lee Rencher and Mike Tracy. The candidates were asked a total of 11 questions. 

Ed Summers

BIO: I am a Ventura City Councilman and an active community volunteer. I have worked in senior positions in the banking industry for the past 26 years. A Ventura resident for the past 19 years, I came to the area from Claremont, Calif., where I grew up in a working class family and went on to earn a degree in business and finance from the University of Southern California and an MBA from Drucker Center at Claremont Graduate School. I went on to serve as a city commissioner with responsibilities for traffic circulation, land use and planning and the police department. During my time in Claremont, I was also a member of the board of directors for the Claremont Chamber of Commerce.

Since moving to Ventura, I have devoted much of my time to public service including being vice-chair and director of the Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County and director of the Boys & Girls Club of Ventura and Casa Pacifica. I have been a council liaison to the Ventura Unified School District and am the past board chair and director of the Ventura County Economic Development Association (VCEDA). I am the past chair of the Cultural Affairs Commission of the City of San Buenaventura, the past president of Ventura Chamber Music Festival Association and am an honorary board member of Ventura Education Partnership.

What has been your greatest achievement on the Council?
Sponsoring two economic/small business summits in the spring that brought more than 150 stakeholders each to City Hall to address resources and solutions to the current economic challenges. Working in public/private partnerships to generate economic activity, improve service to small business and bring more efficiency and clarity to the development process.

What is your solution to keeping our budget balanced without sacrificing services, programs and jobs in the future?
We have maintained a balanced budget, reducing city expenses by more than $17 million in the past two years. This was accomplished through working with community members to prioritize city services. We worked to retain the highest-priority services and, through planning, were able to accomplish these reductions with minimal impact to staff. This year, with more than an $11 million reduction, we will only have one layoff.

What is your plan to acquire or build more affordable housing units in Ventura?
I supported the Inclusionary ordinance. In addition, I sponsored a policy consideration that was approved by council to direct staff to look to using city resources to help generate additional funding for low- and very low-income housing, work with the city’s housing authority to seek addition housing units and provide greater flexibility and options to land owners for including affordable housing in projects.

What are your thoughts on protecting agricultural land while continuing with urban development?
The general plan identifies infill as the direction for growth in our city. I have worked to create strong community boundaries and implement a strategy that meets our future needs. We need to concentrate on greater access to transportation and lead the way for compliance with SB 375, utilize available land more efficiently to help with affordability, and strengthen our community planning in the areas of open space and creation and utilization of recreation space.

What is your proposal for raising test scores and bettering education locally?
As a member of the Ventura Educational Partnership, I have worked for several years in creating a partnership between the school district and the city to create programs that assist the school district in motivating and encouraging the development of our future leaders. Our cultural programs help expose students to the arts. It has been proven nationally that students who participate in arts and cultural programs perform better in other academic subjects and score higher on college admissions tests. I have worked to promote after school programs as a member of the Ventura Boys and Girls Club board of directors and have worked with City Corps and PAL to reach and motivate at-risk youth to stay in school and improve academic performance.

What do you feel about Ventura’s planning process, and how will you work with developers and city planners to expedite these processes to keep projects on track?
I sponsored a policy consideration that was approved by council and also moved recommendations from the Economic Summit into council policy and direction. Specifically, we need clarity in the process through completing citywide coding, a historical resources survey to identify resources, inclusion of the public hearing meetings earlier in the application process and a firm timeline and tracking of projects within the application and entitlement process.

How important is the success/failure of the council’s “green” agenda to the well-being of the city?
Very important. Building a sustainable community is important to the longer-term viability of Ventura, protects the character of the community, ensures available resources and supports the community economically. Not only economically in the generation and use of resources, but in reducing costs related to storm water, waste water and recycling and waste management. I worked with Councilmember Brennan in the development and adoption of the green streets initiative to require use of permeable surfaces for water retention and greater use of vegetation to help climate enjoyment.

Aside from the ongoing economic crisis, what is the single greatest problem the city faces?
Maintaining our city’s character while meeting the diverse needs of our community members. We can achieve slow thoughtful growth, protect open and recreational space, comply with SB 375, provide affordable housing and avoid sprawl. It takes careful planning and continual communication.

Questions about local initiatives:

What is your position on the sales tax initiative, and why?
I support Measure A. Opponents ask “why can’t the city live within its means?” We do! We have and have maintained a balanced budget. The issue is that we do not have resources to support all the needs that our citizens view as important, and there is a broad base of different opinions on which program or services are the most important beyond public safety and water/waste water services. It is important for the voters to decide what kind of a community we want to have. I helped develop and support the council spending priorities for the increased revenues. Basically, we need stable revenues with local control to be the community a majority of our citizens want us to be.

What is your position on Measure B (view protection initiative), and why?
I am opposed to Measure B. I am confident that the priority of this issue was established in the General Plan and that the City Council recognizes and supports the concept. The momentum for the initiative started with a conceptual design presented at the 2004/5 Midtown Charrette. It was a theory and never adopted by the city. The city’s understanding of the importance of view protection was continued through actual design of projects in 2005 and 2006 and a clear acceptance of three mistakes prior to 2005.

Further evidence is the Midtown Corridor codes that included setback for views and solar access, height limitations in designated areas to two stories, and overall limitations. In 2007, I cosponsored the policy consideration to create the Public View Protection Task Force to review what had already been established and recommend further actions in relation to the implementation of the Generation Plan. The Task Force has brought additional recommendations back to council, and staff has been directed to include the recommendation in the development of codes.

I have reviewed the city attorney’s opinion of the legal issues and agree with his findings. It is the job of leaders to take the concerns and priorities of our community and mold policy. Balance the desires of those who do not want to build anything anywhere, the build-anything-anywhere opinions and the majority who want thoughtful and controlled growth. Density is the offset to avoiding sprawl; it is further enforced through compliance with SB 375 and accessibility to transportation, and the need to comply with state-mandated housing requirements through the housing element. I know we can achieve to meet the primary needs of our majority, it just takes balance and consideration of overlapping concerns.

What is your stance on Measure C (forbidding the addition of new “superstores”), and why?
I am undecided on Measure C. My conviction is that we cannot use land use ordinances to create social policy; it is the biggest concern I have. Anti-discrimination applies universally in relation to land use. I do not like Walmart, do not shop there and have serious concerns over the labor practices and impact to social services that have been identified. I do see more appropriate avenues to resolve these problems. I would gladly join community members in taking labor concerns to the state, where laws and policies related to employment are created and enforced. I will help to work with the county where the delivery of social services is centered to help prevent abuse.

I need to understand the measure more in relation to the fact it would not stop a Walmart under 90,000 square feet, but will make existing Targets legal nonconforming.

I support the concept that land use is the vehicle (no pun intended) that is used to control congestion and neighborhood character. It was not appropriate to have a superstore or any big-box on Victoria. We have been working to create economic activity in out areas, such as extending Olivas Park Drive. I need to work through this in relation to the Target question and have a better understanding of why retailers with non-grocery sales are excluded.

I am staying undecided because, while I have the concerns as outlined above, this is such an important issue to so many people I respect and consider friends, I want to remain open to discussion and debate.

Brian Lee Rencher

BIO: I moved to Ventura in 1982 from Camarillo where I attended high school. I sold unregistered securities for eight years and ended that career as a senior account executive prior to going to college. I wanted to start a career selling registered securities, so I started college in 1989 to earn a B.S., in marketing.

As a freshman in college in 1991, I entered politics with a run for Ventura City Council. I found that I could do a lot of good for the community by being involved at City Hall, and decided to continue my public service beyond my candidacy. It turned out that every time I ran for council, I could get something major accomplished for the community.

In 1993, I was able to get our city trees trimmed after years of neglect and began replanting our urban forest. In 1995, I brought school overcrowding to the forefront of public debate and now that problem is solved. In 1997, I took on residential street paving and much of that work is now accomplished. I took on city park deficiencies in 1999, and was able to get two neighborhood parks built with developer money. Because our water and sewer lines needed repairs and maintenance so badly, in 2001 I made that issue one of importance, and much improvement has come of that effort. And, in my last two candidacies, I’ve brought public safety to the forefront of public debate, albeit with limited results to date. Now I am tackling fiscal responsibility and governmental accountability at Ventura City Hall. We’ll see how that works out.

What is your primary reason for running for City Council?
There are many aspects of the city’s operations and capital improvement program’s needs that are constantly overlooked by the Ventura City Council, the city manager, special interest groups and the general public. Therefore, many of these public necessities that are critical to maintaining a safe and vibrant city are severely underfunded. We seem to take these aspects of local government for granted and just assume that everything is all right and put them out of our minds.

I do pay constant attention to these important city functions, which include: developing, repairing and maintaining our water and sewer systems; repairing and maintaining our streets and sidewalks; developing new parks and building a pool on the west side; keeping our public areas clean and well-maintained; building new fire stations and properly equipping and staffing them; ensuring schools are built concurrently with housing to avoid classroom overcrowding; maintaining sufficient police patrols to keep crime levels low; maintaining our libraries, etc.

I have been diligent in ensuring that these important governmental functions are monitored and, if needed, properly addressed and funded to the best of my abilities for 18 years. I am not always successful, but I do try my best as my constituents’ representative on their behalf. The days of electing the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker are long behind us. The complexities of modern government require professionals to do a first-rate job. My years of experience, when combined with my intelligence and education make me ideally suited for this very important job.

What is your solution to keeping our budget balanced without sacrificing services, programs and jobs in the future?
My first priority would be to consolidate management so as to eliminate a number of redundant top positions. Those that remain (including the city manager and city attorney), if their current contracts allow for it, would take big pay cuts — they are all overpaid — and, eventually, all would be paid much less. The idea that we must pay these huge amounts of compensation to attract top talent is hogwash!

Developers would have to pay full price for the city services they receive. Currently, according to council policy, they pay at most 76 percent of the actual cost of the services they “buy” and, in many cases, even less.

We pay our police officers and firefighters way too much in overtime. With the police department, per capita overtime equates to more than 50 percent above regular hourly pay. In other words, for every two hours of overtime eliminated, we can increase our net total patrol hours by one. Eliminating 80 hours of overtime nets us one additional officer on patrol for a full week. Additionally, increased levels of police service can be achieved initially by taking advantage of the city’s geographic information system (GIS) to better deploy resources to crime “hot spots.”

Some work methodologies can be improved, and capital investment in better equipment and/or modern technology can improve productivity per worker. Some processes are cumbersome and/or excessive and are, therefore, inefficient and/or ineffective. Making improvements will also lower costs and increase efficiency.

These ideas cut costs while actually increasing service levels.

What is your plan to acquire or build more affordable housing units in Ventura?
In past years I, and others, used the former residential growth management program (RGMP) housing unit allocation process hearings to get more condominiums and apartments built in the city — as oppose to all single-family detached units being allocated. But with the new housing allocation program (HAP) process, which is developer/staff driven, the public has little influence anymore on what is allocated to whom. Goodbye to open and transparent (not to mention accountable) city government. This is what happens when we elect City Council officials who are wholly in the pocket of the developers that fund their election campaigns and, when elected, go on to treat the public’s concerns with contempt at hearings and elsewhere in the process.

If we could somehow keep the developers from buying our city elections, we citizens could actually develop the housing our community really needs. Assuming that this pie-in-the-sky dream came true, our best approach would be to inventory our current housing stock by category (i.e., type, price, location, etc.) and then begin to allocate based upon the communities’ real needs — not by developer profit margins.

Our real needs would not be based upon our current economic demographics, but upon our projected future demographics. These demographics would be based upon a real economic analysis of where we want our communities’ wealth to be derived from and not — as is currently done at City Hall — as a political fig leaf to cover up short-sighted, short-term, dirty little back room land deals.

What are your thoughts on protecting agricultural land while continuing with urban development?
First and foremost, we must respect, protect and, possibly, extend by renewing our city and county SOAR and CURB laws. Secondly, all agricultural buffers must be absorbed by the developers on their land and not on the farmers’.

Third, the reuse of existing urbanized land and in-fill development must be actively pursued.

However, in-fill developments must consider and be sensitive to existing adjacent uses. Solar access and public views must be protected as well as neighborhood context and compatibility. Just because something could be built does not necessarily mean that it should be built.

Also, farmers create dust and unpleasant smells from time to time, and this aspect must be tolerated. However, herbicides and pesticides can be dangerous and, therefore, closely monitored and, in some cases, banned from areas close to people.

And lastly, land use speculation must be removed to keep farming operations affordable and profitable since the cost of land and associated taxes can bankrupt farming operations.

I should also be noted that globalization of agriculture is a real threat to local farming in that this lowers prices and puts profitability at risk and introduces nonnative pests that can devastate crops.

What is your proposal for raising test scores and bettering education locally?
This question is not relevant to Ventura’s City Council elections as the subject matter is outside that governmental agency’s jurisdictional authority.

What do you feel about Ventura’s planning process, and how will you work with developers and city planners to expedite these processes to keep projects on track?
It is true that the city’s development process is antiquated and labyrinthian in nature. However, to me, “streamlining” does not mean cutting the public out of the public process. If we can create a clear and concise series of events with reasonable oversight, outcomes and timelines, I am all for it. So far, this has not been the case — actually far from it! To begin to answer the question, I offer the following principles:

Develop a clear series of events, guidelines that lead to clear transparent decisions at each stage of the process;

Provide early public notice at the beginning of each event so that all interested parties may fully participate in the process;

Limit the number of events to expedite the process without compromising participation of all interested parties and without sacrificing the quality of projects nor the community’s quality of life;
City cost recovery must be 100 percent, but work done by public employees must be monitored and adjusted to be efficient, effective and affordable;
All interested parties must have equal access to all available information and to city staff;
All laws must be followed — not only in letter, but also in spirit (no back-room deals);
City staff must communicate clearly what is to be done when, by whom, and what is expected of all participating parties or individuals;
City staff must clearly understand what is expected of them;
Any appeal process must be affordable and fair.

How important is the success/failure of the council’s “green” agenda to the well-being of the city?
In the long-run, going “green” will be absolutely essential to community activity remaining sustainable — both economically and environmentally.

Aside from the ongoing economic crisis, what is the single greatest problem the city faces?
City finances are a mess. Oversight is lacking and the “investment” of city funds is being done unprofessionally. No one in the city’s treasury department or on the city manager’s investment team (which includes him) possesses a SEC-approved securities license; nor have any of them worked in the banking industry, except Ed Summers, and look what happened to his bank. Yet they are all “in control” of “investing” our $159 million portfolio. Additionally, not one councilmember or senior staff person is a trained and certified economist! What real qualifications do these people have to handle this huge amount of public money? None, really. Is this smart? You know what is said about a fool and his/her money. Unfortunately, these fools are in control of our money. But then again, the voters keep re-electing the incumbents. Figure it out for yourself!

If you don’t believe that the incumbents are making us poorer and poorer every year, then let’s examine some of the facts to straighten you out. In 1995, the city’s portfolio was worth $158,134,547; in 2009, it is now worth $159,680,467. In 1995, the city’s population was 97,393; in 2009 it is 108,787. Therefore, the per capita value of the City’s investment portfolio was $1,623.68 per person in 1995 and is now $1,467.83. But that is not the worst of it.

When we adjust for inflation, today’s per capita purchasing power drops to $1,161.19 when valued in 1995 dollars – a 28.5 percent drop in value! We’re going broke fast under the incumbents.

Questions regarding local initiatives:

What is your position on the sales tax initiative, and why?
If you do believe in fiscal responsibility and governmental accountability, you should vote every incumbent out of office and then vote yes on Measure A. If you don’t believe in fiscal responsibility and governmental accountability, then you should vote every incumbent back into office and vote yes on Measure A.

If we used every dollar the city now receives in the most fiscally prudent, conservative and intelligent way, we still would not have enough money to adequately take full care of all of the city’s functions. This is because the voters keep electing or re-electing people that are not qualified for office and are too busy giving our money away to their campaign contributors to care. These people are incompetent, and many are corrupt.

As evidence, I offer the following: In 1995, the city’s investment portfolio was worth $158,134,547; in 2009, it is now has a market value of $159,680,467. This represents a total increase in value of just less than one percent.

However, if we adjust this figure to account for inflation using the purchasing power of 1995 dollars, the city’s investment portfolio would be worth $126,339,186 — a decline of 20.9 percent. When we evaluate this statistic on a population per capita value, it’s value has declined by a whopping 28.5 percent!

The bottom line is that if you, the voter, want to know the truth, don’t listen to what they say — watch how they vote. And, if you really want to know the truth, just follow the money!

What is your position on Measure B (view protection initiative), and why?
I support Measure B. When the Midtown Community Council hosted their Midtown By Design charette, the community reached consensus to a number of principles that would be applied to all development in their area of the city. The following are the principles set by these citizens in regards to how they wanted Midtown to be developed: walkable; green; charming; sustainable; historic; community-oriented and eclectic; safe; diverse; usable; bikeable; and neighborly, colorful and quiet. Also, they wanted to retain a sense of justice that: respects privacy; remains healthy and energetic; retains its cultural heritage, personality, and continues to enjoy its small town feel while remaining a comfortable place to live, work and play.

Then came City Hall with its developer-driven “charade.” The city sequestered the developer-employed architects in one room with tables and professional equipment to work on their plan, and gave the public an “easel” of paper taped to a wall in the hallway to “express themselves.” I noted that these “expressions” were not included in the final plans drawn up by the developers and their stooges at City Hall. Then, the city’s town architect, Dave Sargeant, “reviewed” these plans and declared them “wholesome” for the community. Subsequently, these plans were railroaded through the community development process at City Hall and were officially anointed as law by the City Council.

The developer-driven plans are insensitive to the community’s needs and are clearly derived to maximize corporate profits at the expense of the community’s quality of life.

What is your stance on Measure C (forbidding the addition of new “superstores”), and why?
I support Measure C, mainly to protect the grocery union workers from the predatory actions practiced by Walmart’s union-busting superstore grocery sales tactics.

Limiting retailers to 90,000 square feet when their offerings consist of more than 3 percent non-taxable goods does not significantly impair most retailers’ store construction and operations. It does not prevent Fry’s, IKEA, Best Buy and other retailers from opening stores in appropriate locations in Ventura.

We need these types of stores for several reasons. They capture sales taxes within our city that are currently being captured in other jurisdictions. They lower pollution and overall traffic congestion by shortening car trips to the store.

They give us a better selection of goods and services locally, which raises our quality of life. They provide entry jobs to the younger members of our work force as well as management positions.

However, let’s get back to Walmart’s business practices — I don’t like them at all. Their history of destroying communities, unions, suppliers and anyone else who does not serve their corporate interest are too numerous to put into this writing. When I was in college earning my bachelor degrees, I did multiple studies of this corporation and wrote my master’s thesis on Walmart’s goals and practices. I’m very knowledgeable about this entity due to my in-depth studies, and I do not support their goals and methods. It does not break my heart to impair their efforts, and it should warm your heart to vote yes on Measure C.

Mike Tracy

BIO: Best known as Chief Tracy, Ventura Police Department

Favorite quote: “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.”

I grew up on Ventura Avenue, the son of Clint and Mavis Tracy, a painting contractor and homemaker. I attended E.P. Foster, Avenue, De Anza and Ventura High schools.

Upon receiving an A.A. degree in liberal arts from Ventura College, and a B.A. degree in sociology from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, I joined the United States Army and served as a medical X-ray technician.

I worked for the Ventura County Probation Department, and later as a social worker in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Program of Ventura County. In 1975, I joined the Ventura Police Department. My wife, Linda, a retired teacher of

the Ventura Unified School District, and I met as students at Ventura High School, and have been married almost 40 years.

I was promoted to chief in 1999 and served in that position for six years. As our police chief, I emphasized community policing, and personal involvement in Ventura. I have served on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Ventura, Caregivers, the Police Activities League and the Salvation Army. Linda and I have been Founder’s Circle members of the Ventura Music Festival for the last five years.

Our son Matthew is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is currently serving as a major in the strategic air command in Omaha, Neb. Linda and I enjoy spending time with our son and daughter-in-law and our three grandchildren. I am the primary caregiver for my mother, a Ventura resident since 1946, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.

I am running for the City Council because I am grounded here, and want to make Ventura better.

What is your primary reason for running for City Council?
My sole reason for running for the City Council is that I live in Ventura and want to make it better. We need to be on a sustainable economic path, and I believe that I have the experience, leadership and common sense to make that happen.

What is your solution to keeping our budget balanced without sacrificing services, programs and jobs in the future?
We need a new business plan for Ventura that recognizes the importance of economic development. We need to adopt policies for our city that improve the economic well-being and quality of life. The desired result is to create and retain jobs and provide an adequate and stable tax base. This can include cultural activities, tourism and general business growth and development.

What is your plan to acquire or build more affordable housing units in Ventura?
We need a comprehensive housing program that recognizes the need for housing at all economic levels, from entry level “affordable” to executive. We have in-fill opportunities throughout our community. We need to work collaboratively with the development community and federal and state government agencies to make this happen.

What are your thoughts on protecting agricultural land while continuing with urban development?
We should focus on in-fill construction and reclamation of our brown fields while we ensure that our agricultural industry remains viable.

What is your proposal for raising test scores and bettering education locally?
While this is primarily in the purview of the Ventura Unified School District, the city can contribute to this effort by doing everything possible to keep our schools safe through the efforts of our school resource officers, and by continuing to contribute and participate in after-school and summer programs designed to help youth at risk.

What do you feel about Ventura’s planning process, and how will you work with developers and city planners to expedite these processes to keep projects on track?
Right or wrong, the city has a reputation of being unfriendly to business and development. As a lifelong resident of Ventura, I want to maintain our quality of life, and I am not supportive of excessive development. However, we need to redesign our planning process so that property owners clearly know what is permissible, what the process is, and what to expect. Once a project is approved, the city should help facilitate the end result, and the rules shouldn’t change midcourse. Clearly, property owners and developers need to be held accountable as well.

How important is the success/failure of the council’s “green” agenda to the well-being of the city?
My desire is that Ventura be a leader in promoting “green” initiatives and processes where possible.

Aside from the ongoing economic crisis, what is the single greatest problem the city faces?
The current national economic crisis aside, our most significant problem is that we are not focused on economic development. During the best of times, Ventura lost many opportunities to enhance our tax base and create jobs and opportunities for our citizens. One only needs to drive around and look at the vacant lots, once viable “future” projects, and empty storefronts to realize this fact. And this has not occurred over the last 18 months. It is the result of many years of neglect. Economic development includes a vibrant cultural arts emphasis, a bustling tourist trade and an emphasis on attracting and retaining business and economic opportunities.

Questions regarding local initiatives:

What is your position on the sales tax initiative, and why?
I support this initiative. I believe that we have a critical need for this additional revenue over the next four years, primarily because of the state financial crisis and the trickle-down effect on the city revenues. My commitment is that over the course of my first term I will take the steps necessary with regard to economic development to ensure that this supplementary revenue source will be unnecessary when the tax “sunsets” at the end of 2013.

What is your position on Measure B (view protection initiative), and why?
I am opposed to this initiative. The city recently commissioned a task force to evaluate this issue, and there were many creative and innovative ideas that came from that group to address view protection issues, essentially negating the need for the building moratorium proposed under this initiative. The measure is unrealistically restrictive, and if passed the proponents and the city will end up in court to litigate the issues related to compliance with the city charter.

What is your stance on Measure C (forbidding the addition of new “superstores”), and why?
I am opposed to this initiative The plan for the Victoria Corridor, recently passed by the council will essentially limit the square footage at the K-Mart site to under 100,000 square feet, which precludes a “superstore” on Victoria.

However, it may be that large retail stores would be appropriate for other locations in more industrial areas of the city.