Candidate for
Member, City Council; City of Long Beach; District 9

There are two things in my life that I knew from the very beginning were right.

The first is my wife Janet. The very first time I saw her in the fall of 1968 I knew we would spend the rest of our lives together. For 38 years she has been my constant champion and adviser.

The second is Long Beach. In September of 1969, when I was dropped off in front of the Breakers Hotel with a sea bag on my shoulder, I knew immediately that I had come home. This great City of ours has never disappointed me.

In 1976 Janet and I moved to North Long Beach, The Top of the Town, with our two children. We quickly learned that the neighborhoods were well kept and our neighbors were very friendly and had great pride in their community.

We also learned that because of inaccurate perceptions, The Top of the Town was a place that many people avoided. This fear, I believe, was based on the visual blight on the main business corridors of North Long Beach. Our business corridors had been allowed to deteriorate, through neglect by our City.

For the last 30 years, we have worked with the community leaders of North Long Beach and throughout the City to change the unwarranted perceptions of The Top of the Town.

We worked with the leaders of our neighborhood parish and school, helping make the quality of life better for our fellow parishioners and neighbors. I was the founding President of the Parent Advisory Committee, Cub Scout Master, Scout Master, and Chair of the Parish Council, we taught Sunday class and became a Marriage Encounter presenting couple, to name a few activities.

We worked with Councilman Jerry Shultz and many others to establish North Long Beach as a redevelopment area. We established an annual Veterans Parade. We helped organize many neighborhood organizations dedicated to improving our community.

I have held the positions of Vice Chair of North Project Area Committee, president of the North Long Beach Business Association, and president of the North Long Beach Community Action Group.

I was appointed by Mayor O'Neill to the Citizen Police Complaint Commission and worked for a year on the Long Beach 2010 Plan.

I am a graduate of the National Conference for Community and Justice Neighborhood Leadership program.

After being elected to the City Council in 2002 I continued working with community leaders in North Long Beach and throughout this Great City, together we have improved our community. - We have:

· Built the North Division Police Substation · Paved all dirt alleys in North Long Beach without using general fund money. · Opened the skate park in Houghton Park · Enhanced the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Houghton Park. · Installed medians on major corridors throughout the Top of the Town. · Saved 350 homes and businesses in the path of the I-710 freeway expansion by redesigning the expansion. · Started the City's first Youth Commission. · Kept North Long Beach's share of redevelopment funds in the North Long Beach redevelopment area. · Started construction on Pops Davenport Park and Grace Park, completed the Burton Chase Park · Reduced crime by 11% since 2003. Last year North Division had the lowest overall crime of the last 9 years. · Reduced the City's structural budget deficit by 92 million dollars.

I am seeking re-election because our work has just begun.

· I will continue to work to balance the City's budget.

· I will continue to ensure that Public Safety is our number one priority.

· I will work with the business community to bring new businesses and jobs to North Long Beach and the entire City.

North Long Beach is on the verge of becoming the next down town, or uptown if you will.

I have worked hard changing North Long Beach and our City. When re-elected I will continue working as hard as I have for the last 36 years.