Candidate for
Council Member; City of Imperial Beach; Full Term

ED'S VIEWPOINTS

PRESERVE AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE

As an Imperial Beach resident Ed served on the Seacoast Drive Improvement Committee and other working groups striving to protect and improve our neighborhoods. He is interested in creating better street lighting and improving sidewalks to provide more pedestrian-friendly traffic flow. His work on the Tidelands Advisory Committee and Ecotourism Development Committee also enabled Ed to make continuing contributions toward improving the quality of life of IB residents.

PROVIDE PUBLIC SAFETY

As the grandson of a North Dakota county sheriff, Ed believes we must keep our community and our neighborhoods safe. He supports well-staffed police and fire protection services and will work to reduce crime and ensure our neighborhoods are well protected. In his first years in Imperial Beach, he worked in support of rules restricting short term vacation rentals to the more densely populated and commercial areas of Imperial Beach, rather than in the purely residential areas. This helped our city avoid the disruptions and other problems that can be associated with large numbers of holiday and weekend renters in exclusively residential areas.

PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT

Ed believes strongly in preserving and enhancing the physical environment. He was appointed to the Tidelands Advisory Committee in 2004 by Mayor Diane Rose and for a second term by Mayor Jim Janney. Ed currently serves as the Chairman of the Committee, which meets in the City Council Chambers, conducts public hearings and advises the Mayor, City Council and City Manager on the impact of proposed projects on our various waterfront environments. He believes public and private projects must be monitored to preserve our vital environmental resources -- the estuary, the seafront and the bay.

PRODUCE SMART DEVELOPMENT

Ed served on the Ecotourism Development Committee, and understands the need for balanced development and a growing ecotourism industry that can support local businesses and create jobs consistent with our community lifestyle. More ecotourism, Ed believes, could support existing hotels as well as new bed and breakfast lodges.

Ed is also focused on getting IB's already-approved but long-delayed development projects completed. If elected, he plans to give top priority to pushing forward the new Seacoast Inn and the Ninth and Palm Redevelopment Project. He wants to ensure that these projects will create amenities for all IB residents as well as provide jobs and tax revenue to support needed public services, including police and fire protection.

PROMISE EDUCATION FOR ADVANCEMENT

Emphasizing good education for IB youth is a quality of life issue. Although education is not in the IB City Council's mandate, concern about it should be. Ed is a life-long proponent of educational opportunity for all. He will support educators and speak to our youth and our local schools to ensure our young people have every opportunity to get a good education.

PROMOTE GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY

Finally, Ed believes that IB citizens need to be better informed about what their City Council is doing and he will work to ensure that the public is notified before any major public hearings are held, that proposals and programs are fully explained, and that costs and financial arrangements are fully disclosed.