• Name: Jean McNeil Wyner
• Age: 70
• Occupation: Community liaison for Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center & Orthopaedic Hospital
• Marital status/children: Married, one adult son
• Your neighborhood/How long you’ve lived there?: Wilmont, 1.5 years
• Your mode of transportation/model, make and year of your ride?: Mostly walk; own black 2004 Thunderbird
• Own or rent?: Rent
• Do you support Measure Y, the half-cent sales tax increase? If so, do you think half of the money generated by the increase should go to local public schools?
Yes, with condition: this measure should be binding with the schools receiving half the funds.
• What are you reading
Mysteries, travel, adventure.
• Do you believe there is enough parking Downtown? If not, what do you plan to do about it?
No. I would build underground parking at the old RAND facility. Also replace parking lost to new AMC theater.
• Now that the Broad museum is out of play, what should City Hall do with the Civic Center parking lot?
Lower parking costs. Have trams to transport people to shopping areas.
• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A detective!
• Local businesses provide the majority of the city’s general fund revenues, yet Santa Monica has a reputation for being a difficult place to do business. How would you entice more businesses, different businesses, to open up shop? How can City Hall help those businesses that are struggling in the current economy?
There is often a two-year delay to get a Conditional Use Permit; must be speeded up to no more than 12 months. Temporarily, lower taxes for those businesses that are struggling.
• L.A. recently greatly reduced patients’ access to medical marijuana. Do you support medical marijuana dispensaries in Santa Monica?
No.
• Should smoking be banned within apartments?
Yes.
• What would you do to make Santa Monica more bike friendly?
Build more bike paths.
• What’s the biggest threat facing the quality of life in Santa Monica?
Traffic.
• Downtown properties owned by City Hall. Should parking be the top priority or should housing come first?
Parking.
• Do you support the closure of Santa Monica Airport in 2015? If so, what would you like to replace it with and how would you make up for the loss in revenue generated by airport operations, lease agreements?
No.
• Do you believe in pension reform and should Santa Monica employees contribute more toward their healthcare and retirement benefits?
No.
• When it comes to getting public benefits from developers, what should be the top priority: affordable housing, public art, cash money, bike lanes or carpooling?
Affordable housing.
• Would you support placing a limit on the amount of time council members can speak on a particular item during meetings?
Yes
• When was the last time you rode a bike or took Big Blue Bus?
Two months ago.
• Does the housing-first model work for addressing the homeless issue or should we focus on building more emergency shelters to get people off the streets immediately?
Housing-first model.
• Free form: What’s putting a burr under your saddle?
The Arizona boycott. Perhaps the City Council members should live in those trailers for a few weeks and see how they like it. Those trailers have to be replaced pronto instead of becoming victims of misplaced political positions.
