• Name: Robert Kronovet
• Age: 53
• Occupation: Santa Monica Rent Board commissioner/Small business owner
• Marital status/children: Married 22 years, three children
• Your neighborhood?: Sunset Park
• How long have you lived there?: 20 Years
• Your mode of transportation/model, make and year of your ride?: 2001 Ford Expedition and a 2009 Kawasaki 900 Vulcan motorcycle
• Own or rent? Own
• 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?
No. We can not tax our way out of financial mismanagement. I’m running to re-direct $20 million to our schools. I will stop the lending of between $7 million and $12 million a year to the Santa Monica Community Corp. City Hall spends more then $2 million yearly on “consultants.” We have city staff that is perfectly qualified to do this work. For the last 32 years, the Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights City Council has duplicated many county and state social and housing programs, costing the taxpayer over $10 million a year.
• What are you reading?
“The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey,” by Candice Millard.
• Do you believe there is enough parking Downtown? If not, what do you plan to do about it?
No. I plan to reduce traffic with the following proven techniques: In Downtown we will use re-development money to erect a 1,000 space parking structure on our Civic Center lot, and we will model Buenos Aires and build 5,000 new spaces under our public parks.
• Now that the Broad museum is out of play, what should City Hall do with the Civic Center Parking Lot?
I will move to team up with Hilton or Hyatt for a grand new Downtown hotel.
• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A hero.
• 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?
Santa Monica’s prosperity depends on the following: Building our tourism business, that means you and I are committed to bringing tourism dollars to our city; I will promote small, medium and large businesses by being more friendly through removing unnecessary red tape, reducing taxes, and promoting local hires.
• How can City Hall help those businesses that are struggling in the current economy?
Reduce taxes, deregulate, de-centralize power and give power and money to the BIDs.
• L.A. recently greatly reduced patients’ access to medical marijuana. Do you support medical marijuana dispensaries in Santa Monica?
Since it is legal in the state of California, yes one or two dispensaries away from the schools/parks and only under strict medical and law enforcement supervision/controls.
• Should smoking be banned within apartments?
Yes. A smoker’s rights end when they interfere with the safe and quiet enjoyment of other tenants.
• What would you do to make Santa Monica more bike friendly?
We must build safe dedicated bike paths. Cities across the world have done it, so can we.
• What’s the biggest threat facing the quality of life in Santa Monica?
Crime.
• Downtown properties owned by City Hall. Should parking be the top priority or should housing come first?
Parking on the first four floors and sports like tennis, hockey or basketball on the roofs.
• 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?
Cloverfield Airfield has been part of Santa Monica since before WW II. It must operate with the same standards of safety and type of aircraft that it was designed for. We are not LAX and I will not allow our residents to be put in danger.
• Do you believe in pension reform and should Santa Monica employees contribute more toward their healthcare and retirement benefits?
In keeping with other communities I will move to match our employees’ pensions and benefits to the same level other successful cities like ours are offering.
• 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?
Appropriate traffic mitigation near their project, local job hiring when possible, building our tax base and bike lanes when doable.
• Would you support placing a limit on the amount of time council members can speak on a particular item during meetings?
Until “The question is called.” It’s all spelled out in Robert’s rules of order.
• When was the last time you rode a bike or took Big Blue Bus?
Today.
• 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?
I believe the homeless population is a threat to our public safety and must be dramatically reduced. This is a state and federal issue and not a municipal one. I will move to re-instate the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a public work relief program started by FDR in 1933 for unemployed men and women. When elected I will move to normalize our city and match the level of financial and staff resources to that which our neighbor cities have committed.
• Free form: What’s putting a burr under your saddle?
I’m running to reduce taxes, re-direct $20 million to our schools, and build our police and fire departments. I will reduce our homeless population, thereby normalizing our city’s commitment to this national issue. I will bring our city back from the brink of financial collapse. We must come together and put the city we love back on a successful financial track. You can not expect the same Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights officials who’ve mismanaged one of the largest municipal budgets in the country to repair the damage they have caused. Friends, my opponents are not qualified, trained or able to bring the glory and class back to our beloved city.
