Frequently asked questions

By Tom Brewer

Many questions have come up during the course of the campaign. These are short answers to the most asked questions.

My family moved to Torrance when I was two years old. When my brother and sister and I were growing up, there wasn't much more than fields of crops and lots of dairies. We could look from our backyard all the way to Crenshaw Elementary School. On Saturday's my friends and I hopped on our bikes and headed to a very active and vibrant downtown Torrance. I attended Arlington Elementary School, then Hamilton Elementary when it was built, and graduated from North High School. After El Camino College, I graduated from Cal State Long Beach and earned an M.B.A. from Cal State Dominguez Hills. My wife Carolyn and I have a daughter, Chelsea, who will be graduating this year from George Washington University, and beginning law school in the fall. This year I am retiring from my position as a Laboratory Scientist at UCLA Medical Center, a healthcare career has taught me to continuously explore new ways to solve problems. I was very fortunate to be able to see Torrance grow into the city it is today. This gives me a unique perspective that I will bring into office when I'm the mayor of Torrance.

What inspires you or motivates you to serve the community?

The city of Torrance is where my parents chose to raise a family and where my wife and I chose to raise ours. I want Torrance to continue to be a safe, vibrant, well balanced city. A city that our residents are proud of and a city that our children want to return to. That's why I'm so committed to giving back to the city that has always been such an important part of my life. I've been actively involved in this community for over thirty years. I could list the many committees and commissions that I have served on, but what is more important is what I've accomplished while serving.

I convinced the city to incorporate 10 acres of vacant land into Lago Seco Park rather than selling it for condos.

When over development faced our city, I formed a coalition of homeowner associations to stop it. This successful campaign led to my election to the city council in 2006. My goal is to build a 21st century city with state-of-the-art public services, that is rich in economic opportunities. I want to improve our city without losing those historical qualities we love.

Why should voters elect you?

I have lived in Torrance since I was two years old, which allowed me to see Torrance grow into the city it is today. This gives me a unique perspective because I understand the issues that the city has faced and what worked to resolve them. I know how deeply our residents care about their city. When making decisions, I am cognizant of the issues both unique to certain areas or residents and those impacting us as a whole--and I always strive to work in partnership with Torrance residents, businesses, and employees to find solutions that bring our city together. People feel comfortable approaching me to talk about what is important to them, knowing that I will follow through. This election is critically important because we are electing four new council members and a new mayor. Throughout my city involvement I've demonstrated the effective leadership skills that will be critical in guiding this new team and moving our city forward. Together we can build a 21st century city with state of the art public services--one that is both rich in progressive economic opportunities and respectful of its great historical qualities.

Identify the most serious issues affecting the city and what you hope the city council can do to improve them?

We have three primary issues facing our city. The most immediate concern is the effects that AB109 (early prisoner release mandate) is having on Torrance. We have seen a rise in residential burglaries by the criminals that have been released from our prisons. We must continue to stay in front of this issue by identifying newly released individuals and monitoring them. The most pressing concern is pension reform. Torrance has an unfunded liability of 392 million dollars. Our pension payments currently amount to 12% of our budget. Those payments will rise 50% by 2020. We must be diligent in reviewing our employee contracts when they come up for renewal. We cannot allow our increasing pension obligation to take money away from senior and youth programs, or other services. Also our infrastructure is aging and needs to be addressed. We absolutely need to attract new businesses and continue to work closely with existing businesses. However, I would like to see income derived from new businesses used to repair our roads and buildings, and improve services, and not used for pension obligations.

We have a lot of pending retirements coming up in Torrance including the Police Chief, Fire Chief, City Manager, City Clerk, in addition to a new Mayor and 4-5 open council seats. What are your ideas on how to make this as seamless a transition as possible?

We do have many employees nearing retirement, although for the most part they are yet to be announced. Our Police Chief John Neu has retired, and our new chief Mark Matsuda is an excellent example of how well every one of our department heads have groomed their senior staff to be ready to move to the next level. It is so fortunate that our residents are actually even thinking about this issue and a testament to our chiefs and management that they are held in such high esteem. Our city manager LeRoy Jackson has been grooming the executive staff for the day that he eventually leaves (although I heard the same rumors when I was elected in 2006) and I am confident we will find a very talented and capable replacement from inside city ranks. I have worked closely and effectively with every one of our executive staff over the last eight years, which will help make the eventual transition a smooth one. Our city clerk is elected, however there are two individuals running to replace Mrs. Herbers that actually work in the office. When Mayor Scotto and I ran for our seats in 2006, I watched how Mayor Scotto worked to build a team even while he was running for mayor. I have been reaching out to every council candidate, to get to know them, and to start developing a seamless transition to the next city council

How would you support our police and fire?

Our city council has provided both groups with the latest equipment and technology. I would continue this practice when I am the mayor. I think that we need to look at innovative means to address issues, before we hire more officers. We have to be opened minded and stay abreast of latest options and best practices because technology is evolving so rapidly. When the need arises to add more safety personnel, I would support it, as I did when we voted to add more police officers to help our city deal with prisoners released by the State under Assembly Bill 109. Police and fire personnel also want to know that when they make the split second decisions, they will not be second guessed by their own city council. Over the last eight years this has always been the case when protocols were properly followed. I will make sure that we continue that level of support.

What are your Leadership skills?

I have an engaging personality that makes people feel comfortable approaching me to talk about the issues that are important to them and knowing that I will follow through. I take the time to listen to what they say, regardless of where I am approached. I joke that it takes me an extra hour to shop at the grocery store because of how often I am approached by residents to talk about things. I really do enjoy listening to people and working with them to address the issues in our city that are important to them. I have a demonstrated ability to bring people together. When overdevelopment faced our city I formed a coalition of homeowner associations to stop it. The reason that I'm so proud of that is because I was able to bring so many people together that had never been involved in government issues before. Our coalition was able to get people to not only turnout for meetings, but many of them spoke up about their concerns in public for the very first time. We taught people that by working collaboratively we could be more effective and actually make a difference. That campaign helped me win my current seat on the city council.

How did you become interested in local politics?

My beginnings in city politics really began when I saw my mother become involved with a committee to stop the planned 405 freeway from being built. She felt that it would cut off North Torrance, where we lived, from the rest of the city. I watched my mother work on Ken Miller's mayoral campaign. From that, I learned how important it was to be actively involved in your city. I have been involved in our community for over 30 years. I worked on Katy Geissert's first city council campaign. When my wife and I bought our home, I became involved in my homeowners association as a board member, then as an officer, before serving as president for eight years. My involvement in my homeowner's association eventually lead to my appointment by the City Council to the Environmental Quality Commission. From the Environmental Commission I was appointed to the Civil Service Commission. I served as chairman of both commissions. I have also served on the Torrance Education Foundation for over 15 years and was the president for 2 years. I am committed to not only addressing issues, but leading the process as well.

Do you support the Fourth of July picnic and the Rose Float?

I have been an outspoken supporter of a Fourth of July celebration. I have proposed a scaled down version of the all-day event that we used to have because a number of companies have stepped forward to underwrite the display, but not all of the other related expenses. Safety for the event is the most important issue that must be considered and we have always had a strong police presence throughout the entire day. That is expensive. We should make it a fireworks only evening, with no organized all-day program. We could also contract with a security firm to supplement our police force, as we did when we had the all-day Centennial Celebration in 2012. Since we stopped the fireworks show, our residents are going to Redondo Beach and we are spending money to help control the crowds there. I do support the Rose Float, but I think we need to explore private partnerships for funding right now.

What is your vision for the future of Torrance?

Torrance has a bright future. By the end of this year the new wing of Torrance Memorial Medical Center will open and extensive changes are planned at Providence Little Company of Mary as well. We have a Ferrari/Maserati dealership coming to Hawthorne Bl. We are going to get a new mall by the end of next year and this could be the catalyst that starts the rejuvenation of the rest of our city. We should look at the possibility of combining some lots that currently contain vacant buildings to give us the chance to get better projects in those spaces. I can see that much of Hawthorne Bl. will benefit from the new mall. I believe that many of the current business properties are ready for modernization that would not only benefit them, but Torrance as well. We are the hub of the South Bay. Almost all of the surrounding cities residents must pass through Torrance at some point during their travel time. That is why businesses and employers want to locate in Torrance and that's why I am so encouraged about our future.

What would you do to encourage businesses to locate in Torrance?

Every city in America says that they want to bring in new business into their city. What Torrance has to do is give businesses of all kinds a reason to come into our city. The mayor of a city can be the cheer leader for new businesses but generally it takes a spark to start the resurgence of a city. I think that the spark will be Simon Corporation spending almost $300 million on a new mall. Companies will realize that if one company values Torrance enough to spend that kind of money on a new mall, they should consider locating here as well. I believe that we should use the momentum of the new mall to help rejuvenate Hawthorne Bl. We should explore using "Smart Codes", that helps develop properties that contain older buildings, to redevelop Hawthorne Bl.

Torrance has been a finalist 3 times for the most business friendly city in Los Angeles County. This business friendly atmosphere combined with our strategic location in the south bay and a new mall will be the main reasons new businesses will want to locate in Torrance.

Both the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce PAC and the Los Angeles Business Federation PAC recognize that my vision for attracting businesses to Torrance and have endorsed me

Would you invest in the Cultural Arts Center? As the arts are becoming less important in our schools with so little funding what is your position on the importance of these programs.

The Cultural Arts Center is 22 years old and it's showing its age. It needs to be updated with the latest audio, visual, and physical equipment. When new income comes in, I am in favor of using that money to address those issues. Lack of arts in our schools is important, but the cultural arts help define the character of a city. We have many worthy artistic groups that want to use the Center's facilities, but feel that it is too expensive. In the 2013-2015 budget review, the council is exploring lowering the rental rates for off-peak times to make it more affordable for these non-profit groups and I am in favor of that. Once again, as more money comes into the city, I am in favor of restoring cuts that the council has had to make over the last few years. We support parks for our physical well-being. We support libraries for our minds. We need to support arts for our souls.