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Tuesday March 5, 2019 — Local Elections
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City of Manhattan BeachCandidate for City Council

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Photo of Wayne Powell

Wayne Powell

Retired Councilmember/CFO
1,915 votes (15.3%)
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My Top 3 Priorities

  • Improve Quality of Life: Preserve our small-town character and unique neighborhoods; support our schools, our youth and our seniors; promote civic engagement; maintain and improve public facilities and infrastructure; and protect our parks and beach.
  • Improve Public Safety: Continue to support our police and firefighter/paramedics to ensure they have the resources to necessary to protect our residents and improve response times.
  • Maintain Fiscal Responsibility: Ensure aggressive financial oversight and accountability of city expenditures to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent appropriately and wisely.

Experience

Experience

Profession:CFO and Former Two-Term City Councilmember & Mayor
City Councilmember, Manhattan Beach City Council — Elected position (2009–2017)
Beach Commissioner/Chair, Los Angeles County Beach Commission — Elected position (2010–2016)
City Commissioner, City of Manhattan Beach — Appointed position (2000–2009)

Education

Harvard University, John F. Kennedy Graduate School of Government — Executive Leadership Program Graduate (2017)
California State University, Long Beach — B.S. in Accounting/Finance, Magna Cum Laude (1978)

Community Activities

Board Member & Co-Founder, City of Manhattan Beach Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) (2005–current)
Board Member, Manhattan Beach Coordinating (Education) Council (2007–current)
Board Member, City of Manhattan Beach Senior Citizen Advisory Committee (2017–current)
Board Member & Vice President, Manhattan Beach Historical Society (2008–current)
Community Volunteer, Numerous Community & School Organizations/Events (1995–current)

Biography

Special Awards Received:

  • Received the Wyland Foundation’s National Mayor’s Sustainability award.
  • Received the U.S. Conference of Mayor’s Climate Protection award.
  • Recipient of the League of California Cities’ Exemplary Leadership award.
  • Recipient of Certificates of Recognition/Commendation for Outstanding Community Service from the California State Assembly, California State Senate, U.S. Congress, L.A. County Board of Supervisors and U.S. President.
  • Eagle Scout Award.

Who supports this candidate?

Featured Endorsements

  • California State Senator Ben Allen (non-partisan endorsement)
  • Manhattan Beach Mayor Steve Napolitano
  • Former Manhattan Beach Mayor Jan Dennis

Organizations (1)

  • Sierra Club (for my work in protecting our beach, ocean and MB parks)

Elected Officials (2)

  • Califonia State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (non-partisan endorsement)
  • Every Beach City Mayor (Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo and Torrance)

Political Beliefs

Position Papers

Highlights of Accomplishments while Mayor and Councilmember (partial list):

Summary

Passionately Serving Our Community — Improving the Quality of Life and Public Safety of Our Residents

 

  • Balanced budgets (surpluses) every year without any tax increases, despite an economic downturn and unfunded state mandates and takeaways.
  • Curtailed wasteful spending and provided vigorous fiscal oversight/accountability. Our city had the highest financial/credit rating (only 1 of 2 cities in California).
  • As a member of the City Finance Subcommittee, our recommendation to refinance outstanding city bonds saved taxpayers $4.6 million dollars.
  • My open government initiatives now allow every resident the option to speak at the beginning of City Council meetings and removed the total time limit of 15 minutes on audience participation so everyone has an opportunity to speak.
  • Implemented the Mayor’s Town Hall Meeting series and weekly Mayor’s Walk ‘n Talks to facilitate community engagement.
  • Initiated the smoking prohibition on the Strand and Greenbelt (and subsequently citywide) to prevent harmful impacts from second-hand smoke. Restricted sales of e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco products.
  • Initiated the Abandoned Property, Anti-Blight ordinance.
  • Supported our police and firefighter/paramedics which improved response times and protects our residents. Increased the number of community patrol and “foot beat” police officers to combat state-mandated early release inmate programs. Implemented license plate readers at city entry/exit points for crime prevention and apprehension.
  • Maintained a strong partnership with our schools, including a “Joint Use” Agreement benefitting our schools and our community, “Safe Routes to Schools” programs, and as a longtime schools/events/MBEF volunteer.
  • Expanded our city’s older adult and youth programs, and have been a longtime active volunteer. Served on the Scouthouse/Seniors’ Facility Fundraising Committee.
  • Improved traffic safety in our neighborhoods and at schools. My initiative installed vehicle intrusion safety bollards on our pier.
  • Worked vigorously to achieve pension reform in labor negotiations.
  • Initiated and led the opposition that prevented state approval to take 500,000 cubic yards of vital off-shore MB sand (and adverse impact on our marine ecosystem).
  • Worked to remediate the massive off-shore oil spill tarball wash-up on our beach, which also led to the criminal conviction of a reckless pipeline company.
  • Initiated free public WiFi at city facilities and parks.
  • Initiated the Drone Safety and Privacy ordinance.
  • Initiated the Campaign Finance Transparency ordinance.
  • Voted against closing City Hall on alternating Fridays.
  • Voted against unnecessary, costly consultant contracts.
  • Opposed unrealistic, spiraling employee salary range increases and voted to reduce city employee head-count through attrition, without sacrificing city services.
  • Banned short-term residential rentals to preserve residential neighborhood character and prevent commercial party-rental activity.
  • Banned the sale/distribution of styrofoam products to prevent the toxic runoff onto our beaches and ocean. 
  • Supported only low-profile development (allowed by law) that’s in scale with our neighborhoods. Incentivized remodels over teardowns. 

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