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In This Issue...
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Elections 2008
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Seven Candidates Vie for Three Seats on Capitola’s City Council, Part 1
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Seven Candidates Vie for Three Seats on Capitola’s City Council, Part 1
By Mary Bryant
There are a number of ways to depict the seven candidates �" Boris Seibert, Dennis Passino, Ron Graves, Sam Storey, Ed Newman, Bob Begun and Maureen O’Malley-Moore �" running for three seats on Capitola’s five-member elected City Council. There are six men and one woman. There are three planning commissioners and one elected treasurer. There are two attorneys, a marketing executive and a software engineer. Two candidates are retired. Most people work nearby, but not all. Except for one contender, Graves, this November’s pack has no experience serving on a city council. Not an incumbent in the lot.
In 2002, after being introduced by Capitola’s current mayor Dennis Norton, Capitola voters passed Measure X, limiting elected council members and treasurers from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms.
No polls were conducted after the race. However, while voters passed Measure X, they also gave veteran councilwoman Stephanie Harlan that year’s most votes �" a bit of a contradiction to elect an incumbent who had served since the late ‘80s while adopting laws to boot her out of office four years later. Bruce Arthur and Norton will join Harlan on the sidelines after November’s election.
With three members forced to leave, and the city’s two remaining councilmembers, Mike Termini and Kirby Nichol, having served less than two years, the next council will be new, directing a management team that is also relatively new after mass staff resignations in 2001.
The city collects more than $12 million a year in revenues, plus redevelopment and other special funds. Additionally, there are a number of ongoing projects that may or may not develop in the next few years, including the proposed Inn at Rispin Mansion on Wharf Road and a Barry Swenson-backed hotel in Capitola Village. In short, there are plenty of issues to debate.
For their part, the candidates seem eager with answers about how they would run the County’s seaside minitropolis. That is, if you elect them to office on Nov. 7.
Will That Be the Inn at Rispin Mansion or Maybe a Park…
At the urging of residents in 1985, Capitola bought the Rispin Mansion from a private developer for $1.3 million. Back then, most people believed that some use could be found for the decaying 22-room mansion built on the banks of Soquel Creek by early Capitola real estate baron H. Allen Rispin. They were wrong. The shuttered building was left to rot until the late ‘90s when Capitola’s council entered an agreement with private developers to build a boutique hotel and small conference center. As the environmentally sensitive nature of the site became more apparent after a rash of studies over many years, the proposed Inn at Rispin Mansion shrank to 24 rooms and a recently approved day spa on 5.6 acres.
Attached to the permit is a long list of conditions, making the historic restoration of the 1922 estate and accompanying grounds very expensive. The city has promised up to $3 million to the developers to help with their $9 million budget, releasing the money in increments. Some believe the developers will go bust, possibly taking some of the city’s money with them. Others think the mansion will return lots of hotel tax to the city once it is open for business. The developers have to produce plans by November. In the meantime, lead partner Ron Beardslee has said project costs have grown. The Post asked candidates if they support the project, if they would give Beardslee additional funding for the project and if the project failed, what they would do with the city-owned property.
BORIS SEIBERT: “I think the Rispin comes down to one word and that’s ‘accountability.’” Seibert said he was “fed up” with how long the project was taking to complete. He doesn’t know if he would have supported the Rispin project in the first place, but “I would be very hesitant to throw more money at it. … I think the city should disengage.” If the Inn were not built, he would leave a future use for “the community to decide.”
DANIEL PASSINO: “I don’t have the attachment to the Rispin Mansion that other longer term residents do.” He said that the old estate isn’t vital to save. “We are bound to an agreement that the next City Council will have to manage to the best of their ability.” Before he spent more, he would put the issue to voters. “It is the decision of the people of Capitola.”
SAM STOREY: “I think we should wait … and give them every bit of confidence at this point.” Storey might consider a modest increase in funding, something in the range of $100,000. If the deal were to fail, “we could sell off the property to private developers.” He might also try finding another developer for a hotel project. “We need to put everything back on the table.”
BOB BEGUN: “I don’t know of any other option that has been proposed.” He said that there might be a developer to turn the project into a small conference center. While Begun wouldn’t give the developer any additional city funding, he would be willing to lift temporarily some of the conditions placed on the developer.
ED NEWMAN: “I think [the Council] worked very hard to find the best alternative for that site. … [However] I’m not sure that it is going to be viable.” Newman owned the Bayview Hotel in Aptos for a time and said he is aware of the challenges of historic restoration projects. “Success is not around the corner … I do not think the city should go any further than it has already committed to.” If the Inn at Rispin Mansion didn’t move forward, Newman would not seek another hotel partner. “Turn it into a ruin.” He added that Greece is full of them. He said the $3 million would be sufficient to turn the estate gardens into a park and open the park to the public.
RON GRAVES: “I think the community deserves to see the Rispin restored.” He thinks that the RDA has sufficient funds to at least restore the gardens if the hotel project doesn’t move forward. “I’m not as hopeful as some that this present agreement will ever bear fruit.” He also doesn’t believe that the resulting hotel tax would ever repay the city the $3 million in funding. He doesn’t think the city has any additional money for the project. If developers don’t succeed, he would like to see the gardens and the exterior of the estate restored and open to the public.
MAUREEN O’MALLEY-MOORE: “I think [the hotel] could be really great right there.” She supports the Council’s decision to give the developers $3 million. “I suspect that given the length of time that this has been under consideration, I probably would have said ‘yes.’” However, if developers need more money, O’Malley-Moore “would say ‘no.’” If no more funding means the hotel project can’t move forward, then she would start from the beginning. “Let’s take a step back and reevaluate what we want to do with the whole area,” she added, referencing the city-owned library site across the street from the Rispin Mansion.
Should the City Buy More Creekside Property?
Down the block from the Rispin property, there is another ramshackle old home. However, there appears to be nothing historic about the small summer cottage now owned now by the Golino family. What is remarkable is the view of Capitola Village and Soquel Creek from the hillside parcel. Maybe what has kept the 1.5 acre property from selling are the steep slopes, which may make development tricky even if the secluded site has been described as magical. The owners originally listed the land at $4.5 million, recently dropping the price to $2.9 million. Mayor Dennis Norton proposed purchasing the site and the city is studying the proposal. How do these council candidates feel about purchasing the property?
MAUREEN O’MALLEY-MOORE: She wouldn’t buy it. However, she would accept the property as a gift from the Golino family. “I think it just has great potential to be an interpretative center,” she added.
RON GRAVES: While he thinks the Golino family owns a “nice piece of creekside property,” Graves thinks trying to develop the site “could be a nightmare.” He doesn’t support the purchase. If the land is donated, he would support a fish hatchery, along with an educational program focused on the habitat. He emphasized that because the property is secluded, there needs to be a self-funding practical use for the site because the property will need constant attention to avoid vandalism and crime.
ED NEWMAN: “It would be really nice if we acquired that for nothing,” Newman said. He supports the decision to explore other funding alternatives, and would consider using some city money for development.
BOB BEGUN: “At this time ‘no.’ … We can’t afford it.” He supports looking for grant funding for the purchase. He’d like to see a small conference facility built with the sponsorship of a large corporation that would provide funding for the facility in exchange for rights to hold conferences at the site.
SAM STOREY: He would not purchase the property using city funds. “I think it could be a city park.” He also thought the site might support the construction of a community center.
DANIEL PASSINO: “I support it being donated to the city.” He also believes the site would be extremely difficult to police, noting the Village has been experiencing more gang-related activity over the summer. Passino said he liked the idea of a fish hatchery, should the city acquire the land. Additionally, he thinks the site would be a good wetlands restoration property with an interpretative center for children. “I think a good idea is to restore it to its natural state.”
BORIS SEIBERT: “The city should not be in the business of buying that property.” Should the land be donated, he likes the idea of a family park with an environmental and historical interpretative center. “I think there are enough kids in our community and enough tourists that would use it.” n
[Editor’s Note: The second part of the Capitola Council race coverage will appear in the Oct. 31, 2006 edition of The Post.]
CANDIDATE PROFILES
Sam Storey, 54
Executive Director, Community Bridges
Sam Storey has lived in Capitola some 27 years.
“I got my first job out of law school in Capitola,” the first-time candidate said.
He has served on the Capitola Arts Commission for nine years. He currently serves on the Santa Cruz County Children’s Network and the Capitola Elder Care Task Force.
Why did he run? “I have a strong commitment to Capitola and serving the community. ... and to provide experience and leadership.”
Storey supports term limits. If there weren’t term limits, would he have run?
“I would run. I do believe in giving voters a choice.”
Storey is married with a two-year-old daughter.
Daniel Passino, 54
Software Engineer, Netflix
Daniel Passino was born in Iowa, with a family who moved about the U.S.
“Every promotion [for my father] was a transfer.”
After college, he moved to Los Angeles, working for Lockheed. A move north meant fullfilling a dream. “I’ve always wanted to live by the ocean. ... One day I happened to the Bay Avenue exit.”
He said he “fell in love” with Capitola Village.
That was 1974.
Passino currently serves on Capitola’s Planning Commission. This is his second time running for a council seat.
He’s mixed on the notion of term limits.
“I honestly don’t recall how I voted.” Had the incumbents run, would he? “Probably not, because I really enjoy my position on the planning commission.”
Maureen O’Malley-Moore, 49
Public Policy Analyst for Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage
O’Malley-Moore was born in Pennsylvania, moving with her family to California. For two decades, she and her husband lived in San Jose, until they decided their historic home had grown to small and would be expensive to expand.
“We decided we wanted to make a change.” That was 2001.
She doesn’t remember if she supported term limits.
“I’m inclined to say ‘yes.’” If terms limits hadn’t passed, she wouldn’t be running for Council.
“It is very hard to unseat an incumbent.”
She added that there is not one issue currently in Capitola in which a challenger could make a campaign. However, if elected,
“I think there are some areas where I would like to shake things up.”
Bob Begun, 79
Retired. Capitola City Treasurer
Born in the Bronx, New York, Begun moved to California in the early ‘50s to work on the first ICBM in San Diego. He moved to the Santa Cruz mountains in 1968. After losing his wife, he was ready for a move.
“I heard a little bit about [Capitola] from my granddaughters, then I fell in love with a lady who lived in Capitola.”
He moved in 1998, and was elected as the City Treasurer in 2000 against contender Fred Greenland.
“The trick was walking around, talking to people.”
He tried for the Council in 2002 and lost by one vote to Dennis Norton. He was elected again as treasurer in 2004. Under term limits, which Begun supports, he will not be able to run again for treasurer in 2008.
Boris Seibert, 36
Marketing Director, Plantronics
Seibert found Capitola because “my mom finally got sick of cooking Thanksgiving dinner.” That year, his family decided to spend the holiday in Capitola at the Depot Inn. He said he knew then that he was going to someday live in Capitola.
When the job at Plantronics came available in 2000, his fate was sealed. Now, six years later, Seibert wants to be part of the community.
“I really do think I can make an impact.”
He also would not have run if he were facing a slate of incumbents and supports term limits for City Council members.
“I want to be part of where this community is going to go,” he added.
Ed Newman, 62
Attorney, Planning Commissioner
Newman was born in Ohio. One Sunday in 1973 he “drifted through” Capitola.
“I was charmed by it.”
Before he left town, he had signed a lease. His two daughters now attend UCSC.
Until this election, despite serving as a Capitola Planning Commissioner, he never considered running for elected office.
“Being in the heart of Capitola for three decades ... I had never given any thought to being [a council member].
He says he likely would not have run against incumbents.
“We didn’t have this kind of excitement and energy in an election [before now].”
He has liked being a Planning Commission.
“It opened my eyes to a couple of things.”
Ron Graves, 68
Former Mayor, Current
Planning Commissioner, Retired
About 1962, Graves took a job for PG&E in Capitola. At the time, he was commuting from San Jose. He finally talked his wife into moving their family to his grandparents’ home in the Village.
Now his grandchildren visit.
An avid angler, he listed his occupation as commercial fisherman.
“I like fishing anywhere I can have an opportunity to fish.”
His other avocation was politics and he has served 28 years on the Council, retiring in 1998.
“I was asked to run by members of the community ... Everybody was saying that with three council members [leaving] that there was going to be a void ... on the Council.”
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