Council candidates discuss their priorities

Joe “Jersey Joe” Carchio

Age: “Over 50 and proud of it”

Born: New Jersey

Education: Bachelor’s degree, Seton Hall; U.S. Army

Huntington Beach resident: 25 years

Profession: Restaurateur/small-business owner

Priority if elected: “I will propose waiving of fees for residents remodeling their homes. Average Huntington Beach remodel is 500 square feet, average city fee is $5,000. Average re-assessment after remodel is $50,000. Numerous benefits result, including pride of ownership and neighborhood preservation. Neighboring cities do this already. No. 2: Create an economic development plan before it is too late. No. 3: Cut frills, fix streets and sidewalks, giving back control of city to taxpayers.”

Gil Coerper

Age: 73

Born: Kenosha, Wis.

Education: AA degree, 160 units at Cal State Long Beach

Huntington Beach resident: 40 years

Profession: Retired police officer, Korean War veteran

Priority if elected: “Major priority goal is to build a state-of-the-art police range for our officers. Right now, it’s costing the city about $250,000 a year for leasing facilities elsewhere. I would also make sure to have graffiti removed by changing the ordinance. Also, repair our roads, sidewalks and replant trees for residents’ concerns.

Cathy Green

Age: 58

Born: Tokyo

Education: Degrees in law and nursing

Huntington Beach resident: 36 years

Profession: Nurse

Priority if elected: “Public safety and infrastructure. We need to get up to a full staff of police officers — we’re down by nine officers — particularly before next summer. Also, expanding business and tourism while protecting the environment. Third is controlling runoff from inland cities to protect our beaches, oceans and harbor.”

Jill Hardy

Age: 35

Born: Huntington Beach

Education: Edison High School graduate; bachelor’s in economics and math, UC Santa Barbara; master’s in economics, Cal State Long Beach

Profession: Huntington Beach High School teacher

Huntington Beach resident: Fourth-generation resident

Priority if elected: “No. 1 priority is to listen to the concerns of residents. No. 2: wise and balanced budget. Spend our money wisely and make budget decisions to increase revenue. No. 3: Protecting the environment: Clean water, clean beaches and open space.”

Flossie Horgan

Age: 60

Born: Glendale

Education: Bachelor of arts in political science, UCLA; master’s degree in biology, Humboldt State University

Profession: Community college teacher

Huntington Beach resident: 22 years

Priority if elected: “To promote tourism that will then generate revenue and help with city services and infrastructure issues that we need to address. Second priority is to clean up our ocean and beaches. In the past six years, California voters have approved more than $4 billion in funding for clean waters. If the ballot measure Proposition 84 is successful, that would provide $3 billion for water-quality and coastal protection. It is time we get the money here to Huntington Beach. If elected, I would work with local government to get our fair share of the bond funds, just like I did at Bolsa Chica. Thirdly, restore integrity to local government.”

Joe Shaw

Age: 46

Born: Anchorage, Ala.

Education: Bachelor’s in journalism, Cal State Los Angeles

Huntington Beach resident: Three years

Profession: Small-business owner

Priority if elected: “In the 2006 ‘Cost of Doing Business Survey’ by the Kozmont-Rose Institute, Huntington Beach was rated as a “high-cost” city to do business in, and it rated in the bottom third of Orange County cities. We can do better. We should find a way to make city fees and taxes on small- and medium-sized businesses lower in order to foster a business-friendly city. Doing so would create jobs and bring more sales tax revenue to the city so that we can have more money to spend on capital improvements.”

Norm “Firecracker” Westwell

Age: 47

Born: Long Beach, CA

Education: AA degree, Orange Coast College

Huntington Beach resident: 30 years

Profession: Business owner of truWest Inc., a local manufacturer of competitive swimwear & sportswear.

Priority if elected: “1. Enhance public safety to again make Huntington Beach, ‘America’s Safest City.’ 2. Restore integrity to the council by instinctively repelling felony behaviors. 3. Find consensus to more effectively repair our crumbling infrastructure. 4. With two ears and one mouth, I will listen twice as much as I speak. 5. Lastly, I pledge not to succumb to the Huntington Beach political machine; the same small group who continue to push the buttons and pull the levers behind the scenes, much like the wizard in the Wizard of Oz.”

— Compiled by Purnima Mudnal