Here is Eli Gill’s answer to the candidate questionnaire prepared by students in our journalism class at the Police Activities League. For more on Torosis’ campaign, visit her website or her Instagram.
Previous Q and A’s: Eli Gill, Doug Trussler, Brett Morrow, Ashley Oelson, and Lindsay Davis.
If you are elected, what is the first thing you would want to do?
Keep Santa Monica’s comeback going. I’m running to bring about a true renaissance for our city, and the first thing I want to do is double down on our economic recovery, starting downtown.
That means filling empty storefronts with new shops, restaurants, and things to do, including through a $3 million fund that helps new businesses get their spaces ready to open. It means bringing new uses back to the Third Street Promenade so it’s somewhere you and your friends actually want to spend a Saturday. And it means rolling out the red carpet for people who want to open a business here, so it’s easier and faster to get started in Santa Monica.
We’ve already made a strong start. Through our Realignment Plan, we closed a $29.6 million budget gap, and this summer was downtown’s best since COVID. When local businesses do well, that money pays for the things we all share: parks, libraries, after school programs, and safe streets. I want to finish the job on the Third Street Promenade so it’s a place young people actually want to hang out again.
If you could be remembered for one thing for your work in City Council, what would it be?
That I helped Santa Monica come back stronger than before, and that I made sure it came back for everybody.
Not long ago, the City was dealing with a big budget hole and a lot of people felt like our best days were behind us. I don’t believe that. I want people to look back and say that this was when Santa Monica turned the corner: our downtown came back to life, our streets got safer, and the families who make this city work, like the people who teach in our schools, cook in our restaurants, and clean our hotels, could still afford to live here. I started my career as a lawyer fighting for workers who weren’t paid what they were owed, so for me a city that comes back but leaves working people behind hasn’t really come back at all.
What can we/you do to raise more money for schools so we can have better supplies and working water fountains? Do you support Measure ES?
Yes, I support Measure ES.
Right now the City pays our schools about $12 million a year through an agreement that ends in June 2027. Measure ES would turn that into steady, long-term money for things like keeping great teachers, arts and science classes, early childhood programs, and taking care of school buildings, which can include things like fixing water fountains. Seniors who own their homes, nonprofits, and fully affordable housing are exempt.
The school board and the City Council both have public comment, and I would encourage you to stay engaged and show up. I can tell you from personal experience that when a student comes to a public meeting or stands up and says the water fountain at their school hasn’t worked since September, people listen. Adults sometimes talk about schools in numbers and budgets. You have the ability to give first-hand accounts to shape policy.
How do we help people get around that are too young to drive and might not have easy access to a bus?
Getting to school, to practice, to a job, or just to see your friends shouldn’t depend on whether someone has time to drive you.
First, the Big Blue Bus already cut the 30 day youth pass in half, to $19, and some schools have GoPass, which lets students ride to and from school. I want to make it simple and free for every Santa Monica student, without a lot of paperwork. Second, our council has prioritized safe streets through the adoption of a safe systems approach to prioritize our commitment to Vision Zero. This means protected bike lanes, crossing guards, slower traffic near schools, and Safe Routes to School so walking and biking feel safe for kids and for parents. Third, e-bike safety, because a lot of young people are riding them now and we need good education and safe places to ride.
Bonus: What is something adults in Santa Monica are arguing about that you think is a waste of time to argue about?
Whether downtown and the Promenade are “dead.” People argue about this all the time, online especially. The truth is it’s changing, and we just had the best summer for downtown since COVID. Instead of arguing about whether it’s dead, go get a smoothie, see a movie, go to the farmers market, and help make it the place you want it to be. Places come alive when people show up. I invite you to be part of our city’s renaissance, because our best days are ahead.
If you were looking to interview someone about the topic of your choice, who would you interview and what would it be about.?
I’d interview the woman who led the creation of Brooklyn Bridge Park, Regina Myer in New York. I met her through the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, and she turned an old shipping waterfront into one of the most loved parks in the country.
Santa Monica is getting ready to turn our airport into a Great Park, and I’d want to ask her: how do you build a park that people actually use from day one? How can we activate this 192 acres so it’s a place for all ages. What did teenagers want there, and what did the adults get wrong? How do you pay to keep it clean, safe, and fun for decades? I’d also bring a couple of students from your class along, because the Great Park is going to belong to your generation more than mine.
If you had a Elon musk’s money what would you do to support the people of Santa Monica
First, I’d make sure our public schools never have to worry about money again: permanent funding for teachers, arts, music, sports, and yes, working water fountains.
Then I’d help people afford to stay here. I’d build a lot more affordable housing so teachers, nurses, firefighters, and young people who grew up here can actually live here, and I’d make childcare free or close to it for families.
I’d make the bus free for every young person, build the Great Park at the airport with fields, trails, and places to play right away instead of waiting years, and help local small businesses fill the empty storefronts downtown.
I would also bring the fun back to Santa Monica. Concerts, and activations, art, and sports to make our city feel alive and activate our public spaces.
