Showing posts with label Mina Semenza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mina Semenza. Show all posts
3/15/2013
Newly elected Gardena officials confirmed in final vote tally
The winners of Gardena's March 5 election were confirmed Thursday after a tally of all provisional and late vote-by-mail ballots.
Mayor Paul Tanaka will retain his seat for a third term, and Councilwoman Tasha Cerda also will remain on the City Council. Former Mayor Terrence Terauchi won the seat vacated by Councilman Ron Ikejiri, who was termed out of office.
Realtor Mina Semenza won the city clerk's position and J. Ingrid Tsukiyama will remain as city treasurer. The newly elected officials will be sworn in at a special City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 19.
- Sandy Mazza
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_22791686/newly-elected-gardena-officials-confirmed-final-vote-tally?source=email
11/02/2008
Election endorsements
Election endorsements
The Daily Breeze
Article Launched: 11/01/2008 10:00:00 PM PDT
Here are the Daily Breeze's ballot recommendations:
President: Barack Obama.
State measures
Proposition 1A (High-speed rail): No. This is no time to borrow $10 billion on a costly and questionable project.
Proposition 2 (Treatment of farm animals): No, because the main effect would be to shift poultry sales to other states.
Proposition 3 (Children's hospitals): Yes. This is a terrible time to take on more state debt, but it's for a worthy cause.
Proposition 4 (Abortion notification): Yes, for the same reason a nurse has to notify parents before giving a teenage girl an aspirin.
Proposition 5 (Treatment for drug offenders): No, because it is much too lenient in dealing with serious felons.
Proposition 6 (Spending on crime programs): No, because it is too inflexible and much too costly.
Proposition 7 (Clean energy): No, because, as the Sierra Club and others say, it is so vague as to be counterproductive.
Proposition 8 (Bans same-sex marriage): No, because the state is better off not redefining the moral issues related to marriage.
Proposition 9 (Crime victims): No, because it is too costly and redundant.
Proposition 10 (Alternative fuels): No, because it is so self-dealing for some supporters that it would do more harm than good.
Proposition 11 (Redistricting): Yes, it may make just a small difference in breaking politicians' hold on their own re-elections,
but at least it is an improvement.
Proposition 12 (Veterans' mortgages) Yes, this decades-old program has never cost taxpayers a cent.
Local measures
Proposition A (City of Los Angeles parcel tax to fund gang-prevention programs): No, the city must prove the effectiveness of programs administered by the Mayor's Office before asking property owners for more money.
Proposition B (City of Los Angeles update of rules on low-rent housing): Yes, this would remove impediments to obtaining funding from the state and federal government.
Measure J ($3.5 billion bond measure for Los Angeles Community College District): Yes, the district's campuses need more upgrades to expand enrollment and enhance health and safety.
Measure M (El Segundo's $14 million bond measure to improve and repair the high school auditorium and athletic fields): Yes, this measure would not increase current school bond taxation rates, and the repairs are justified.
Measure Q ($7 billion to upgrade aging Los Angeles Unified School District campuses throughout the region): Yes, the maximum school bond tax rate won't rise, and there will be an increased emphasis on smaller learning centers.
Measure R (Half-cent sales tax increase to expand mass transit system countywide and improve highways and roads): Yes, the plan includes help for South Bay commuters by extending the Green Line further south and also to Los Angeles International Airport.
Measure U (Reduces utility users' tax in unincorporated areas from 5 percent to 4.5percent and applies it to new communications technologies): Yes, updated language will ensure that users of all technologies will be treated fairly.
Measure V (Maintains the rate of Hawthorne's communication users' tax at 5percent but updates language to reflect technological advances): Yes, the update will help protect the tax from legal challenges.
Measure Y ($265 million bond measure to upgrade academic facilities in the Torrance Unified School District and improve school safety): Yes, this is probably the school district's final attempt to avoid campus closures.
Measure Z ($90 million Torrance bond measure to improve physical education and athletic facilities, as well as rebuild science labs and music and art classrooms): Yes, the bond would fund facilities that would benefit the entire community.
Measure BB ($67 million school bond measure to replace deteriorating academic facilities at
Manhattan Beach's Mira Costa High School): Yes, the bond would fund needed improvements without increasing current tax rates.
Measure CV ($98 million school bond measure to upgrade Centinela Valley high school campuses): No, a divided school board put this measure on the ballot. It's premature considering the district's financial problems and the Wiseburn School District's secession plans.
Measure DD (Initiative to subject certain land-use changes in Redondo Beach to popular votes): No, it threatens revitalization efforts and runs contrary to representative democracy.
Measure EE (Redondo City Council's alternative to Measure DD): Yes, it offers voters a say over rezoning involving open space, increased building heights in the coastal zone and specified residential changes.
Judicial
Office 72: Hilleri Grossman Merritt, a highly rated criminal trial prosecutor.
Office 82: Thomas Rubinson, a deputy district attorney serving on the Hardcore Gang Division, rated well-qualified by the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Office 84: Pat Connolly, a Long Beach gang prosecutor.
Office 94: Michael O'Gara, a criminal prosecutor rated well-qualified by the bar.
Office 154: Michael Jessic, a gang prosecutor noted also for his community work against gang violence, is rated well-qualified by the bar.
South Bay candidates
Second District Supervisor: Bernard Parks.
Water Replenishment District, Division 2: Robert Katherman.
Water Replenishment District, Division 5: Linda Unruh Fuentes.
West Basin Water District, Division 3:
Desi Alvarez.
West Basin Water District, Division 5:
Don Dear.
Gardena City Council special election:
Mina Semenza.
Beach Cities Health Care District Vanessa Poster, Marie Corr and Brian Parker.
The Daily Breeze
Article Launched: 11/01/2008 10:00:00 PM PDT
Here are the Daily Breeze's ballot recommendations:
President: Barack Obama.
State measures
Proposition 1A (High-speed rail): No. This is no time to borrow $10 billion on a costly and questionable project.
Proposition 2 (Treatment of farm animals): No, because the main effect would be to shift poultry sales to other states.
Proposition 3 (Children's hospitals): Yes. This is a terrible time to take on more state debt, but it's for a worthy cause.
Proposition 4 (Abortion notification): Yes, for the same reason a nurse has to notify parents before giving a teenage girl an aspirin.
Proposition 5 (Treatment for drug offenders): No, because it is much too lenient in dealing with serious felons.
Proposition 6 (Spending on crime programs): No, because it is too inflexible and much too costly.
Proposition 7 (Clean energy): No, because, as the Sierra Club and others say, it is so vague as to be counterproductive.
Proposition 8 (Bans same-sex marriage): No, because the state is better off not redefining the moral issues related to marriage.
Proposition 9 (Crime victims): No, because it is too costly and redundant.
Proposition 10 (Alternative fuels): No, because it is so self-dealing for some supporters that it would do more harm than good.
Proposition 11 (Redistricting): Yes, it may make just a small difference in breaking politicians' hold on their own re-elections,
but at least it is an improvement.
Proposition 12 (Veterans' mortgages) Yes, this decades-old program has never cost taxpayers a cent.
Local measures
Proposition A (City of Los Angeles parcel tax to fund gang-prevention programs): No, the city must prove the effectiveness of programs administered by the Mayor's Office before asking property owners for more money.
Proposition B (City of Los Angeles update of rules on low-rent housing): Yes, this would remove impediments to obtaining funding from the state and federal government.
Measure J ($3.5 billion bond measure for Los Angeles Community College District): Yes, the district's campuses need more upgrades to expand enrollment and enhance health and safety.
Measure M (El Segundo's $14 million bond measure to improve and repair the high school auditorium and athletic fields): Yes, this measure would not increase current school bond taxation rates, and the repairs are justified.
Measure Q ($7 billion to upgrade aging Los Angeles Unified School District campuses throughout the region): Yes, the maximum school bond tax rate won't rise, and there will be an increased emphasis on smaller learning centers.
Measure R (Half-cent sales tax increase to expand mass transit system countywide and improve highways and roads): Yes, the plan includes help for South Bay commuters by extending the Green Line further south and also to Los Angeles International Airport.
Measure U (Reduces utility users' tax in unincorporated areas from 5 percent to 4.5percent and applies it to new communications technologies): Yes, updated language will ensure that users of all technologies will be treated fairly.
Measure V (Maintains the rate of Hawthorne's communication users' tax at 5percent but updates language to reflect technological advances): Yes, the update will help protect the tax from legal challenges.
Measure Y ($265 million bond measure to upgrade academic facilities in the Torrance Unified School District and improve school safety): Yes, this is probably the school district's final attempt to avoid campus closures.
Measure Z ($90 million Torrance bond measure to improve physical education and athletic facilities, as well as rebuild science labs and music and art classrooms): Yes, the bond would fund facilities that would benefit the entire community.
Measure BB ($67 million school bond measure to replace deteriorating academic facilities at
Manhattan Beach's Mira Costa High School): Yes, the bond would fund needed improvements without increasing current tax rates.
Measure CV ($98 million school bond measure to upgrade Centinela Valley high school campuses): No, a divided school board put this measure on the ballot. It's premature considering the district's financial problems and the Wiseburn School District's secession plans.
Measure DD (Initiative to subject certain land-use changes in Redondo Beach to popular votes): No, it threatens revitalization efforts and runs contrary to representative democracy.
Measure EE (Redondo City Council's alternative to Measure DD): Yes, it offers voters a say over rezoning involving open space, increased building heights in the coastal zone and specified residential changes.
Judicial
Office 72: Hilleri Grossman Merritt, a highly rated criminal trial prosecutor.
Office 82: Thomas Rubinson, a deputy district attorney serving on the Hardcore Gang Division, rated well-qualified by the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Office 84: Pat Connolly, a Long Beach gang prosecutor.
Office 94: Michael O'Gara, a criminal prosecutor rated well-qualified by the bar.
Office 154: Michael Jessic, a gang prosecutor noted also for his community work against gang violence, is rated well-qualified by the bar.
South Bay candidates
Second District Supervisor: Bernard Parks.
Water Replenishment District, Division 2: Robert Katherman.
Water Replenishment District, Division 5: Linda Unruh Fuentes.
West Basin Water District, Division 3:
Desi Alvarez.
West Basin Water District, Division 5:
Don Dear.
Gardena City Council special election:
Mina Semenza.
Beach Cities Health Care District Vanessa Poster, Marie Corr and Brian Parker.
11/01/2008
Semenza for council
From The Daily Breeze, October 28, 2008
Gardena voters on Tuesday will choose from four well-matched candidates to fill the seat of Oscar Medrano, the former city councilman who was found guilty of child molestation earlier this year.
All four have qualifications and backgrounds that make for a difficult choice. Tasha Cerda, president of the Hollypark Homeowners Association, has worked as a community activist on a number of issues affecting the city, including a campaign against a jet-fuel pipeline.
Shannon Lawrence is a city planning commissioner and a policy analyst in the Los Angeles Mayor's Office. And Dan Medina, spokesman for Normandie Casino, has a long list of community experience with service groups.
Our nod, however, goes to Mina Semenza. She stresses her independence and her ability to work constructively with other council members. A 44-year resident of the city, Semenza has worked for a Fortune 500 company and owned her own business. She is currently president of the YWCA of Gardena Valley and is a former Planning Commission member.
In her campaign, she emphasizes the need for revitalization, especially along blighted parts of Rosecrans Avenue, and making pro-active efforts to bring popular stores and restaurants to the city. Her record in business and nonprofit groups should provide a balanced view on how the city should move forward.
The city's current leadership has finalized a workable repayment plan for a $26million municipal debt stemming from the failures of a city-owned insurance company and the first-time homebuyers program. The city is now moving ahead on infrastructure improvements.
We think Mina Semenza, who is running a traditional grass-roots campaign, would keep the city on track.
She has our endorsement.
Gardena voters on Tuesday will choose from four well-matched candidates to fill the seat of Oscar Medrano, the former city councilman who was found guilty of child molestation earlier this year.
All four have qualifications and backgrounds that make for a difficult choice. Tasha Cerda, president of the Hollypark Homeowners Association, has worked as a community activist on a number of issues affecting the city, including a campaign against a jet-fuel pipeline.
Shannon Lawrence is a city planning commissioner and a policy analyst in the Los Angeles Mayor's Office. And Dan Medina, spokesman for Normandie Casino, has a long list of community experience with service groups.
Our nod, however, goes to Mina Semenza. She stresses her independence and her ability to work constructively with other council members. A 44-year resident of the city, Semenza has worked for a Fortune 500 company and owned her own business. She is currently president of the YWCA of Gardena Valley and is a former Planning Commission member.
In her campaign, she emphasizes the need for revitalization, especially along blighted parts of Rosecrans Avenue, and making pro-active efforts to bring popular stores and restaurants to the city. Her record in business and nonprofit groups should provide a balanced view on how the city should move forward.
The city's current leadership has finalized a workable repayment plan for a $26million municipal debt stemming from the failures of a city-owned insurance company and the first-time homebuyers program. The city is now moving ahead on infrastructure improvements.
We think Mina Semenza, who is running a traditional grass-roots campaign, would keep the city on track.
She has our endorsement.
8/09/2008
Gardena council candidates won't face incumbent
By Sandy Mazza Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/08/2008 11:53:05 PM PDT
Candidates for a Gardena City Council seat in the November special election are breathing easier, as a sitting councilman who pulled nomination papers did not file them by the Friday deadline.
Four people filed papers to be on the ballot for the seat vacated by former Councilman Oscar Medrano, who relinquished his post in March, two days before he was arrested and subsequently charged with 12 counts of child molestation. He pleaded guilty to two of the charges on June 27 and was sentenced to eight years in state prison.
The winner of the special election will serve out the remainder of Medrano's term, which expires in 2011.
Councilman Ron Ikejiri pulled papers last month, saying that he believed Councilman Steve Bradford was going to run in the race. Both are up for election in March 2009 and, if they had won a seat in November, could have run for mayor next year without risking their council posts.
Neither councilman filed papers, however.
Three of the candidates have run for council seats before, and there is one newcomer - Shannon Lawrence - who is backed by Bradford and Councilwoman Rachel Johnson.
Tasha Cerda, Dan Medina and Mina Semenza have been on the ballot in previous years. Medina came in third behind Medrano for two seats last year.
Medina, 61, is a spokesman for the Normandie Casino and a longtime member of several service clubs, including the Elks, Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary, and a youth sports coach.
"I'm confident in my credentials and my pro-civic activity I've been doing since 1980," Medina said. "I've been doing volunteer work since before some of the campaigners were born."
Cerda, a 36-year-old insurance agent, is president of the Holly Park Homeowners Association and a resident advocate. She is a former chairwoman of the volunteer Rent Mediation Board, and has led community protests against the expansion of Purche Avenue Elementary School, the opening of a Numero Uno Market that wasn't complying with city codes and a jet-fuel pipeline through the city.
"I have stood firm against irresponsible development, kept the residents alert to the presence of sexual predators, and continually stood firm against negligent property owners," Cerda said in a written statement. "I enjoy being an advocate."
Lawrence, 30, is a policy analyst in the Los Angeles Mayor's Office with a background as a union organizer. He is also a member of the Planning and Environmental Quality Commission.
"I've been knocking on doors for the last few weeks, and one of the responses I've been getting is that they've been waiting for me to run," Lawrence said. "I think people will vote on who they think is the most qualified for the seat and, from what I'm hearing, that person is me."
Semenza, 64, is a Realtor, a former planning and environmental quality commissioner, and is president of the YWCA of Gardena Valley.
"I work every day promoting home ownership in our city," Semenza said. "I feel like I want to make a difference."
Article Launched: 08/08/2008 11:53:05 PM PDT
Candidates for a Gardena City Council seat in the November special election are breathing easier, as a sitting councilman who pulled nomination papers did not file them by the Friday deadline.
Four people filed papers to be on the ballot for the seat vacated by former Councilman Oscar Medrano, who relinquished his post in March, two days before he was arrested and subsequently charged with 12 counts of child molestation. He pleaded guilty to two of the charges on June 27 and was sentenced to eight years in state prison.
The winner of the special election will serve out the remainder of Medrano's term, which expires in 2011.
Councilman Ron Ikejiri pulled papers last month, saying that he believed Councilman Steve Bradford was going to run in the race. Both are up for election in March 2009 and, if they had won a seat in November, could have run for mayor next year without risking their council posts.
Neither councilman filed papers, however.
Three of the candidates have run for council seats before, and there is one newcomer - Shannon Lawrence - who is backed by Bradford and Councilwoman Rachel Johnson.
Tasha Cerda, Dan Medina and Mina Semenza have been on the ballot in previous years. Medina came in third behind Medrano for two seats last year.
Medina, 61, is a spokesman for the Normandie Casino and a longtime member of several service clubs, including the Elks, Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary, and a youth sports coach.
"I'm confident in my credentials and my pro-civic activity I've been doing since 1980," Medina said. "I've been doing volunteer work since before some of the campaigners were born."
Cerda, a 36-year-old insurance agent, is president of the Holly Park Homeowners Association and a resident advocate. She is a former chairwoman of the volunteer Rent Mediation Board, and has led community protests against the expansion of Purche Avenue Elementary School, the opening of a Numero Uno Market that wasn't complying with city codes and a jet-fuel pipeline through the city.
"I have stood firm against irresponsible development, kept the residents alert to the presence of sexual predators, and continually stood firm against negligent property owners," Cerda said in a written statement. "I enjoy being an advocate."
Lawrence, 30, is a policy analyst in the Los Angeles Mayor's Office with a background as a union organizer. He is also a member of the Planning and Environmental Quality Commission.
"I've been knocking on doors for the last few weeks, and one of the responses I've been getting is that they've been waiting for me to run," Lawrence said. "I think people will vote on who they think is the most qualified for the seat and, from what I'm hearing, that person is me."
Semenza, 64, is a Realtor, a former planning and environmental quality commissioner, and is president of the YWCA of Gardena Valley.
"I work every day promoting home ownership in our city," Semenza said. "I feel like I want to make a difference."
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