Hometown Hero: Kate
Vernez
The Art of Being Purposeful.
 |
| Kate Vernez Deputy City Manger for Special Projects City of Santa Monica |
SUSAN CLOKE
Columnist
May 9, 2014
Kate Vernez, speaking about her work with the
City of Santa Monica, said, “What I resonate with are collaborations with other
people to have a successful outcome and to be purposeful.”
27 years ago she and her family left their work
and life in New York City to move to California. It was 1987 and she competed
for a job as a policy analyst in the City Manager’s office. She started her
work with City Manager John Jalili and continued to work with City Managers Susan
McCarthy, Lamont Ewell and Rod Gould. Now, Vernez, who is the Deputy City Manager for Special
Projects, is leaving her work and making plans for the next chapter of her
life. “I leave the City with a
sense of gratitude and appreciation for being allowed to hold the reins for a
while,” she told me with great feeling in her voice.
Vernez has worked on many big projects for the
City including the creation of the Child Care Master Plan, the Palisades Park
Master Plan and the Telecommunications Master Plan, as well as homeless issues
and environmental issues. She said
the most important work of her time is the work to bring Expo to the
Westside. “The Westside is the 2nd
major job center in Los Angeles County and was without a rail connection to
downtown Los Angeles. http://www.westsidecities.org/projects/ToolKit.pdf
In speaking about
Expo, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose Third District includes Santa Monica,
praised Kate Vernez as “a steady hand at the local government helm. Expo
is the most significant public works project to hit Santa Monica since the
building of the I-10 freeway in the 1960’s. The plans for, and
construction of, the light rail line could have been a contentious
political/neighborhood issue in the city. Kate was able to anticipate
problems before they became problems, which allowed us to plan
accordingly. Instead of a controversial project, Expo was better received
in Santa Monica than at any other point along the route.”
“Expo was born out of controversy over traffic,”
said Vernez. “We brought a
coalition together, to weather the ups and downs. We achieved something remarkable at the end of the day.”
The City had been planning for Expo for years. There was all the backbone of infrastructure. The City had preserved the Exposition right
of way. It had purchased the properties for the Bergamot and 4th
Street stations.
§ Council
Member Pam O’Connor was appointed to the MTA Board and made the motion to build
the Expo line all the way to Santa Monica.
§ The
City advocated for a third Santa Monica Station at 17th Street. One that would serve Santa Monica
College and the hospitals.
§ The
Council set aside funds for
‘betterments’ and paid for a 2nd entrance and dual platforms
at the Bergamot Station, a 2nd entrance at 17th St., and
the 4th Street Station redesign.
§ The
Expo Construction Authority: Santa
Monica got State legislation to create a single purpose entity to oversee
expenditure of money and construction details for Expo, making sure “the build”
is done correctly.
“The 4th Street Station is the
terminus for Expo,” said Vernez. “The beauty is that you get off the train to a
seamless ribbon connecting Expo riders across to the downtown, to the pier, the
beach, City Hall, and the Promenade.
“It’s a partnership: Expo, the City, the
community working together to get this built. The community has been involved and supportive from day
one. Their willingness to invest
in bringing Expo to Santa Monica was essential to the project. You can even see this investment
expressed in the response to construction in that there are fewer complaints
than would be expected for a project of this size and timeline.
“Because the city had long ago reserved the
right of way and had purchased the land at Bergamot and at 4th Street,
we were standing in line. And we
drew upon our regional partners to write a mobility plan outlining Westside
housing density/ridership.
“Bringing all the power sources together to make
an incredibly strong advocacy alliance. That was exciting,” said Kate, calling
herself a ‘policy wonk.’
“It’s difficult to move on from this work which
I have found so meaningful and satisfying. But it is the right time to think about the big life
changes.
“When my husband and I left our wonderful work
in New York City for California, part of why we wanted to move was to be able
to have both interesting work and more time for our family.
“Now my eldest daughter and her family live in
London. I have one granddaughter
and another coming in June and family comes first for me.
“My work in New York and my work in Santa Monica
always included working in groups with dedicated people to solve problems and
make a difference. Wherever the
next chapter takes me I will use my time to be part of projects that make it
possible for me to continue to make a contribution.”
When asked about her vision for the future of
Santa Monica, Kate Vernez said, “Collaboration
and good communications, keeping everyone informed with rich dialogue,
attending to people’s needs, getting the job done - that’s what impresses
me. We are a small community with
a great diversity but we know how to come together and get the job done in a
human way.”
