Karwin cites public service experience in council bid

Robert Karwin (left) shakes hands with City Council member Greg August at a city event. Photo courtesy of Robert Karwin

Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of interviews with candidates for mayor and City Council in the City of Menifee.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Having lived and worked in Menifee since 2002 and serving on the Planning Commission the last five years, Robert Karwin believes he has the experience to continue contributing to the responsible growth of the city.

Karwin is running for the Menifee City Council District 1 seat, which represents the Sun City community. Greg August is leaving that position after eight years because of term limits. Karwin is a strong proponent of the new Menifee Police Department and the Measure DD 1 percent sales tax that helps fund it. In addition, he said he is committed to help revitalize the Cherry Hills Plaza, the primary shopping center in the community he represents.

“I’m so excited that we have our own police force,” said Karwin, a local attorney who lives in Menifee with his wife and two children. “They have taken a tremendous approach with the community. I’m all in to make sure they have the funding needed to outfit and train their officers and keep Menifee safe.”

Karwin believes that the strength and outreach of that police department will be a benefit to the Cherry Hills Plaza, which has experienced increasing problems with crime and homelessness. Through his experience on the Planning Commission, including three years as its chair, Karwin understands what is involved in the challenges of a shopping center that is dated and has multiple owners.

“The unique thing about that plaza is that all the approvals were done by the County,” Karwin said about a shopping center that was built decades before Menifee was incorporated. “That’s why you have so many buildings facing different directions and such a wonky layout. You have 20 different owners and each has their own ideas.

“They don’t have their own association. It’s a long-term project, but I think I can develop a relationship with the owners that will help bring them together.”

Such an improvement would be a great benefit to the senior community of Sun City. Another need Karwin hopes to address is an improved transportation system that will help seniors move more easily from their community south to the main business district along Newport Road.

“I am familiar with what I think is one of the best templates [for transportation], and that’s Glendale,” he said. “They have what they call the Beeline. It’s their own system and it’s cheap. It’s about $5 million to run, but their population is double ours. It’s a great model for what could be a fill-in for the system that already exists. We could essentially have a trolley or shuttle to connect people with schools, shopping and medical offices.

“It would be a system we could monitor. I would love to have such a line from Sun City Plaza to Newport Road.”

To address the homeless issue in Sun City, Karwin said the increasing number of officers in the new police department will create the law enforcement presence needed. He also supports the re-opening of the police substation, originally created for the Sheriff’s Department but now being re-fitted for the Menifee PD in the Cherry Hills Plaza.

“That presence will help keep crime in check,” Karwin said. “Measure DD is critical to keep things like that open. If we reduce our spending for public safety, that’s one of the first things that will go.

“The difference between Measure DD and other sorts of taxes is that this goes from the people to the city and right back to the benefit of the people. All the other taxes go to Sacramento, swirl around there and come back if the governor decides.”

Karwin said he is relying heavily on social media to get the word out about his campaign, including the Bob Karwin for City Council Facebook page and website with the same title.

“I know it’s traditional to walk the neighborhoods and shake hands,” he said. “Now with COVID, a lot of people don’t want random people knocking on their door. It makes them uncomfortable. But I’m always accessible online and my office is right there on Bradley Road. People are always welcome to stop by and ask questions.”