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“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it
safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is
it politic?’ And Vanity comes along and asks the question, ‘Is
it popular?’ But Conscience asks the question ‘Is
it right?’ And
there comes a time when
one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular,
but
he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.” — Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Message from Steven Koller
Candidate Statement
My name is Steven Koller, and it would be my privilege to serve
West Hollywood as your city council member. I pledge to employ my extensive
experience in serving others to give voice to the concerns, ideas and wishes
of the creative and hard working individuals who make up our small community — a
unique landscape which possesses great potential to be an unprecedented
urban oasis. In the relatively short history of West Hollywood, many concerned
citizens have effected positive change while maintaining a superior quality
of life for our good residents. It is my goal to learn from those who have
come before me and to work with business, education and environmental leaders
to keep West Hollywood at the cutting edge of civic innovation. We are
a great community within a growing state within a changing nation. It is
our duty to create a better place for us all, and to start today — right
here at home. I thank you for your confidence, and your trust.
Increase community involvement
With 21,990 voters in our city, only an ever-decreasing minority of those
decide who will sit on the city council. Therefore, the same 5,000
to 6,000 voters choose the same council members in every election.
Most surprisingly, the large gay population chooses not to participate
at all. It is my desire to show voters their voices should and can
be heard, and local policies can have a trickle-up effect.
Ensure accountability
Most current city council members have been inside city hall for more
than a decade. They have become entrenched in local disputes that will
not be resolved, because resolution would conflict with their interests.
I believe a new city council could bring much needed change to the
structure of the council itself — most notably campaign
finance reform. I find it appalling that more than $100,000
is being spent by some candidates to stay in power in this election.
I would work to create campaign spending limits, as well as term limits
for council members.
Provide equal rights for all citizens and compassion for all people
I support marriage equality for all people. I believe the current political
environment has ignored the essence of the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution’s separation of church and state — most
notably when defending the segregation of the gay community from the
right to
civil marriage afforded to everyone else. As the son of an immigrant
father, I believe it is in our best interests to improve and ease the
process of immigration and citizenship for individuals possessing the
best intentions for their own lives, their families and the lives of
their adopted communities. I find the building of a border wall
on our own border as reprehensible as reconstructing the Berlin Wall.
Spearhead civic responsibility
With a population of 37,000 people sharing just under two square miles,
West Hollywood has the highest population density of any city west
of the Mississippi river. I do not believe it is in our best interest
to encourage population growth by building large blocks of mixed-use,
midrise housing along the Santa Monica Boulevard corridor. I believe
we need to nurture our many historic sites, invent creative solutions
to our traffic and parking nightmares and use development to improve
our infrastructure — making it the best our modern designers
and contractors can create, while offering current residents of West
Hollywood
real security and serenity as they live their daily lives. As our residents
age, they need to feel safe in their homes, their parks and their centers.
And as our young people grow they need to have the best chance for
education that we can offer them.
I sincerely thank you for your interest and would greatly
appreciate your ideas and your support! Please write to me anytime at
skoller@stevenkoller.com.
Steven Koller for West Hollywood City Council
Please vote on March 6, 2007
About Steven Koller
Steven Koller was born in Long Beach, New York, in 1966, the second
of four children to Maureen Davies Koller of Point Lookout, New York,
and Siegmar Koller, an architect and builder from Vienna, Austria.
The family relocated to Dallas, Texas, in 1975, where Steven’s father
ran a successful homebuilding business and his full-time mother drove
him from swim team practice to soccer practice to play rehearsals
and
to Jesuit College Preparatory School.
He started college at the University
of Texas in Austin and transferred to Webster University in Vienna,
Austria, during his sophomore year. Steven was greatly influenced
in reading world literature and history by his grandmother, Mariella
Koller,
in the theatrical arts and music by his famous aunt, Dagmar Koller,
and, not in the least, civic leadership by his uncle, Dr. Helmut
Zilk, who served as mayor and governor of Vienna from 1984-1994. Steven
graduated
from Webster in 1991 with a B.A. in International Studies. After
completing college he wanted to see the rest of the world and embarked
on a four-year
career as a purser for American Airlines. In 1994 he relocated to
southern California, living in the Beverly Hills area of LA while studying
performing
arts at UCLA.
He joined the Screen Actors Guild in 1999 and began
working professionally in television and film. In 2001 he was offered
the theatrical
role of a lifetime, playing the very political Louis Ironson in Tony
Kushner’s Pulitzer prize-winning epic, “Angels in America”,
at the International Theatre in Vienna. He eerily made his debut
in that production on September 11, 2001, staying with the show for
a
six-month run. Back in LA, he was offered a recurring role on a new
CBS primetime series entitled “The Agency”. Steven played
the junior assistant to CIA director Tom Gage (played by Beau Bridges)
for two seasons. He followed that show with guest roles on “Will & Grace”,
“Gilmore Girls”, and “Crossing Jordan”. Last
year he shot eight episodes of the ABC sitcom “Crumbs” with
Jane Curtin and Fred Savage. He and his partner of seven years, Tripp
Mahan,
moved
to West Hollywood in July 2005, with their Coton de Tulear dog, Bisbee.
More Information on Steven Koller
View Steven Koller’s professional resume in Adobe Reader PDF
format here.
Need the free Adobe Reader? Get it here.
Steven’s
acting accomplishments can be found here.
Download a high-resolution photo (784KB, for print use) of Steven Koller
here.
Please Vote on Election Day!
A link to election information on the city of West Hollywood’s
website can be found here.
You also may register to vote online on the Secretary of State’s
website here.
“Think Globally, Act Locally.” — David
Brower
Please
vote on election day!
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