District 6: Councilmember Steve Madison

Steve Madison was elected in March 1999 to represent District 6, which includes the beautiful neighborhoods above the Rose Bowl and in Southwest Pasadena, much of Old Pasadena, the Art Center College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, the Convention Center & Civic Auditorium, most of the Arroyo Seco, the historic Colorado Street Bridge, and the Tournament of Roses House (Wrigley Mansion). He was re-elected in 2003, 2007 and again in 2011. While a Councilmember, Steve has served as Vice Mayor, as a member of the Council's Economic Development & Technology and Public Safety Committees of the Council, on the Pasadena Center Operating Company Board, on the Multimodal Operations and Development Entity Board and on the Youth Development and Violence Prevention Task Force, and he is an appointed member of the Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena Airport Authority Commission, which oversee s the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. During his 12 years on the Council, Steve has championed neighborhood protection and the preservation of Pasadena's high quality of life; a vibrant commercial environment in the Central District; high quality municipal services, especially in the area of public safety; Pasadena's "Green City" environmental initiatives; and assisting the Pasadena Unified School District in ensuring every child in our community reaches his or her full potential.

A practicing trial lawyer for over 30 years, Steve is a partner with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in Los Angeles. He joined the firm in 1996 after spending nine years as an Assistant United States Attorney, where he prosecuted federal criminal cases including major narcotics, political corruption and defense contracting fraud cases. He assisted in the prosecution of United States v. Koon (the federal criminal civil rights case arising out of the beating of Rodney King), and was lead prosecutor in United States v. Congressman Walter R. Tucker, III; he was recognized for his work in both cases by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Steve taught for 10 years as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Southern California Law School, and he served as a Judge Pro Tem of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Raised in Northern California, Steve attended public schools and graduated from the University of Santa Clara with a B.A. in English. He then attended Boston College and USC Law Schools, and in addition to his Juris Doctor degree he has a Master of Public Administration (with honors) from USC. Steve supports numerous non-profit organizations in Pasadena and has served on the boards of First Tee of Pasadena and the Pasadena Police Activities League (he is a graduate of the Pasadena Citizens Police Academy). He lives in West Pasadena with his wife Annalylia Sanchez-Madison, and his two sons, Steven, Jr. (born in 1996) and Julian (born in 1997).

 

Statement from Councilmember Madison on Linda Vista Park

Over the past few weeks, I’ve received many emails urging me to support Linda Vista Park. I want to make it clear that I worked very hard, along with others, to open Linda Vista Park and I will continue to strongly support it.

Many do not realize that Linda Vista Park is located on Pasadena Unified School District, not City, property; the City leases the grounds for the Park. To provide some history, several years ago the school property became available when PUSD closed Linda Vista School. At that time, a group of Linda Vista residents came together and proposed many uses for the property, including a community center, a farmer’s market, a coffee shop and more. My office held a number of meetings to gather community input.

Given the somewhat dilapidated condition of the buildings, it became clear that the most viable use of the property was to convert a large section of the open space into a community park. With the support of the City Manager, the driveway was poured, new fencing went in, trash bins were added, the trees were timed a play area was improved with the addition of equipment for young children and the grounds were placed on a maintenance list for the park crew.

Over three years ago we had the grand opening and I have been proud to co-sponsor an annual community picnic in the park with the Linda Vista Annandale Association each year thereafter. Just last summer, we added the latest amenity, a new drinking fountain, even though PUSD’s interest in selling or leasing the property was already evident.

I want to thank the Linda Vista community and particularly, Betsy Nathane, who has worked with my office to try to ensure that the space can be kept open as a neighborhood park. We hope to welcome the community there for many years, but we are mindful that it is PUSD property.

As the PUSD contemplates its potential options, I have met with the PUSD Superintendent and School Board members and told them that the Park should remain a park, no matter what. Next week, the Council has a joint meeting with the PUSD Board (Tuesday, February 21, at City Hall at 6:30 p.m.) and the District staff will report on the status of the site from the District’s perspective.

I understand the School Board is scheduled to discuss the site at its regular meeting on February 28 as well and I am confident that the concerns and comments of myself and other Linda Vista residents will be duly considered in the Board’s deliberations.

Fire Station 39

Download the Station 39 Fact Sheet and FAQs 

Closure of Station 39

Yesterday Pasadena Fire Chief Dennis Downs announced that effective today Fire Station 39 on Avenue 64 in West Pasadena is being vacated because engineering studies have determined the building does not presently meet minimum seismic safety standards. The Chief predicted that the Station will be closed for 24-30 months. I am strongly committed to reopening Station 39, either at the same site or a different site, as soon as possible, to provide essential public safety services to the Southwest portion of Pasadena.

We received a presentation about this decision at our City Council meeting Monday night, in connection with a discussion of the capital budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Staff reported that the Fire Chief and City Manager made the determination to vacate the existing facility effective today. I learned of this potential development several weeks ago and have been working with staff to determine first whether this was avoidable. When it became clear after a second and even a third expert engineering opinion concurred, my focus has been on whether a temporary facility can be established, and to determine when and how the existing facility can be renovated or re-constructed on the same site or a new site. I was grateful that Monday night my colleagues expressed support for this approach by acknowledging the inclusion in the capital budget of an initial allocation of almost $1 million to pursue the renovation/relocation of Station 39 and Station 32 in East Pasadena, which has also been declared unsafe seismically.

There are a total of eight fire stations in Pasadena, three of which (31, 38 and 39) are in our City Council District (which as you know is one of seven districts). Our neighborhood fire stations are extremely important to our community’s safety and, again, I am committed to reopening Station 39. It is extremely unfortunate that the existing facility has to be vacated, but protecting the men and women of our Fire Department who work and live there while on duty, cannot be compromised. In the meantime the neighborhoods served by Station 39 will be served by our Stations 31 (South Fair Oaks) and 38 (Linda Vista), as well as City of Los Angeles and South Pasadena stations with whom we have a “mutual aid“ compact. The Chief has assured me that response times will continue to be well within compliance with all national and regional standards. I will keep you posted regarding our efforts as we move forward. We will post information regarding this matter on our District 6 website at cityofpasadena.net.

Steve Madison
Pasadena City Councilmember, District 6

 

 Fire Station Buffer Study Non-Pasadena Locations