By Kevin Herrera

Daily Press Staff Writer

CITY HALL — It was a night of new beginnings here on Tuesday as the City Council appointed a new mayor and mayor pro tempore after certifying the results of the Nov. 7 municipal election.

In front of a capacity crowd, comprised largely of elected officials and their friends and family, the council selected fellow Councilman Richard Bloom to serve for one year as mayor. Councilman Herb Katz was appointed mayor pro tem. The two will trade positions next November.

Bloom, who was elected to the council in 1999, served as mayor from 2002 to 2004. Katz, who served as mayor pro tem from 1986 to 1988, has never been mayor. Both are residents of Sunset Park.

“It’s an honor to be back in this chair,” said Bloom, after taking the mayor’s seat in the middle of the dais. “It’s a great town I know we all love and we will be working together in the best interest of everyone.”

Ditto for Katz.

“I’m very honored with this and looking forward to working with Mayor Bloom,” said Katz. “I think it’s going to be a good cohesive council.”

By majority vote, the council chooses its mayor, who is then charged with presiding over council meetings and is recognized as the head of city government for ceremonial purposes.

Bloom and Katz have at times been at odds while serving on the council. Both are backed by two very different constituencies — Bloom is a member of Santa Monicans for Renters Rights (SMRR), the city’s leading political party, while Katz has traditionally been backed by local business interests, including the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.

Former Mayor Bob Holbrook, who was re-elected in November along with councilmembers Kevin McKeown and Pam O’Connor, nominated the Bloom-Katz ticket because he felt a compromise was appropriate.

“Herb has served for 14 years and has never had a chance to be mayor, so I felt I really wanted to support him,” said Holbrook, who served as mayor following O’Connor’s one year stint in 2005. “I tossed out Richard’s name because I felt he was a good mayor, a middle-of-the-road guy who is part of the SMRR team and has been faithful to their agenda.

“I just thought it was a good compromise to have someone from SMRR and another perspective,” Holbrook said. “I thought it would be good for the city. I think they are practically neighbors and will do a fine job working with each other over the next two years.”

Councilman Ken Genser had nominated McKeown to serve as mayor for two years and Katz to serve as mayor pro tem. O’Connor nominated Bloom for a two-year term as mayor and McKeown for mayor pro tem — the lone proposed SMRR ticket.

Genser’s nomination received two votes, as did the O’Connor nomination, while Holbrook, Councilman Bobby Shriver and Katz voted in favor of the Bloom-Katz ticket.

O’Connor changed her vote in favor of a Bloom-Katz combination, casting the deciding vote in favor of Holbrook’s nomination. O’Connor, a SMRR member, also cast the swing vote last time around, making Holbrook mayor, leading to calls within her own party to remove her from office.

There are those who feel McKeown should have been selected, given the fact that he has never served as mayor during his first two terms and received the most votes in last month’s election.

Denny Zane, a co-founder of SMRR and former mayor, said he lobbied behind the scenes for McKeown and Katz to be mayor and mayor pro tem, respectively, however, he said he is supportive of Bloom and believes he will make a great mayor.

Zane said those selected mayor have to take on more responsibilities than their council colleagues, but with the position comes respect and a sense of accomplishment that is attractive to most elected officials.

“It’s a way of being recognized by the council and the community,” Zane said.

Former Mayor Michael Feinstein, who attended the meeting and was seen smiling following the vote, said there are no guidelines for selecting mayor. It typically comes down to personalities and relationships.

“Being mayor is primarily a ceremonial function and they are in charge of chairing the meetings and playing that important role in ensuring public business gets done,” said Feinstein. “So when you look at it, the council majority is going to go with whom they feel comfortable with facilitating them. If the council members are not going to feel comfortable on the dais with the manner in which they are facilitated week in and week out, there are few things that could be worse.”

McKeown seemed disappointed at being passed over for a second time, however, he said shortly after the vote that he was not going to let the outcome bring him down.

“Many people have told me they voted for me because they think I make a good councilman,” McKeown said. “I will continue to do my best to be a very good council member.”

THE SEATS OF POWER

After the drama subsided, the council members drew small pieces of paper out of a cup and learned where they would be seated for the next two years.

Friends Shriver and Holbrook landed seats next to one another, possibly setting the stage for Bloom to play the enforcer, ready to snap if any goofing off should occur.

Genser and O’Connor will be seated on either side of Bloom. McKeown and O’Connor, known to have a rocky relationship, will be seated next to one another.

Could Bloom have his hands full keeping the peace? Stay tuned.

JUST ONE WORD…PLASTICS

While installing new officers drew a large crowd, a ban on Styrofoam and other non-recyclable plastics used to store food for take-out attracted several residents, scientists and representatives from the restaurant and plastics industry.

After hearing appeals from both supporters and opponents of the ban, the council voted unanimously to support it, citing the need to protect the environment from the non-biodegradable material that finds its way into the bellies of marine animals who become sick and die because of the toxic substance.

Representatives with the Polystyrene Packing Council (PSPC) have threatened to sue City Hall for failing to conduct environmental impact studies. Representatives said banning plastics will do nothing to curb litter and could contribute to more trees being chopped down for paper products.

The threat of a lawsuit prompted the City Attorney’s Office to pull the ban from the council’s agenda last month, however, city staff felt confident they had complied with state law when drafting the ban.

This law would include such things as plates, bowls, cups, trays and hinged or lidded containers that are marked with number 6 in the recycle logo. Single-use items, such as straws and utensils as well as packaging for non-prepared foods are not included.

The ban goes into effect one year from adoption and applies to establishments that provide prepared foods, such as grocery stores, restaurants, delicatessens, catering trucks and other prepared food providers. The ban is in effect immediately for city-managed, -sponsored or -permitted events.

To help businesses comply, the ordinance being proposed allows for a one-year renewable, economic-hardship exemption, which would include evidence of no reasonably feasible alternatives available.

The decision to provide exemption will be made by the director of environmental and public works management or his or her designee and will be based on an exemption application that includes documentation showing factual support for the claimed exemption.

For the first violation, a written notice will be issued. The penalty for subsequent violations will be a fine in increasing amounts from $100 to $500, depending on the number of times the food provider has previously violated the law. Enforcement will be primarily conducted on a complaint basis and will be carried out by existing inspectors with public works.

TAKING CARE OF THE KIDS, THE ARTS

Council adopted a law establishing a Child Care Linkage fee which provides funds to increase the number of childcare spaces in Santa Monica in direct relation to the need created by new development. Council also adopted a Developer Cultural Arts fee which requires new commercial and multi-unit residential developments to incorporate art and cultural resources into new projects equal in value to 2 percent of the estimated development cost or developers can make an in-lieu payment equal to 1 percent of the estimated development costs to support art and cultural resources citywide.

MORE ROOMS FOR GUESTS

Council also adopted a law that increases the number of guest rooms that can be added to an existing hotel in residential zones R2 and R3. This law was requested by the Oceana Hotel in order to provide seven additional guest rooms through the division of existing rooms.

The meeting adjourned at 10:27 p.m. The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is Jan. 9.

kevinh@smdp.com