PACs have not yet made candidate endorsements
By SHRADDHA R. JAISWAL Special to the Daily Press
CITY HALL — There’s a new committee in town that could change the face of City Council elections, and they’re saddling up in time for this November’s race.
More than 1,000 Santa Monica city employees have banded together to form their own political action committee, which will endorse an unknown number of City Council candidates in the months to come.
Although decisions have not yet been made on who the PAC will support in the race for City Council, representatives said they are willing to endorse any candidate — incumbent or new — who will work for city employee issues.
The founder of the PAC is the Coalition of Santa Monica City Employees, an organization comprised of more than 1,400 city workers who aren’t sworn into their positions.
Members include city employees ranging from park maintenance workers to clerical staff, bus drivers, analysts and supervisors, to name a few. The only groups not a part of the coalition are Santa Monica’s policemen and fire fighters who are represented by their own organizations.
The PAC is a sub-committee of the coalition and membership is voluntary. Members’ political activities are separate from their jobs, a coalition representative said.
The coalition of nine city employee bargaining units gave birth to their own PAC this past fall in hopes of giving a voice to city employees in the political realm of Santa Monica.
“The coalition got started three years ago, and it’s been a natural progression that we’ve gotten more and more involved in political issues,” said Lauralee Asch, president of the coalition.
The non-sworn employees were initially brought together because of their common concerns with the city changing health care providers.
The coalition’s PAC was formed in response to concerns about possible layoffs due to budget cuts in city services, as well as general budget issues and ensuring that the City Council keep its discretionary control over the budget.
The city employees’ PAC is not the only new group looking to support council candidates. Also new to the political endorsement arena this year is the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber, which has never endorsed City Council candidates, established a political action committee last year to find office seekers who will advocate for business owners’ and residents’ interests.
Both PACs will join the established Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, which has been City Hall’s ruling party for decades and who will choose their candidates on Aug. 1. The police and fire unions both have political action committees that endorse their own candidates.
The chamber and the city employees’ PACs have not set a date for announcing their support of candidates.
As of Monday, 31 Santa Monicans have pulled papers indicating their interest in running for one of the four open seats on the City Council.
Those wishing to appear on the ballot have until Aug. 9 to turn in their election materials. Included in candidate packages must be a campaign statement, petition with 100 resident signatures and financial disclosure materials, according to City Hall officials.
Endorsements are seen as crucial because the groups will likely pay tens of thousands of dollars to send direct mail pieces to local voters.
Along with financial backing, members of the coalition also will volunteer to help their endorsed candidates’ campaign by “doing some of the leg work, the phone calls, and the canvassing of the neighborhoods,” said Asch. “The things that they do in all of the campaigns.”
PACs have generally had a strong impact on election outcomes and are not uncommon in cities like Santa Monica and Los Angeles. However, because of the multitude of groups involved in politics in Santa Monica, political observers doubt whether or not the city employees’ PAC will make a significant difference in local campaigns.
“Santa Monica is a different type of election because Santa Monica citizens pay a lot of attention to what’s going on,” said Bob Stern, president of the West Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies, a campaign finance research organization. “(The PAC) would have less of an impact in Santa Monica than in other cities because there are other groups involved.”
However, coalition representatives believe their PAC will be very influential in the November race.
“Elections in Santa Monica are often won by very small margins,” Asch said. “We have a lot of employees and family and friends who live in the city, and we believe we’ll be able to make a difference in the outcome.”
Candidates will be able to court the coalition by first writing a response to questions solicited by the PAC and then eventually meet with the members and elaborate on their answers. After a review of the candidate’s position on city-employee related issues, the PAC’s endorsement committee will gather input from the members and decide who will get their stamp of approval.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 20, 2004. Read the original PDF.