It’s appropriate that at a time when many are celebrating holidays of freedom and rebirth, Santa Monica is celebrating the anniversary of the “Realignment Plan.” Well, only the six-month anniversary, but an anniversary all the same. Boisterous applause erupted during City Manager Oliver Chi’s presentation to the Council; however, it was noticeable that the clapping was mostly coming from the council members rather than the residents in attendance.
When it comes to revitalizing Santa Monica, we should all be united in our enthusiasm. The empty storefronts from Main Street to the Promenade are a painful reminder of the challenges facing our city, so the City Manager and the Council deserve credit for making hard choices. We may disagree about some of those choices (like the smoke-and-mirrors use of a parcel tax), but we can appreciate that there’s been a willingness to confront the status quo in innovative ways.
The first instinct of many people facing a budget crisis would be belt-tightening, but the Council, led by Chi’s vision, is doing the opposite. They are spending their way toward prosperity, investing in more police and more street cleaning among many infrastructure and economic improvement efforts. It’s a risky move, and downright Keynesian, which is surprising given the antipathy often expressed by the new progressive left toward the philosophies of the older left.
But this is textbook Depression-era economic theory with increased government funding designed to spur market demand. Or in more colloquial terms, spending money to make money. The council members signed on eagerly and unanimously, despite elements of the plan contradicting some of their previous votes (most notably on the issue of increased policing). And the results, at this early stage, are promising.
There’s been a 12% decrease in Part 1 (serious) crime, a 102% increase in arrests, and a $5 million projected budget surplus by 2027, when a deficit of far larger amplitude was anticipated.
So why the subdued reaction from the public? Perhaps it’s the “Mission Accomplished” aspect of the Council patting itself on the back after only six months, and it’s really more like three months since the plan’s actual implementation. So while the data is reason for optimism, it’s also very limited—and somewhat cherry-picked.
That 12% decrease in Part 1 crime is indeed praiseworthy, but Part 1 crime was already decreasing in 2024. It’s Part 2 crime, which includes assaults by homeless individuals and stolen Amazon packages, that’s been rapidly increasing over the previous few years, and it’s Part 2 crime that residents often complain about. Neither the City Manager nor the Police Chief mentioned Part 2 crime in their update.
But there are additional signs of progress, including more than 7,000 square feet of sidewalk repairs and 600 pruned trees. There was a time when such statistics would have been considered business as usual, and it shows how far the city has fallen that basic maintenance tasks have become a luxury item. So kudos to the Council and the City Manager for prioritizing them, despite the city’s financial distress, or, to be more accurate, because of it.
They are asking us to have faith in a better future—and in their ability to get us there. It’s the latter part that gets tricky, because at the same meeting that the Council hailed the realignment plan, they also revisited the city’s grant program for neighborhood groups. The previous version was condemned as unconstitutional, so it was encouraging to see the Council potentially address their errors.
But instead, they doubled down on some of them. Six of the seven council members voted to forbid neighborhood groups from communicating with residents if the communication includes any invitation to join the groups. In short, those council members said the quiet part out loud: they want to stymie groups they consider antagonists, and they are using the power of the state to do it.
The vindictiveness is as troubling as the unlawful disregard for the Constitution. And if the Council is this oblivious about their actions on something so small, how do we trust their judgment and competence on more substantial issues?
They need to start re-earning our trust immediately, but we also need to start acknowledging their accomplishments as frequently as their failings. It seems a perfect time for all of us to chart a new path, since this is the season of new beginnings
Devan Sipher can be reached at Devan@smdp.com.