Politicians not laughing on the way to forums
With just three weeks remaining before election day, many of the 14 candidates vying for four open seats on the Santa Monica City Council are beginning to burn out on the campaign trail.
The stresses and strains of campaigning are especially trying this year, according to candidates, who point to a seemingly endless barrage of questionnaires and forums on their respective dockets. From all appearances, the stakes are higher this election season, as several new groups push for change in the city.
Still, many of the candidates said redundancy plays a major factor.
“It’s the same questions over and over again, and I’m getting tired of hearing everybody’s life story,” said City Councilman Herb Katz, who will attend a meet-and-greet tonight for candidates backed by the local chamber of commerce. Katz is running for his fourth term on the City Council.
The pre-election sprint kicked off last month with candidate forums hosted by a homeless advocacy group and concerned neighbors of the Santa Monica Airport. It continued with subsequent forums held by the Pico Neighborhood Association, residents of the Shores towers and the Jaycees, among others.
Add the lengthy questionnaires candidates have received from local merchant associations, political groups and the media, and many candidates said they’re being pulled in too many directions. Many of the questionnaires pose dozens of queries which demand detailed, thought-out answers. Most of the groups made endorsements based off of the candidates’ answers.
“I’m quite certain that when I ran for school board that I had no more than three questionnaires to fill in, and this time I know that I’ve filled in no fewer than eight... probably a composite of more than 200 questions,” said Patricia Hoffman, a former school board president. “It’s just exhausting... It’s been almost constant, and sometimes family and work get neglected in order to run.
“I think that as the demand on candidates gets greater, the quality of candidate is likely to drop in future races.”
Hoffman hopes to focus more on campaigning in the weeks ahead.
“I think that it does get busier, but it gets busier in some of the traditional ways — of walking, making phone calls and getting out your mail, and hopefully fewer forums and less writing,” she said. “But it’s only three more weeks and then we will have, hopefully, relief... The process itself is very grueling.”
City Councilman Mike Feinstein offered a suggestion.
“I have informally asked League of Women Voters representatives in the past, gently, that there be a central database where all the groups that do questionnaires and endorsements actually send in their timing in advance, so the candidates can better coordinate,” said Feinstein, who added he’s so busy he often must choose between walking precincts and answering questionnaires.
Hoffman suggested the coordination of questionnaires be taken one step further, by using a single survey for all local organizations and allowing each group to add no more than three of their own questions, which would simplify the process and make it more difficult for candidates to give conflicting answers to different groups. The answers could then be posted online.
The current process is especially complicated for incumbents, who must handle City Hall business while campaigning, and even more so for those incumbents with full-time jobs.
“There are more forms and more questions and the questions are more detailed than ever before,” said Mayor Richard Bloom, whose private law practice and family commitments already compete for his time. Still, Bloom said the extra effort benefits residents, who need the information to make educated decisions.
Key issues in the candidate forums and news articles to date have been homelessness, traffic and parking, City Hall bureaucracy, downtown development and rent control. Those topics are expected to continue to play a central role in upcoming forums and reports.
Upcoming forums before the Nov. 2 election still include one hosted by the League of Women Voters on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, an Oct. 19 debate in council chambers to be broadcast live on CityTV and “Squirm Night” hosted by the Santa Monica Daily Press on Oct. 27 at The Space, a nightclub located at 2020 Wilshire Blvd., beginning at 6 p.m.
Despite the outstanding obligations, Bloom said he embraces the work ahead.
“It’s definitely a juggling act,” he said. “For everyone who’s on the council, we’re pulled in several different directions because it’s a part-time position. For all incumbents, we also have our ongoing business, and for the mayor that’s even more the case.
“But, you know, I volunteered to be here, so I’m not complaining — and I’m signing up for four more years.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 13, 2004. Read the original PDF.