Councilman Katz is next up for mayor job
(subhed) Councilman Katz is next up for mayor
By Kevin Herrera
Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL — After 15 years on the City Council, Herb Katz will finally get the opportunity to run the show as mayor.
Katz, who was first elected to the council in 1984, will assume the position as Santa Monica’s top elected official tonight during the regularly scheduled council meeting. He will be replacing Mayor Richard Bloom, who served a one-year term and who will now become Mayor Pro Tem, a position Katz currently holds.
Along with the $14,532 a year in pay for his service, Katz will also be responsible for making sure the council meetings run smoothly and finish at a reasonable hour, all the while ensuring that both the public and his council colleagues have ample opportunities to speak on the record — not an easy task in a community that is as engaged as Santa Monica. He will be at the helm of a local government that must manage its own bus company, airport, police and fire departments, a municipal pier, and pressing issues such as homelessness and the lack of affordable housing.
3B4,“I know that it is a lot more work, but it is also quite an honor and I’m very grateful to my fellow councilmembers who elected me to this,” Katz said during a phone interview Monday from his home in Sunset Park. “I think I’m up to doing the work. I’m looking forward to it.
“We have a great staff that really backs the mayor up and helps and that really makes it worthwhile.”
Not so secret service
Katz is a professional architect with his own firm, RTK Architects, Inc., with experience in commercial, medical, mixed-use, residential and multi-family projects, as well as the design of both public and private schools. In addition, his background has encompassed both small and large remodel projects, interior space planning and forensic architecture consulting.
Before being elected to the City Council in 1984 — serving until ’92, before returning in 2000 — Katz spent eight years on the Planning Commission, spending five years as chair.
His involvement in the community is extensive, serving as a member of the board of directors for the Santa Monica YMCA, mental health provider Step Up on Second and the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corp. (PRC). He is also president of the Santa Monica College Foundation.
His wife, Brenda Katz, is the chief financial officer for the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, and serves on the board of the PRC.
Katz has lived in his Sunset Park home since 1963. His first stint as a public servant in Santa Monica came as a member of the Architectural Review Board in 1974.
Katz left the council in 1992 to spend more time with his first wife, who was losing a battle with cancer. It was she who encouraged him to run again for the council before she passed.
“She knew that I enjoyed serving on the council so much that she told me, “If it’s what you like doing then you should get back to doing it,’” Katz said. “So that’s what I did.”
Katz was chosen to share mayoral duties with Bloom back on Dec. 5, 2006. By majority vote, the council chooses the mayor, who is charged with presiding over council meetings and is recognized as the head of city government for ceremonial purposes.
Former Mayor Bob Holbrook, who was re-elected in November 2006 along with Councilmembers Kevin McKeown and Pam O’Connor, nominated the Bloom-Katz ticket because he felt a compromise was appropriate.
Katz and Bloom 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.
“(Katz has) served for many years as a councilmember and before that, eight years as a planning commissioner, and this is the first chance for him to be mayor. I know he’s super excited and I’m excited with him,” Holbrook said. “I’m just really happy for Herb.”
As were his other colleagues, including Bloom, who has worked closely with Katz over the last year, the two collaborating on the council agendas as well as on how to make the meetings run more efficiently, something which has been an issue for residents, elected officials and city staff, who often had to stay past midnight before adjourning.
Bloom, who has served as mayor twice since being elected in 1999, said he had mixed emotions about stepping down from his post. While he is excited for Katz and believes he will make a fine mayor, Bloom said he will miss the sometimes-intense interaction with residents and the opportunity to represent the city at events.
“I really enjoy serving the community as mayor,” said Bloom, who has asserted control over the council meetings, making sure members stick to the point and follow a timeline intended to keep the council on track.
“I found it very fulfilling and I’m sure Herb is looking forward to the job in much the same way I did,” Bloom added. “It can be time-consuming …There is almost an unlimited amount of opportunities to serve, so it is always important to keep things in balance and in perspective.”
Putting in work
In addition to running the council meetings, the mayor also plays a role in deciding which issues make it onto the agenda, working with the city manager and the mayor pro tem. The mayor also has the final say over “12” items on the agenda, which are requests from the public for the council to address a particular issue, such as the war in Iraq or allowing women to walk around town topless.
3D1,“Being the mayor of Santa Monica can be a full time job if you let it,” Holbrook said. “Typically at the meetings, everybody addresses the mayor, so you don’t have a moment. You are always on the air. People stare directly at the mayor when they are talking. The mayor must also recognize members around (him or her) and allow them to speak in the right order.”
Then there are the hundreds of requests the mayor receives every year to appear at events, both locally and nationally.
“Santa Monica has a very visible presence on the national and international scene, the state as well,” Bloom said. “Not only do we have the third largest budget in LA County … but we are also very respected for our programs on homelessness, sustainability, open space, affordable housing, transportation and the list goes on.
“These are things we have to be proud of, but they also place us front and center around the world because so many communities are looking at others for inspiration …”
Katz said he’s ready for the challenge and the traveling that comes with the job. He wants to make sure meetings are run efficiently and will encourage groups that speak before the council to consolidate their comments instead of having every member speak. In exchange for their cooperation, Katz said he would like to have people’s names read into the record to show their support instead of having each one speak.
Katz would also like to concentrate his efforts in improving transportation and on eliminating homelessness. He is an advocate for adding more local bus routes and would like to see housing built for homeless veterans at the VA in Westwood. He is also committed to finishing the Land Use and Circulation Element of the city’s general plan, which will determine development in Santa Monica for the next 20 years or more.
236,“This truly is a tremendous honor,” Katz said. “Only a small group of people in this country ever get to be City Councilmembers and an even smaller group have the opportunity to be mayor.”
“There is almost an unlimited amount of opportunities to serve so it is always important to keep things in balance and in perspective.”
Mayor Richard Bloom on Mayor Pro Tem Herb Katz being named the next mayor of Santa Monica and the work that lays ahead of him.
Jumphead - Katz has been loyal to SM since ‘64 - After 15 years, Katz will be named mayor.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 4, 2007. Read the original PDF.