School, rent control and college boards installed
CITY HALL — The new Santa Monica City Council was sworn into office Tuesday in a packed council chambers, but the only new face on the dais was that of Bobby Shriver.
Incumbents Richard Bloom, Herb Katz and Ken Genser held onto their posts this past election. Shriver, the lone newcomer, took former City Councilman Mike Feinstein’s seat. Feinstein didn’t attend the last official meeting of the old guard, conducted before the new members were sworn in on Tuesday. Councilwoman Pam O’Connor was also missing in action after her mother, Esther Smicklas, had passed away last week.
Because of O’Connor’s absence, the council voted to postpone the appointment of a new mayor, typically selected after the swearing-in ceremony. The council agreed to allow Bloom to remain as mayor with Councilman Kevin McKeown acting as mayor pro tem until O’Connor can return to the dais. Both Bloom and McKeown served in those respective capacities for the past two years.
The council welcomed Shriver, a Kennedy family scion who attracted national media attention during his candidacy. There was no shortage of media in council chambers Tuesday night, in stark contrast to years past when swearing-in ceremonies were staged with little fanfare.
The recently elected council members shared their priorities with the public and thanked those who supported them in their campaigns. They also thanked and welcomed each other.
Katz joked with Shriver about his commitment to serving on the Santa Monica City Council.
“You are out of your mind and so are the rest of us,” he said.
Both Shriver and Katz said shortening the length of council meetings — which often go past midnight — was one of their top priorities. Not surprisingly, their comments were brief, while Genser and Bloom spent considerably more time acknowledging city staff, the political organizations that backed them and the issues currently facing Santa Monica.
However, Tuesday’s meeting ran late, partly because it didn’t start on time — Shriver was 15 minutes late. After he entered council chambers and the meeting began, Shriver did an interview in the back of the room with a television reporter during the proceedings.
The ceremony began with performances by the Santa Monica High School string quartet and the Samohi chamber singers. City Hall receptionist Lindsey Haley then read an inspirational poem.
The usual gadflies seen at nearly every council meeting addressed the elected officials, many taking the time to criticize local government.
Jon Mann, recently defeated for a seventh time in his bid for a council seat, accused council members of succumbing to special interest groups.
“How many of you remember who you’re constituents are, special interests or residents?” he asked, then turning to Shriver who sat in the audience before being sworn in. “Bobby Shriver... will you use your family name to shame those who are to blame?”
City Councilman Bob Holbrook presented Shriver with rare campaign buttons of his father, Sargent Shriver, who ran for vice president in 1972 alongside George McGovern.
“Sargent Shriver started something... you did something your father didn’t do — got elected,” Holbrook joked.
Also sworn into office were Santa Monica College board trustees Rob Rader, Susan Aminoff and Margaret Quinones; Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board members Jose Escarce, Maria Leon-Vazquez and Kathy Wisnicki; and Santa Monica Rent Control board members Joel Koury and Jeffrey Sklar.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 8, 2004. Read the original PDF.