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# City Council candidate steps down from race
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-council-candidate-steps-down-from-race/
- Published: 2004-08-27T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:57:13.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Daily Press Staff*

The race for four open seats on the Santa Monica City Council shrank to 15 people Thursday.

Leah Mendelsohn, a local activist in the democratic party who had tossed her hat into the ring after working to mobilize a group of residents angered over the city’s hedge policies, announced Thursday she has dropped out of the race.

Mendelsohn said she has been extremely active in the John F. Kerry campaign, and would not have time to pursue both Kerry’s election and her own. She also said she wanted to bolster the chances of a group of candidates who will be opposing the Santa Monicans for Renter’s Rights, the ruling coalition that has dominated local politics for the past 26 years.

Despite her verbal withdrawal, Mendelsohn’s name will remain on the ballot. Eleven candidates not endorsed by SMRR are still in contention for the four open council seats, including incumbents Mike Feinstein and Herb Katz.

Mendelsohn said she expected her chosen four — Katz; local resident and hedge activist Bobby Shriver; doctor Matt Dinolfo and Red Cross worker Tom Viscout — to unify as a formal slate in the upcoming weeks. She cautioned that a bid to unseat SMRR could fall short if voters aren’t united and instead spread their votes among the numerous candidates opposing the ruling coalition.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 27, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/082704.pdf?ref=smdp.com)