The Santa Monica City Council dates back to March 28,1906, when an election was held to approve the Santa Monica City Charter. Under the new charter, the City Council was comprised of one mayor with veto power, and one council member from each of its seven wards. The charter required weekly meetings. Council members received $5 per meeting, which were not to exceed one per week.
In 1944, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce began a study of the problems confronting the city. It had become clear that Santa Monica was not flourishing under its system of divided authority in its city government, and by other repercussions from a charter adopted when Santa Monica had less than a 12,000 population. An elected board spent two years designing the current council-city manager form of government. Nearly half of the cities in the U.S. with populations of 2,500 or more operate under the council-city manager form of government with an elected governing body and a manager hired by that body to carry out the policies it establishes.
This year Santa Monica boasts an entertaining roster of candidates for this year’s City Council election — healers, educators, politicians, service providers and the Governator’s brother-in-law. We asked all candidates to answer the same question: If you were elected to the Santa Monica City Council, will you explain how you will make a difference in 25 words or less.
Following, in alphabetical order are the responses we received. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2. Support Santa Monica. Support Democracy. Vote.
“The front-burner issues of growth, traffic and open space, require my qualified commitment as a public servant. I look forward to the challenge.”
Leticia Anderson Nurse andersontish@yahoo.com “Santa Monica will be more ‘user friendly.’ I’ll direct city resources to our citizens and implement common sense solutions to problems, especially vagrancy and traffic.”
Bill Bauer Advertising copy writer bauer4council@aol.com “I will continue being a voice for residents who want a livable Santa Monica: beautiful parks, safe streets, great schools and terrific neighborhoods.”
Mayor Richard Bloom richard@bloomlaw.net “If elected I will represent the renters and homeowners. I am not part of the good ‘ol boy network that has run Santa Monica for decades.”
David Cole Health care administrator Cole4Council@aol.com “As a physician, I listen, evaluate data and make difficult decisions. I will priori-tize city spending to give our citizens a better quality of life.”
Matt Dinolfo Physician/university teacher dinolfom@aol.com “As an independent and thoughtful problem solver, I listen to all voices in Santa Monica so that we can achieve the community we all desire.”
Michael Feinstein City Council member/author mfeinstein@feinstein.org “I will continue to emphasize the protection and improvement of residential neighborhoods, funding for education, resources to maintain public safety, and clean (and more) parks.”
Ken Genser City Council member 2004@genser.org “I will protect our quality of life: Our first rates schools, neighborhood serving businesses, public safety, the arts, parks and beaches, clean air and water.”
Patricia Hoffman Community volunteer phoffmansm@earthlink.net “I will continue to serve as the voice of reason on the council to improve the quality of life for all residents of Santa Monica.”
Herb Katz City council member/architect rtkarch@aol.com “I will work to improve customer service in City Hall by advocating for a more responsive and accountable city process for property owners.”
Maria Loya Loyamaria@hotmail.com “All candidates say they will be different. Most forget their promises when elected. I pledge to set up citizen oversight for accountability, to solicit and moderate input from residents, and provide feedback from polling the electronic plebiscite.”
Jonathan Mann Flight attendant jonmann@adelphia.net “All my life, I’ve organized and managed projects that have made people’s lives better: I will apply the same dedication and resources to Santa Monica’s problems: Homelessness, traffic, and lack of parkland.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 22, 2004. Read the original PDF.