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# City police, firefighters supporting incumbents
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-police-firefighters-supporting-incumbents/
- Published: 2008-09-20T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T21:03:45.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Crime, Downtown, #archive-import

*Union weighs in on race*

*By DAILY PRESS STAFF*

DOWNTOWN Unions representing Santa Monica police officers and firefighters decided to endorse the four City Council incumbents running for reelection this November.

The Santa Monica Police Officers’ Association and the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1109 are throwing their support and their money behind Mayor Herb Katz, Mayor Pro Tem Richard Bloom, and Councilmembers Ken Genser and Bobby Shriver.

Representatives from the unions cited the incumbents’ willingness to provide the public safety employees with the funding they need to purchase the best equipment and hire the best staff to enhance the quality of life for residents.

SMPD Sgt. Jay Trisler, chairman of the association, also pointed to the continued drop in crime throughout the city as evidence that the council is providing officers with the resources they need to be successful.

“They provide us with the budget we need to make everything possible,” Trisler said.

Track records show that the incumbents will continue to give the police and fire departments the tools they need to deal with terrorism, gang violence, substance abuse, emergency operations, disaster preparedness, Haz-Mat response and overall quality of life issues, said Brad Lomas, president of Local 1109.

The unions are also backing Proposition SM, an update to the User Utility Tax that City Hall believes is needed to protect an estimated $12 million in funding annually, funding which pays for city services such as police and fire.

The unions are asking voters to oppose Proposition T, which would put a cap on commercial development in an effort to reduce traffic congestion. Public safety officials fear the cap, which would be set at 75,000 square feet per year, would put funding in jeopardy since it would limit fees collected from developers and limit sales tax revenues.

Supporters say Prop. T will have a significant effect on traffic and would adversely affect City Hall’s budget by only as much as two percent. They say City Hall has failed to collect $25 million from developers over the years, money which could have been used to pay for city services.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 20, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/092008.pdf?ref=smdp.com)