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# College bond gets tentative approval by city voters
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/college-bond-gets-tentative-approval-by-city-voters/
- Published: 2002-03-06T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:05:55.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Absentee ballots used as gauge for college’s victory*

Santa Monica College supporters were celebrating victory late Tuesday over what appeared to be an approval of a $160 million bond measure to fund the school’s facilities.

Shortly before midnight, no precincts had reported. But SMC’s campaign manager Denny Zane was confident that a majority vote on absentee ballots was enough of an indication that Measure U garnered the required votes.

“I have never been in a campaign with that positive of a margin,” he said. “It signifies a likely positive outcome.”

SMC President Piedad Robertson remained cautious throughout the night even though 67 percent of the estimated 2,000 absentee voters approved the bond.

“I’m nervous,” she said shortly after the polls closed. SMC officials, students and supporters spent most of the night at the restaurant Back on Broadway, which was the designated poll watching site.

The advertising war chest for “Vote Yes on Measure U” had reached about $200,000, with $115,000 raised by SMC’s Associated Students over the past two years. The funds are collected through student fees.

“The students strongly believe in the future of this college,” said Jeff Gordon, the president of SMC’s Associated Students. “My kids will be able to benefit from this.”

The money will be used to renovate buildings at the campus on Pico Boulevard. It also will partially fund the purchase of the 10-acre BAE Systems property that the college recently bought for $30 million near the airport for a satellite campus and more parking. came late, with an ad campaign estimated at under $1,000 and little public protest until just weeks before election day.

Opposers argued that the bond would spur more uncontrolled growth at the college. The idea of more satellite campuses concerns many residents who have been impacted by the school’s expansion over the years.

Opposers also argued that the local community shouldn’t be funding a college that has 32,000 students, many of which commute from outside of the city. Their third argument is that the measure reduces local bonding capacity.

The bond’s average cost to taxpayers will be $1.12 per month for renters and $77 per year for the average homeowner in Santa Monica and Malibu, according to Graham Pope, the co-chair for the committee supporting the measure.

The bond issue in the first year is estimated at $16.21 per $100,000 in assessed valuation and the average cost over the bond’s life will be $19.21 per $100,000.

A facilities assessment completed ear-lier this year outlined 21 projects at the college. Priorities are to replace the earthquake-damaged liberal arts building and temporary buildings with modern labs and classrooms. Facilities for the nursing, environmental studies, earth sciences and math programs also need upgrades and improvements are needed to meet standards for campus lighting, security and the American Disabilities Act.

Other pressing needs are to find space for student parking and the emeritus college program, which is geared to students ages 55 years or older.

The emeritus program is housed on the ground floor of a city parking structure on Second Street and the city has plans to turn property into a park at Santa Monica Airport, where students park and ride shuttles to the main campus a mile away.

Renovations are expected to be completed over the next 10 to 12 years. The college’s last bond issue was for $22 million in 1992 to build an addition to the science building and library.

The measure needed a 55-percent approval from residents in Santa Monica and Malibu to pass.

As Jay Zabriskie left his polling precinct on Santa Monica Boulevard Tuesday morning, he shared his thoughts on why he voted for Measure U.

“I do a lot of research on the propositions before I vote,” he said. “I’ve been to the Santa Monica campus and it’s a good school, but its infrastructure needs help.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 6, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/030602.pdf?ref=smdp.com)