> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Controversial mailer has both sides baffled - URL: https://www.smdp.com/controversial-mailer-has-both-sides-baffled/ - Published: 2002-10-25T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T00:48:55.000Z - Author: Andrew Fixmer - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Police and fire unions use messy analogy to make point* Call it a scare tactic or an unintentional mistake, opponents of a hotly contested ballot measure are feeling the heat from police. A letter sent to thousands of Santa Monica homes this week from the police and fire unions criticizes Measure HH. A statement, which appeared in the latest campaign literature attempting to shoot down Measure HH, indicates that police and fire service could be comprised if it’s passed by voters on Nov. 5. Also known as VERITAS, the measure would completely change the way city council candidates are elected. It would divide the city into districts that council members would be elected from, among other things. Currently, council members are elected at large in the city. In the letter, Santa Monica Police Officers’ Association President Shane Talbot and Santa Monica Firefighters’ Association President Kenneth G. Polhill argue that by dividing the city into voting districts, Measure HH would diminish the influence residents have on issues city-wide. Many people are troubled by a sentence that appears in the next to last line of the letter, which started to appear up in mailboxes north of Montana Avenue on Tuesday. “People are trying to limit your voice in your own city government,” the letter states. “Would you like it if you asked a police officer for help and he told you he couldn’t because of what district you lived in?” But the measure has nothing to do with how police and fire personnel are deployed. Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. said while he understands that the union was attempting to make an analogy for the sake of argument, it did more harm than good. “I believe the intent was to make an analogy between a council member and a police officer,” he said. “But I believe it is misleading and people will believe it is misleading. (The measure) will never have an impact on how police resources will be deployed; those decisions are made by the chief of police.” Supporters of the measure said the misleading statement will be nearly impossible to correct before the Nov. 5 election. “It’s an extremely dangerous thing for those kind of threats to be coming from the police, even if it’s not from the department but the union,” said Irene Zivi, a coauthor of the measure. “I hope to make people understand that that won’t happen. “This (situation) is completely unfair and unethical, but unfortunately there’s not much we can do about it,” she added. Polhill, who signed off on the letter without reading the final version, said he was upset when he read the controversial phrase. “In reading the statement, I know the impression it gives and that is wrong,” he said. “Obviously VERITAS has nothing to do with police or fire response and that impression shouldn’t have been made.” > “In reading the statement, I know the impression it gives and that is wrong. Obviously VERITAS has nothing to do with police or fire response and that impression shouldn’t have been made.” — — KENNETH G. POLHILL Santa Monica Firefighters’ Association President Talbot was unavailable for comment Thursday. Councilman Bob Holbrook, one of the measure’s supporters who’s running for re-election, said he was shocked when he received the letter. “It’s threatening,” he said. “It just scares people to think if they vote for HH they won’t have police and fire services.” Holbrook said he called Butts Wednesday to complain about the letter. Butts said he spoke with Talbot on Wednesday, who told him the statement’s double meaning was not intentional. “I have to believe his word,” Butts said. Fire chief Ettore A. Berardinelli said the measure wouldn’t affect how the fire department deploys its resources and will not cause any disruptions in service. “We have some really great people working here who come to work every day to take care of the people of Santa Monica and we will continue that tradition,” he said. “Nothing in VERITAS will change the high quality service we deliver.” Robert Stern, president of the West L.A.-based Center for Governmental Studies, said while technically the analogy is correct, it is also misleading. “Some people will read it that if it’s not the police officer’s district they won’t respond,” he said. “It’s sort of a scare tactic.” The Center for Governmental Studies looks at, among other things, how voters respond to ballot measures and how campaigns are conducted. Stern said he didn’t believe the unions had broken any rules or were out of line by attempting to make the analogy. “I’m not terribly upset by it,” he said. “I think some people will make a mountain out of a molehill here. “I don’t want to say it’s ethical, but it’s not unethical,” he said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 25, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102502.pdf?ref=smdp.com)