Whew, California’s historic election is over.
I’m amazed that most of our local politicos seemed to forget the damage caused when Gov. Gray Davis diverted millions of dollars in state funds from the city, schools and community college earli-er this year. This and the prediction of more serious shortages next year didn’t seem to register with them.
It didn’t stop them from prattling on in the Santa Monica Daily Press, Tuesday, Oct. 7, “City Council: No on recall, no on Arnie.” Mayor Richard Bloom opposed the recall, calling it “a conservative attack on the process.” Then he claimed “the polls do not suggest Schwarzenegger will be elected.” Richard, it wasn’t conservatives, it was aliens from outer space — probably the same ones who conducted the polls you referenced.
Bloom worried that Arnold’s election would “reduce Santa Monica’s ability to provide basic services including fire, police and funding for schools.” I’m confused. Isn’t that what Davis did?
The Mayor said he’d vote for Gray, Jr., — I mean, Cruz Bustamante — I guess because even more of a bad thing is good.
Councilman Ken Genser was against the recall because “it’s wrong to use the recall process when one group just generally disagrees with the policies of elected officials.”
It couldn’t be too wrong because the process is allowed by the state constitution and the “one group” Genser refers to is the wide majority of the electorate who voted overwhelmingly for recall.
Genser described Schwarzenegger as one who “apparently doesn’t understand the fiscal realities of the state.” And Davis did?
Councilman Bob Holbrook opposed recall because “it should be reserved for when someone has committed a crime... or greatly embarrassed the office.”
Sorry, Bob. I like the idea that incompetence and bad governing allow us to recall politicians.
Holbrook favored Bustamante to replace Davis because “he most nearly reflects the policies and beliefs of the governor (Davis).”
Maybe that’s why Bustamante came in a distant second.
Councilman Herb Katz opposed the recall because he didn’t see any malfeasance. How about rank incompetence? Like Holbrook, Katz doesn’t see much changing by Arnold being elected. Let’s hope they’re both wrong on that account.
Councilman Kevin McKeown came closest to winning a prize when he opined that no recall “would validate a pay-to-play governor who just last November lied to us about the severity of the state budget shortfall.”
Councilman Kevin McKeown, critical of the choices provided by the two major parties, supports Peter Camejo. The Green Party gubernatorial candidate garnered just 3 percent of the vote.
Although Councilman Mike Feinstein didn’t comment to the Daily Press, he contributed a lengthy opinion piece posted online at surfsantamonica.com.
Feinstein, like Bloom, believes the recall process has been hijacked by special interests for partisan purposes. And, like fellow Green, McKeown, Feinstein blames the problems on a two-party system which he describes as “the mediocrity of institutionalized duopoly upon our state.”
Feinstein says the recall process is an opportunity for “society to be able to make needed changes — if/when our state’s existing political structure is incapable of and/or unwilling to deliver it.”
So far, so good, but he veers off course when he suggests the process is being manipulated by “strategic exploitation of this popular dissent” — the same exploiters that rigged the Florida 2000 presidential election and even an attempted 2001 coup in Venezuela. Wow, A worldwide conspiracy.
Councilwoman Pam O’Connor, who is on vacation in Africa, wasn’t available to comment.
What’s happened statewide could happen in Santa Monica next fall. The same reason angry voters rejected Davis and embraced Arnold could come into play here.
An electorate fed up with bad fiscal mismanagement, lavish spending on ego projects, high taxes, short-changed schools, reduced services to residents and overblown social service programs could eject some councilman and school board members from their seats.
These same politicos will claim the special interests they condemned in the recall — Republicans, hotels, developers and landlords — are hijacking the process while they themselves take largess from the same kind of special interests such as big labor.
As long as we allow politicians here, on the state level or in Washington, D.C. to sell out to special interests, push unpopular agendas and trade votes for dollars and deals, we’ll get the kind of government we deserve. And we’ll all pay the price. (Bill Bauer is a longtime Santa Monica resident).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 10, 2003. Read the original PDF.