Hopefuls must be prepared to campaign tirelessly, advisors say
DOWNTOWN — To win an election in Santa Monica, one must campaign tirelessly and be ruthlessly devoted to squeezing every spare nickel out of friends and supporters.
That’s the message a group of elected leaders and campaign advisors delivered Monday evening at a forum for contenders in the November election. Four seats will be open on the Santa Monica City Council, and three seats on both the local school and college boards.
Campaigning for the elections won’t heat up until after Labor Day, but already some candidates have established fundraising groups and begun to plot their strategies. All four council incumbents may run for reelection. Their likely challengers include several veteran community members.
Among those attending the chamber’s forum at 501 Colorado Avenue were school organizer Shari Davis, local activist Patricia Hoffman, businesswoman Ann Greenspun, USC professor William Crookston, chamber of commerce president Mike Gruning, League of Women Voters representative Barbara Inatsugum, Tom Viscount from the Red Cross and a handful of others. The meeting was chaired by the chamber’s president-elect, Nat Trives, a former mayor who some have suggested should run again.
City Hall will accept candidate declarations from July 12 to Aug. 9. Candidates must be at least 18 years of age, and be a resident and registered voter of Santa Monica. Felons are barred from running. Council members earn a base pay of $10,351 a year, and receive full health benefits.
Robert Kaplan, who’s raised more than $120 million in campaigns nationwide, told the potential candidates the first thing to do is sit down with their rolodexes and think about money.
“Most people think of fundraising as a burden,” said Kaplan, president of the LA-based fundraising firm the Robert Kaplan Company. “Well, it’s really not a burden. It’s an opportunity to change something in the community...
“Fundraising is a game of nickels and dimes and quarters — whatever you can pick up is part of the tally,” he added. “The point is, if you’re raising money, you have to be relentless.”
Kaplan recommended that the candidates start early and enlist friends and supporters who have already given money to seek out further contributions. He said setting goals will force supporters to produce and reminded the candidates always to ask for more money than they expect.
Veteran council members Pam O’Connor and Bob Holbrook took turns describing the atmosphere of campaigning for and serving on the council.
“It’s not being a CEO. It’s not being a city manager, or a directly elected mayor,” said O’Connor, who’s served 10 years on the council. “It’s more like being a member of a board of directors.”
O’Connor said it can be difficult to juggle one’s family and career with council work, adding she spends between five and 25 hours a week on City Hall business. She advised candidates to always be prepared for a candidate forum or interview — and keep pressed clothes at an arm’s length.
She also warned the candidates not to become consumed by the role.
“It’s a serious job, but you can’t take yourself seriously,” she said. “It’s not about status.”
Holbrook noted that because the community is so politically active, running for office in Santa Monica is unlike campaigning for office in any other city in the country. He urged candidates to be themselves and take advantage of every opportunity available to have their voices heard.
A Democrat not endorsed by Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, City Hall’s longtime ruling party, Holbrook drew laughter from members of the forum by pointing out his prior campaign weaknesses. He advised candidates to seek out key endorsements, adding they could even invent organizations to list on their election documents that might lend credibility to their cause.
“I’ve won six elections in a row and I don’t think I was favored to win in any of them,” he said.
Candidates this summer will vie for endorsements from SMRR and other groups representing local merchants, teachers, and police and fire officials. Those endorsements are worth tens of thousands of dollars, because the groups use direct mail and other means to solicit votes for candidates. Kaplan indicated it costs about $17,000 to send a targeted mailer to Santa Monica voters.
This year will be different than others, because the local chamber of commerce has created a political action committee and will for the first time endorse candidates. Chamber officials hope to break the hold on City Hall by SMRR, which backed five of the seven current council members and has held the majority for much of the last two decades. SMRR and the chamber will endorse candidates in August.
While the election is sure to pit hardened SMRR veterans against the chamber’s chosen challengers, officials at the forum cautioned the hopefuls against campaigning on harsh rhetoric. Those ultimately elected to office will have to work with varying viewpoints, they added.
“This is a small community,” Kaplan said. “You have to recognize that there’s a day after the election.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 9, 2004. Read the original PDF.