All Daily Press endorsements came with considerable debate. That is to say two things: We hope we’re right, but we also trust those candidates who aren’t elected this time around will continue to stay involved and make Santa Monica a better and more interesting place to live. They have a lot to bring to our community. With that said, we felt it would be irresponsible not to explain some of our decisions. ■ David Cole is running with Bauer on a slate called the “Team for Change.” Cole is an outspoken critic of City Hall and has reiterated that he is an independent candidate, not beholden to anyone. He makes decent points about where government has gone wrong, but much of his campaign has been based on what’s broken and less on how to fix it. Cole is a committed community member, and his volunteer work is more valuable to Santa Monica in that capacity than serving in office. ■ The Daily Press endorsed Matt Dinolfo two years ago in his bid for a council seat. He is a proven leader and a moderate. But he has been conspicuously absent the past two years, not engaging himself in the community as much as he ought to have. It was a close call, but in the end there were too many other qualified candidates who have proven an ongoing commitment to Santa Monica. ■ Mike Feinstein is a smart and independent thinker who has introduced some innovative policies. But he has failed to show that he is a true community leader and team player. Although some might argue that Feinstein is effective when he gets frustrated and angry, which occurs frequently, we believe it is counterproduc-tive, ineffective and creates divisiveness. True community leadership means playing well with others and not allowing emotions to dominate politics. Feinstein has let his ego get in the way of improving life for all Santa Monicans and being part of an effective, responsive government. ■ Ken Genser has a proven track record, is dedicated and extremely committed to Santa Monica politics. His institutional knowledge has been instrumental in public policy making. But after serving 16 years on the council, it’s time to give someone else a turn. Still, we wish there was another seat open for Genser, because he’s a reasonable man with valuable knowledge and an enviable historical perspective. ■ Although we wanted to endorse a woman and think Patricia Hoffman had the best chance of winning a seat, we simply felt she will not move Santa Monica toward meaningful change when it comes to quality of life issues. As a self-described optimist, Hoffman thinks life here is pretty good. It is, but there are serious issues that need to be addressed, and we need elected officials who sympathize with a broad base of their constituencies. ■ Maria Loya comes from a neighborhood that has been under represented for decades. Although we believe the City Council should have a member from the Pico neighborhood, Loya isn’t ready for the job. She has virtually no specifics on how she would affect change in the city, and often uses government jargon to mask that weakness. Loya repeatedly employs an underdog mentality when it’s not needed and resorts too easily to fighting rather than working collaboratively. Citizens are not best served by that type of rhetoric. ■ Kathryn Morea also comes from the Pico neighborhood, where crime has overrun citizens’ quality of life. We wish that Morea had the experience needed for elected office, because Pico needs representation. Her experience in local government entailed spending three years to get preferential parking for her neighborhood, which, in our opinion, doesn’t amount to adequate experience. We hope Morea continues to stay involved, bringing her ideas to fruition with different issues and in different forums.
The remaining candidates, Jonathan Mann, Linda Armstrong and Leticia Anderson, haven’t provided enough information for us to gauge where they stand on local issues. Two other candidates who will appear on the ballot, Leah Mendelsohn and Tom Viscount, have dropped out of the race.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 28, 2004. Read the original PDF.