Vote draws criticism from SMRR members FROM ENDORSEMENT PAGE 1
Less than one week after narrowly losing out on an endorsement from the city’s most influential political party, Board of Education incumbent Jose Escarce has received support from the group’s steering committee.
The stamp of approval came Saturday during a closed-door session of the Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR) steering committee and amid concerns by some that an override would be made against the vote of the general membership during the ruling political party’s convention the previous weekend.
The steering committee also voted to endorse Santa Monica College’s $295 million bond measure, which will fund campus capital projects, and a proposed update to City Hall’s Utility Users Tax, both of which are on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The remaining two open endorsements for the City Council were left undetermined. Incumbents Ken Genser and Richard Bloom received endorsements at the convention while Recreation and Parks Commissioner Ted Winterer came close but didn’t garner the necessary votes.
First elected to the school board in 2000, Escarce failed to secure the necessary 55 percent of membership votes on Aug. 3, missing out twice by one vote during the convention, ending up with a close 54.9 percent.
The steering committee saw that a majority of the people at the convention wanted to support Escarce, according to Patricia Hoffman, the SMRR co-chair and committee member.
44C,“One of the things that I have rarely seen in an elected official is that he realized that one of the positions he held for a while was actually wrong … and he publicly apologized,” she said.
Hoffman is referring to the issues in special education at the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, the department criticized the past few years for allegations of secrecy and intimidation. District officials are currently in the process of instituting new practices and policies to rectify a problem that has been damaging to the institution’s reputation. A number of board members and officials, including former Superintendent Dianne Talarico, have since apologized to parents and children in special education.
Escarce will now join incumbents Ralph Mechur, Maria Leon-Vazquez and newcomer Ben Allen, a former UC Regent, in receiving SMRR support.
“It is really extremely gratifying,” Escarce said. “It makes me feel terrific and certainly makes me want to absolutely redouble my efforts to be an excellent school board member and make sure to represent all students in our community as well.”
The long-time board member said he was disappointed after he failed to secure an endorsement during the convention, recognizing the pull of SMRR’s support.
“I hoped that I would be able to recover from that through the steering committee, but I really wanted to try and run a good campaign and make sure I both talk about things I accomplished but more importantly, to talk about how I was totally committed to being an even better board member than I’ve been in the past,” he said.
Two other SMRR members who sought endorsements for the school board during the convention were Judith Meister, an educational advocate and former PTSA president at Santa Monica High School, and Chris Bley, a teacher.
Meister, who already qualified for the ballot, said the committee’s support of Escarce will not affect her decision to run.
“I just want to get out who I am and what my issues are,” she said.
The vote of the steering committee has been criticized by some members of SMRR, the concerns coming in particular from a number of parents who were most outspoken during the special education controversy, most of whom did not cast their vote for Escarce the week before.
The parents in the past have accused the school board vice president of playing a part in the special education controversy.
“The fact that Escarce was unable to secure the endorsement of SMRR members at the convention and that the steering committee had to overrule the convention results is a clear reflection of the fact that there are serious concerns in the community regarding Escarce’s behavior on the board,” Tricia Crane, an educational activist and SMRR member, said. “Those of us who share those concerns will continue to weigh our options as we move forward toward the election in November.”
Craig Hamilton, a parent of a child in special education who also serves on several of the district’s committees, postponed his vacation to attend the convention, also opting against Escarce.
“I think it is important that from my perspective the SMRR steering committee’s action is an overruling of the will of the convention and a violation of the spirit of the democratic process,” Hamilton said. “Jose lost fairly over three different votes — plenty of time to have carried the votes — if they were there.”
Hoffman pointed out that Escarce narrowly lost by one-tenths of a percent and stressed that the committee did not break any rules.
“Our bylaws are written so that the steering committee can add candidates and positions,” Hoffman said. “What we did was neither out of character nor anti-democratic.
“It’s totally compatible with the working of the organization.”
The committee has yet to make a decision on the Residents’ Initiative to Fight Traffic, which seeks to limit commercial growth in the city. The initiative, known as RIFT, has divided the SMRR membership and an endorsement might not come any time soon.
“I think the fact there are people deeply committed to both sides within SMRR and even within the leadership of SMRR … I think that SMRR is a big enough tent that all positions on RIFT can be housed,” Hoffman said.
Jump hedline: Vote draws criticism from SMRR members
Suggested pullquote: “I hoped that I would be able to recover from that through the steering committee, but I really wanted to try and run a good campaign and make sure I both talk about things I accomplished but more importantly, to talk about how I was totally committed to being an even better board member than I’ve been in the past,”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 11, 2008. Read the original PDF.