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# Good women aren’t hard to find
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/good-women-arent-hard-to-find-editor/
- Published: 2004-10-26T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:20:25.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Pico, #archive-import

*By Kelly Hayes-Raitt Santa Monica*

What a diverse group of city council candidates we have this year! And what a great chance to make our City Council more diverse.

As a commissioner of the Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women, I’ve been dismayed at the lack of women represented on the City Council. Although the commission takes no position on electoral races, I personally am supporting two talented women City Council candidates: Maria Loya and Patricia Hoffman.

I’ve been impressed with Maria Loya’s community activism in the Pico neighborhood. She has fought to keep families from being unlawfully evicted and has brought jobs to Pico youth. She is a pro-active leader, calling for a children’s protection zone around schools and playgrounds in response to last month’s terrifying shooting near Edison Elementary.

I hope Santa Monicans will consider the striking gender imbalance on our current City Council — where we have only one woman of seven council members —and vote for Maria Loya and Patricia Hoffman. (Editor’s note: This letter originally ran in the Oct. 22 edition. However, dollar amounts were inaccurate due to editing errors).

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 26, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102604.pdf?ref=smdp.com)