By PAM WIGHT Special to the Daily Press
In these remarkably close elections, a landslide victory deserves some recognition — even if it comes in a competition against no one.
With 60 percent of the precincts reporting as of 1 a.m. Wednesday, Joel C.
Koury expressed amused pleasure at his 53 percent of the vote for the Santa Monica Rent Control Board.
“Yeah, I’m happy I’m winning,” he said with a smile. No challenger ran against Koury for the position.
Koury waited out the outcome of his race at a party held at the Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights headquarters on Colorado Avenue. The party became the gathering place for many of the City Council candidates and Santa Monica College Board of Trustee candidates while they waited for the belated election results. Office seekers present were SMC Board of Trustee candidate Susan Aminoff, City Council candidates Richard Bloom, Maria Loya, Ken Genser and Linda Armstrong.
People gathered around a TV in the parking lot and various computers inside, sip-ping keg beer and eating rice, beans and tamales served on Styrofoam plates. Folding tables and chairs completed the decor.
The candidate for the other uncontested Rent Control seat, Jeffrey A. Sklar, was not present at the party. He had acquired 47 percent of the vote.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 3, 2004. Read the original PDF.