Outside groups weigh in on local election
CITY HALL — Two Santa Monica luxury beachfront hotels opened their wallets this month in an effort to sway voters before next week’s election, financial disclosure reports indicate.
Owners of Casa Del Mar and Shutters on the Beach, where room rates range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars a night, contributed $170,000 to an independent political group pushing four candidates also endorsed by the local chamber of commerce.
Both hotels have battled city officials for years over their efforts to implement a living wage in Santa Monica, where non-unionized large businesses near the beach would have been required to pay workers at least $10.25 an hour. The hotels also have lobbied for tougher laws against local vagrants.
As of Friday, the two hotels were the only contributors to “Santa Monicans for Change,” a newly formed independent political committee that doesn’t have to follow normal fundraising laws, but also can’t personally communicate with City Council candidates. Much of the money has been spent on election mailers for City Councilman Herb Katz, and challengers Matt Dinolfo, Kathryn Morea and Bobby Shriver.
With their $170,000 in donations this month, Santa Monicans for Change far out-fundraised the powerful Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights Group, which has endorsed a majority of council members for nearly three decades. SMRR raised just $6,400 this month, bringing its yearly total to $125,000.
Seth Jacobsen, a spokesman for Santa Monicans for Change, has said a variety of merchants and residents belong to the group. But according to campaign disclosure documents filed at City Hall, only the two hotels, contributing $29,000 each, gave money during the first half of October. After the middle of October, candidates and political groups are only required to report donations of $1,000 or more. The hotels gave another $50,000 on Wednesday and $62,000 on Thursday, the documents show.
Meanwhile, another group calling itself “Santa Monica Citizens for Sensible Priorities” has sent out mailers criticizing City Hall with the same design as those sent by Santa Monicans for Change. Santa Monica Citizens for Sensible Priorities has avoided reporting its fundraising because it hasn’t directly backed specific candidates, which is what election law dictates. It was formed solely to promote social welfare in Santa Monica, said the group’s attorney, Barry Fadem.
Other outside groups also are raising money in their efforts to reach voters before the November election. Among the organizations that have raised and spent reportable amounts of money this month are the local police union and the local hotel and restaurant workers’ union, each of which have raised thousands of dollars to promote their candidates of choice.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 25, 2004. Read the original PDF.