“I SUPPOSE SO. THE CITY COUNCIL, the city administration, has created this overgrown ugliness. Now they will have to meet the demands they have created — an out of control growing bum and criminal population and the results of overbuilding. They created the monster, they should follow through and supply the additional police and fire department protection.”
“YEAH, THE STAFFING REQUESTS are a direct result of over development in the city. The chief cites a day time population that is more than he can control, and the fire chief points to traffic mitigation and traffic itself as a problem for emergency response. So we should make the council staff both the police and fire department. They deserve it, they are the ones who approved the development, they have to fix it.” “(TH E CITY COU NCI L DOESN’T) have any choice but to honor the request. It is the only way that Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, the SMRR majority, can buy its decades old strangle hold on city politics. Without rolling over for every requests, they wouldn’t get the automatic fire fighter and police union endorsements every election. So, yes, they have to do it.”
“I DO NOT WISH TO WAX PESSIMISTICALLY when I suggest the City Council take a wait and see approach in expanding any of the city’s bureaucratic agencies. We are in a time for belt tightening, not loosening. Our nation and the state of California are in a deep financial poop at the present time and this poop filters down to the cities. I do not believe there will be many ever-growing cities in California in the next few years. The opposite perhaps, as residents lose their homes and their jobs and leave California for hopeful greener pastures or simply move back to where they came from. Any infusion of cash bonus from the federal government to the rank and file taxpayer will simply end up in the gas tanks as we approach five dollar a gallon gasoline prices that are just around the corner. I could go on and on but I will not. Those who are feeling the pinch already know, without me elaborating.”
“TH E R E NT CO NTRO L CO M M I ES who have run our town for 30 years have turned our city into a bloated, expensive, bureaucratic nightmare. You ask about expanding our police and fire departments. Our fire department does a great job, but 99 percent of the time fireman eat, sleep and watch porno. Our police department is already huge compared to our small population. The problem is only on weekends and summer when we are inundated with tourists and transients thanks to our city selling out to the tourist dollar and coddling the homeless. They can hire part-time cops for the weekends and summer. We also don’t need expensive police running the animal control. Transfer them to real police jobs and turn it over to pet associations.”
“WELL, IF THEY WANT TO INCREASE the size of the police department they should only do it if they are going to do something about all those bums, and drunks and vagrants in Santa Monica. What’s the use of having more police if they are going to let the bums have the run of the town.”
“I ABSOLUTELY THINK THE CITY COUNCIL should honor the request for extra police-men and firemen in this city by the sea. It is absolutely essential.”
“THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD INCREASE the police and fire department’s budget 100 percent. It’s a great way to spend money and make it safer for everybody.”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT, THE FIRE AND POLICE should make due with what they have. We can’t afford it. Look at the economy, stupid.”
“YOUR OWN CRIME WATCH SAYS IT ALL. How many bum related police calls are there? If a bum is combative, you may need two officers. Then if the officer drives the bum to the county jail, that is at least an hour and a half away from his patrol area. Same with the fire department. How many bum fights or drunk calls do they get? Every organization pads its operating cost to help build control, which means power. Instead, look at the single underlying problem in this town. It’s overbuilding. Every City Council utopian, socialist problem stems from it, especially excessive bum loving. Instead of insulting the taxpayers, put the council members to work doing weekend shifts at the police and fire departments.”
“MY OWN TWO CENTS — I JUST READ in the newspaper that L.A.’s homicide rate is on the rise and we just had two people murdered in their own apartments here in Santa Monica. If we had more police officers on the streets, those murders may not have occurred. I know that more police on the streets will help, especially at night. I support the increase.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 22, 2008. Read the original PDF.