This week’s Q-Line question asked: “What should officials focus on this year as their top priorities?” Here are your responses: ■ “The City Council needs to stop putting its agenda before the citizens of Santa Monica. They don’t have time for the people of Santa Monica. They don’t listen to the voters. Maybe with the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger the people will wake up. Maybe they will decide it is time for a change. The streets are a mess. The homeless are absolutely taking over Santa Monica. I was in Culver City over the weekend and did not see a single homeless person. It is time for a major overthrow. Look around you. This council is a bunch of losers. Vote them out.” ■ “The top priority of the City Council should be to get rid of the homeless. I am a senior citizen and a resident of Santa Monica. I cannot walk down any street without being approached for money at least 10 times. I think we should get rid of them all and have a safe city. We pay enough to live here. We need a new council.” ■ “Schools and parks should be a concern. However, let’s not build the parks just for the homeless. The school problem means we have to cut back on affordable housing. That means bringing more new families to the area. If the city doesn’t want to be the rich uncle to the schools, we can’t have any more housing for new families.” ■ “Mayor Bloom minimized the homeless problem to the extreme in his recent interview. It should be the top of the list of priorities. It is awful to be a pedestrian in Santa Monica, we are plagued by this problem. Most of these people are mentally unstable and very frightening. The rest are smelly, filthy and annoying with their persistent panhandling. Wake up, Mayor Bloom. Would you please, please wake up?” ■ “The mayor’s priorities show how out of touch he is with his own community. Reducing gunfire in one area is only a part of the crime problem in the city. There is one issue that he should be concerned with — the homeless population. Most people see this as the top priority in Santa Monica. He either does not see this as a priority or just has no idea how to deal with it. This one issue concerns the most residents. As for the school district, the city has done as much as it should. The only way that things will change for the better is to elect officials who truly represent their constituents.” ■ “The No. 1 priority this year should be to fund the schools. Mayor Bloom has his own agenda-going along with the rest of the City Council. If they have $7 million to build for the homeless, they don’t have a penny for the leaders of tomorrow? I am sick and tired of elected officials who don’t care about the people. Let’s vote them out. Now.” ■ “I don’t know what the mayor is thinking about. Maybe he doesn’t read the paper. The first priority should be the homeless problem in Santa Monica. The school district will never be financially stable.” ■ “Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom’s goals to decrease gunfire on the eastside and to help fund the school district are very worthy. However, I don’t understand why he hasn’t mentioned the homeless problem at all. To mention these other items, and even suggest an increase of arts in the community, which is the least of our problems, and omit this acute problem is irresponsible.” ■ “So many stop signs, pillars and traffic circles have been implemented on our city streets that Santa Monica traffic is at a virtual standstill. Creating a better flow of traffic in the city should be on the list of priorities for elected officials.” ■ “I was very disappointed with the mayor’s list of priorities, as they differed greatly from my own. My top priority would be to divert 90 percent of our homeless funding to the schools. As far as art goes, getting the drunks and panhandlers off the street would go a long way toward beautifying our city. I also would be the first to support a measure for the $6 million funding for the schools, before the city has a chance to waste it. In fact, why don’t we make it $8 million?” ■ “Mayor Bloom wants to end gunfire. This is good. Mayor Bloom wants to help the schools. This is good. Increasing the arts? This is good. What they should be focusing on is the homeless problem. The city needs to stop funding homeless programs. They don’t work and all they do is attract more vagrants. Concentrate on stopping this problem and not exacerbating it.” ■ “You know, the City Council has its head in a bubble. Richard Bloom wants to reduce gunfire in the eastside neighborhood. How? And instead of supporting the schools, they’re going to build more homeless shelters. Instead of increasing arts in the city, why won’t they repair our streets? I am really disgusted with the council. I hope they all get thrown out.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 9, 2004. Read the original PDF.