Takeover or no takeover, new board in Pico ready to make some changes
While some have described last weekend’s election of a neighborhood group as a political takeover, its new board members say they just want to effect change in an area of the city that has been overlooked for too long.
The Pico Neighborhood Association, which represents Santa Monica’s eastside and is largely populated with minorities, is one of the oldest in the city. And many of its board members have been on the board since its inception in 1979.
That all changed last Saturday.
Dozens of residents descended on the PNA’s annual meeting and overwhelmingly voted in nine new board members. They said they felt disconnected from the association because they perceived it as opposed to the interests of schools and low-income workers.
Maria Loya, one of nine new board members, said the group will address youth violence, affordable housing, social services for working-class families and creating more jobs.
The PNA is regarded by local politicians as an important and powerful group that coalesces the neighborhood, and frequently acts as a liaison to City Hall, residents said.
“The Pico Neighborhood Association is especially important because we are disenfranchised,” said Clyde Smith, a native who has participated with the PNA since its inception. “We don’t have a single member of the City Council that lives in, or has ever lived in our neighborhood.
“It advocates on behalf of people who do not have a singular voice to represent them. They can have a collective voice.”
Loya said residents were rallied into action by the recent shooting of Jalonnie Carter, 19, and a perceived inaction by the neighborhood group. Carter was fatally shot in the back in the alley behind 20th Street last month and is the most recent example of increased violence in the neighborhood.
Loya said she and a handful of others met weekly for about a month leading up to the election to discuss their concerns and the direction they want the neighborhood group to go in. They then took their concerns to friends and neighbors and quickly learned that they weren’t alone, Loya said.
2D6,“When we started informing them that there was an opportunity to have representation, we found that there was definitely that desire and the need to really go out there and exercise their voice,” Loya said. “It was a great turnout and we had people that had never really participated in this type of process before. It was really exciting.”
Before the next meeting, Loya said board members are working on a survey that will be conducted door-to-door in the neighborhood to get a better idea of residents’ concerns.
Oscar de la Torre, director of the Pico Youth and Family Center, applauded the change and said he is hoping more residents will get involved. He said to characterize the election as a takeover is not accurate.
48D,“It’s an issue of increasing participation of groups that have historically not participated,” he said. “Groups that have been marginalized, not just in the Pico neighborhood but in Santa Monica.”
Smith, a current board member, was not reelected onto the board. But he said he plans to continue to work with the group, whether as an appointed board member or simply as a participant. Though the board has traditionally had 13 members, Smith said board members can adjust that number.
“It has been 13 historically but it could be anything,” he said. “It could be 25. It’s not a competition.
“After all the hoopla, after all the reporters have left the room, after everything has quieted down, how many people are still in the room? It’s usually 10 people,” Smith added.
Though Smith said he is unaware of the exact agenda of the newly elected board members, he pointed to the long relationship between PNA and the Community Corporation of Santa Monica, which creates and manages affordable housing projects.
He said he was glad the residents want to participate but questioned why they had never been to any meetings before they descended upon the annual election.
Asked if there is any contention between the newly elected board members and the long-standing PNA members, Smith said, “There’s more absence of knowledge than there is contention. If I was a member of the Boy Scouts and a bunch of people wanted to show up and join, one of the things the Scouts would require is that I know about the organization and agree with its goals.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 29, 2003. Read the original PDF.