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# Signatures don’t lie
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/signatures-dont-lie-editor/
- Published: 2008-06-27T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T19:59:32.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

It’s a good sign when politicians and ex-pols are running scared of a public initiative. Former mayor Nat Trives (June 26, page 4, “Letters to the editor”) says the consultants’ study of RIFT shows a “potential” negative impact to the city’s General Fund. How about the thousands of subsidized units the city’s LUCE proposes? Won’t that be a drain on the General Fund?

Santa Monica is one of California’s richest cities. This year, while the economy is faltering elsewhere, it passed a half billion dollar budget for a city with only 80,000 residents. Don’t be fooled by Trives’ vague threats that there might be cuts to police, fire or school projects. The city has vast pads of fat in that budget. It can start by cutting out fees to consultants and let paid staff do the work.

Councilman Ken Genser, who is up for election this November, is one of RIFT’s opponents. RIFT calls for a cap on commercial (not hospitals, residential, schools) development. No wonder, he was one of the councilmen (1990-present) who sat on their hands when the Water Garden with 1.27 million square feet and thousands of cars in three levels of parking lots was delivered to Santa Monica. Thanks, Ken, for bringing us the daily car jam that’s turned the Cloverfield area into a nightmare. Now he wants more unbridled development guided only by the “wisdom” of the City Council.

Ten thousand Santa Monicans who signed the petition to get RIFT on the ballot think otherwise.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 27, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062708.pdf?ref=smdp.com)