phase, City Hall is taking public input to address everything from determining building heights to adding bicycle lanes.
“We must make sure that the planning documents and zoning documents are moving on track,” she said, adding the document is expected to be approved in 2006. “We don’t want to take on anything that we can’t realistically accomplish, or something that will derail our progress. We need to set priorities.”
Finally, O’Connor said she wants to ensure that Santa Monica stays true to its commitment to exist as a sustainable and environmentally friendly city.
“The city is committed to doing things in a sustainable fashion,” she said, adding those practices go beyond just keeping Santa Monica Bay clean — it involves building environmentally friendly structures, conserving energy and minimizing the city’s dependence on natural resources.
While focusing on this year’s priorities, O’Connor said she realizes she has to balance all of the city’s interests with her own.
“As mayor you have to have an open mind,” she said, adding she’s not afraid to take a stand when she has to. “The city elected me to make decisions. I have to use my own judgment.”
O’Connor, who was reelected in 2002, was appointed by the City Council in December as mayor for a one-year term. The position doesn’t come with additional voting power, and she can’t overrule a council decision.
Taking the job just days after the death of her mother, Esther Smicklas, the extra work helps keep her busy.
“I don’t have to think about how much I miss her,” she said. “There are definitely more demands on my time now that I am mayor. It’s a little more intense.”
Still grieving over the loss, she said Smicklas was a big part of Santa Monica.
“She loved to be involved with the community, especially with young people,” she said.
When asked if she had reservations about taking the position so soon after her death, O’Connor said her mother would have demanded it.
“That’s my mother’s legacy,” she said. “She would tell me to go do what you have to do.”
O’Connor balances the demands of being mayor with maintaining a full-time career as a historical preservationist.
“Being the mayor does not define me,” she said. “I have a whole other career.”
Some of O’Connor’s biggest jobs include restoration projects for UCLA and USC after the 1994 earthquake and more recently, overseeing the three-year remodeling of the Los Angeles City Hall.
In order to avoid conflicts of interest, she declines restoration projects in Santa Monica.
Her official duties as mayor includes running the City Council meetings and setting the agenda with the City Manager. O’Connor said she tries to ensure the process runs smoothly and openly, while still showing respect for other council members. That often means giving council members the opportunity to speak at length on certain issues.
“These people were elected,” she said. “They feel accountable to the public to speak on issues.”
Since moving to Santa Monica from Chicago in 1987, O’Connor has been a member of the Landmarks Commission and the Planning Commission, served on City Council for 13 years, and served as mayor three times.
O’Connor said the key to being mayor is knowing she could give it up and still be happy.
“You have to have to be OK with walking away from it,” she said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 15, 2005. Read the original PDF.