By CAROLE ORLIN
(Editor’s note: This is the first column in a two-part series on Campaign 2004. On Monday, Nov. 1, Carole will examine local City Council candidates).
The countdown to Election day is now in single digits. One week from Tuesday will mark the date that finally allows us to go to the polls and mark our ballots. Has it really been four years since those “hanging chads?” In looking at the official sample ballot for those of us in Santa Monica, it appears less daunting than I had imagined. We have to mark our choice for: President and Vice President of the United States; U.S. Senator; U.S. Representative; State Senator; State Assembly Member; five Judges of the Superior Court. This is followed by a “yes” or “no” vote on 16 state measures and one county measure. Then, we have our city of Santa Monica choices for: four members of the City Council; two Rent Control Board members; two Santa Monica College Trustees; three school board members; and two “yes” or “no” votes for two propositions. That’s it. Vote on Nov. 2 and go home and watch the election returns.
Because of space limitations, and the limits on a person’s attention span after being bombarded on TV and radio with political ads, political debates, political “spin” commentaries ad nauseum, daily political mailers and phone calls, I decided to make a brief comment on the presidential election and to focus on a more extensive look at one of our local races, the City Council race.
At this point I believe that everyone who has actually decided to vote on Nov. 2 has made up his or her mind whether or not it will be Bush or Kerry. Based upon what happened in the 2000 election and the myriad of pre-election voter polls, the decision for president appears to be extremely close. I don’t think anyone will be surprised if the electoral votes in a number of key states — like Florida in 2000 — will be contested after Election Day and ultimately thrown into the courts of those states, thereby delaying the determination of who won and who lost. It could be déjà vu all over again.
That brings me to repeat an argument that I made in this column about a month ago.
Local elections — like ours in Santa Monica — usually have greater significance on our quality of life, impacting directly on our day-to-day standards of living and working, than which candidate wins the presidency. Since I do believe this to be the case, I would urge you to carefully consider your four selections for our City Council. Unlike the race for president, I suspect there are many of you who have not made up your mind as to which of the 14 candidates listed on the ballot you will actually select. Perhaps this is because of the large number of candidates running. Perhaps this is because of the number of formal and informal political groups that have issued endorsements for one group of four candidates or another group of four different (or even partial overlapping) candidates. Perhaps your indecision is the result of not being able to clearly differentiate among the candidates on their true political views on issues that you see as most important to the future of Santa Monica. Here is my partial list of issues that concern my household: vagrancy — dealing effectively with the homeless; education — providing for quality public schools; public safety; traffic and parking; residential housing — balance between owners and landlords and tenants; business development policies; Santa Monica’s role in providing services to its residents and effectively managing its affairs; recreational facilities and environmental health standards.
You might have carefully read the various articles that have appeared in the Santa Monica Daily Press over the last couple of months and carefully reviewed the responses of the candidates on some of these issues. You might have attended one or more public forums and heard answers to some of your important questions. You might personally know one or more of the candidates for City Council and have satisfied yourself as to whether or not he/she should receive your vote.
However, you might find that none of the above applies to you, and that you, therefore, have no idea how to cast your ballot. Do not despair. Next week, I will present a possible solution to this dilemma. I will discuss the four incumbents who are all seeking reelection; the slate of four candidates endorsed by the Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR); the slate of four candidates endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce; and the other candidates seeking to be in the top four vote-getters, along with a variety of other endorsements from other Santa Monica groups and individuals. We will look at the interesting notion of how your votes might or might not aid in accomplishing your desired goal of maintaining the status quo or effectuating change. Finally, in the spirit of this campaign, I will be giving you my own campaign pledge. (Carole).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 25, 2004. Read the original PDF.