“Mayor sets priorities for the year ahead” was the front page headline on Jan. 3 in the Santa Monica Daily Press.
“Oh, boy.” I thought, “This ought to be good.” It was classic political rhetoric. “A political action committee being set up by the local Chamber of Commerce is sure to cause problems.” Problems? For whom? Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights and its slate of candidates, no doubt.
The truth is that SMRR and its politicians want their own way. If you disagree with them, you are definitely a problem. And, if the chamber is a “problem,” can you imagine what they say about me? I’m SMRR Enemy No. 1. It’s an honor — like winning an Academy Award.
Mayor Richard Bloom, who’ll likely run for reelection to the City Council on the SMRR ticket this fall, said that the chamber’s entry into the political scene isn’t “going to change the outcome of the election and it’s going to create a more divisive environment at a time when we really don’t need that.”
So when a non-SMRR voice is heard, it’s divisive? Isn’t Democracy about expressing different viewpoints and exchanging ideas? How divisive is that?
When SMRR City Councilpersons appoint themselves and their lackeys to all the task forces, boards and commissions, and ignore, discredit or stifle other points of view, that’s divisive.
Luckily for Santa Monica, the chamber has the money and resources to counter SMRR’s propaganda machine. Issues such as the impact of homelessness on the community, support for schools, misdirection of city funds and serving residents’ needs might have a chance to be heard and not obscured by the usual SMRR smokescreens.
If the chamber plays it smart, SMRR might not get away with its usual underpaid hotel workers crisis or bogus rent control threat its members always use to scare gullible renters.
Chamber involvement could unite the various non-SMRR factions whose disunity has always played into SMRR hands. It’ll be interesting to see if homeowners, moderates, the business community, parents with children in schools and the disenfranchised find a strong, united voice.
Yes, there’s another kid in the sandbox. It’s a problem, all right, but only for Bloom, SMRR and their cronies.
The mayor also talked about specific priorities he’d like to see the city deal with. Gun violence in the Pico neighborhood was at the top of his list.
I talked to many Pico neighborhood leaders and Bloom’s interest in stopping the violence was a bit of a surprise to them. Beyond reading and conversing about “Reducing Gun Violence,” a research report by the RAND Corp. think tank, I don’t know what the mayor has done to help quell gun violence, but I hope his latest statements aren’t just lip service.
At least Councilmen Kevin McKeown and Michael Feinstein showed up and schmoozed at the last Pico Neighborhood Association annual congress.
The mayor also wants to promote the arts. He points to partnerships and sponsorships and “finding ways for local residents, the business community and the hospitality industry to energize the community with more music and more arts.”
I wonder if all this “energizing” is going to take place before or after the SMRR politicians back another union-sponsored minimum wage proposal that’ll increase overhead costs and place Santa Monica’s business community at an even bigger competitive disadvantage.
Lastly, Bloom supports funding for education, but, “It’s really important for local government to maintain flexibility in how it allocates its resources.”
Folks, that’s SMRR-speak for “we have more important things to do with your tax money than spend it on education.” Bloom and the City Council need to be able to throw our money away on $135,000-a-bed homeless shelters, affordable housing for non-residents, traffic calming, speed bumps and a host of other pet pork.
These priorities sound like political hooey. It’s all happy news: Education, arts and world peace — and no substance.
Wisely, the mayor avoids the real issue, which is the City Council’s refusal or inability to improve the quality of life and safety of tax paying, voting residents of the community, their children and their families. (Bill Bauer is a longtime Santa Monica resident and a freelance writer).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 9, 2004. Read the original PDF.