> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Turnout is good, not great - URL: https://www.smdp.com/turnout-is-good-not-great/ - Published: 2008-01-19T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T23:02:46.000Z - Author: Kevin Herrera - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Some local residents make it a point to get involved, but there are still those sitting on the fence* CITYWIDE On a Monday night in May of last year, City Clerk Maria Stewart and her staff held a community meeting at the Ken Edwards Center to discuss a topic that garnered much attention in Santa Monica — the electoral process. Voters had just witnessed one of the most contentious elections in recent memory as several strong City Council candidates battled it out while special interest groups spent millions of dollars on mailers and cable television ads to oust incumbents, who ended up being victorious despite the blitz. The meeting room was packed, as roughly 200 residents showed up to speak their minds. The turnout was phenomenal, Stewart and others who attended said. “The level of civic engagement here is extremely high,” said Stewart, who is in charge of administering and monitoring elections, posting agendas for City Council and commission meetings as well as operating City Hall’s mail center and print shop. “Residents want to know what’s going on and be informed,” Stewart added. “They want to be given choices, voice their opinion and they want to participate.” There’s no doubt that Santa Monicans are active. Voters here hit the polls at higher rates than neighboring cities — 83.6 percent voter turnout in 2004\. However, in a city with more than 86,000 residents, should 200 people showing up at a meeting be considered a good turnout? And if the same faces continue to attend and dominate the discussion, where does that leave the average resident who may only show up once or twice a year? Since the meeting was held at 7 p.m. on a Monday, many who monitor civic engagement would say yes, 200 people is a good turnout. But they are also the first ones to admit that there’s always more that can be done. “Traditionally, you don’t have 200 people turning out,” said Bob Stern, the director of the Center for Governmental Studies and a former Santa Monica resident for 15 years. “If 200 people turn out at an L.A. City Council meeting, that’s good,” Stern said. “The question is, how frustrated are people? Do they feel that they don’t have input? I don’t think that’s the case (in Santa Monica). The conservatives may feel that way because they don’t have a majority on the council, but the majority seem satisfied.” What are the obstacles standing in the way, and why is it so important that more people show up to community workshops on Big Blue Bus routes, city finances or the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE), which will dictate development in Santa Monica for the next 20 years or more? The answer is simple — the more people who show up, the more input city officials receive and are better able to draft policies that reflect the core beliefs of the community. “To build any kind of long term agreement, you have to have a consensus and not have issues go one extreme this year and then three years go in another extreme,” said Eileen Fogarty, director of planning and community development at City Hall who has been hosting meetings around the community, trying to gather input on how neighborhoods should be shaped. “To get that consensus you absolutely have to have a broad base of support, a turnout that reflects many different interests in the community,” Fogarty added. CITY HALL BECOMES MORE INCLUSIVE To attract a broad base, City Hall has tried some different tactics. City officials rely heavily on mass mailings, e-mails and the local press as well as City TV, but they have also changed the process to be more community friendly. Meetings are now held before a development project gets all the way to the City Council for approval, allowing residents to interact with the developer and give input before a significant amount of money is spent on design. During these meetings, issues such as traffic and landscaping are vetted. City Hall in 1999 held a special election to fill a vacant council seat. The election was held over a weekend to test the theory that if given more time, voters will turn out to the polls. It was an experiment that netted a turnout of 27.5 percent, which is good considering the election was for only one council seat and wasn’t paired with any other federal, state or county measures, Stewart said. For this election cycle, Stewart plans to go out into the community to better explain the electoral process to residents, which may encourage some to run. “It can be daunting, but if we go out and make it more user friendly, people would be more willing to consider running for office,” Stewart said. City Hall has also made an effort to make more information available online, encouraging residents to e-mail their elected officials and department heads to voice their opinions. City Hall has a history of being on the forefront when it comes to using technology to spread discourse. In 1988, City Hall started the Public Electronic Network, or PEN, a city e-mail and discussion system. Now, when residents send e-mails to the address, the message is forwarded to all seven council members and becomes a part of the public record. Councilman Kevin McKeown, who is a computer technician with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, said many residents have decided to use e-mail as a way to communicate instead of showing up at meetings to speak before the council. If there are a lot of speakers, sometimes the amount of time one has is limited to one or two minutes, while an e-mail allows them to write as much as they want. “Nothing matches the historic and durable power of residents showing up in person to speak at a meeting, but Santa Monica’s own flavor of participatory democracy welcomes input by whatever means,” said McKeown, who can often be seen at various commission meetings. “Perhaps because of Santa Monica’s having developed the world’s first municipal teleconferencing system 20 years ago, we’ve long used resident e-mail as a bellwether of general public opinion,” McKeown added. “I try to respond with follow-up questions by return e-mail when I’m not overwhelmed, because the resultant exchanges are often rewardingly thoughtful and productive.” While participating in discussion is good, a resident should pick their battles wisely. Gadflies who attend meetings regularly and speak on nearly every issue can dilute their voice. “Council members value all opinions at public meetings, but I think it’s fair to say we notice and pay special attention to residents who rarely speak, but come down on a Tuesday night because they care passionately about a given issue,” McKeown said. “We’ve enjoyed that on everything from schools to hedges, and recently we had refreshing new points of view from bicyclists on Critical Mass, and local beach users as we considered (regulating) surf camps.” WHAT’S STOPPING YOU? While e-mail has made it easier, there are still obstacles in the way, preventing people from being more involved. Claudia Mendez would like to participate, but has three young children at home, a husband and a full-time job, leaving her little time to attend community meetings or show up at City Hall to talk with the City Council. “It’s amazing how fast the time goes each day,” said Mendez, a resident of the Pico Neighborhood. “By the time *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 19, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/011908.pdf?ref=smdp.com)