Controversial voting measure finds spot on November ballot
Santa Monica citizens will decide in November whether they should vote for council members by district and elect their mayor.
The Voters Election Reform Initiative for a True Accountability System, also known as VERITAS, collected the necessary 9,000 signatures needed to force the Santa Monica City Council to bring the measure before voters.
The council could have called for a special election or put off a vote for another year, but officials Tuesday night decided they wanted the maximum number of residents at the polls to vote on the proposal.
“This needs to be decided in a way that will evoke the greatest voter participation,” said mayor pro tem Kevin McKeown. “We have an election coming up where turnout is guaranteed to be high because a lot is at stake. It makes all the sense in the world to put it on the November ballot.”
“This needs to be decided in a way that will evoke the greatest voter participation.” — — KEVIN McKEOWN Santa Monica pro tem mayor
A typically verbose council silently agreed and voted 6-0. Councilman Robert Holbrook had left the meeting when the council addressed the measure.
Currently, the mayor is elected by the seven city council members. City council candidates run at-large throughout the eight square miles of Santa Monica’s city limits and there are no term limits.
VERITAS would change that to allow residents to vote for the direct election of the mayor and one council member from their respective voting district. The measure also sets term limits and gives the mayor veto power.
Proponents of VERITAS say the current election process makes it unattainable for the average person to run for office and it is not a representational form of government. The current system allows for slate-financed campaigns dominated by huge special interest money, they say. What’s more, they contend if people could vote for their mayor it would politically legitimatize the position.
“We’re trying to purify the process to bring direct election of our elected officials,” said Paul DeSantis, VERITAS’ author. “And we want the direct election of our mayor. It’s not a personal thing, it’s just that we believe in representational government.”
But opponents say the measure would split the city apart, not just by voting districts but put neighborhoods in competition with each other.
“I think it would result in the balkanization of Santa Monica,” Councilwoman Pam O’Connor told the Daily Press last month. “It would start pitting one district against district.”
Residents appearing before the city council earlier this week overwhelmingly agreed with O’Connor.
“You do not divide a city. This is a very, very bad initiative,” said resident Chuck Allord. “You do not give veto power to one individual. This is a horrible initiative and it will be voted down.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 10, 2002. Read the original PDF.