By Larry Mollin Santa Monica
After reading the article in SMDP on May 3 entitled “Neighborhood Markets Targeted By City Hall,” I realized how much had been lost in the last election. Six months ago we had a chance to change the way government is elected in Santa Monica. On the ballot was a proposition (VERITAS) that would have given us district representation instead of the at-large selection we have now.
That means that Santa Monicans would have had someone from their own neighborhood to fight for their local causes. In Ocean Park, where long-standing neighborhood markets are threatened, they would have had someone to stand up to the city’s attack. They also would have had someone in their corner to stop the madness of the mammoth affordable housing project being built on Main.
In North of Montana there would have been a dedicated council person to reason with the city’s Historic District committee over the landmarking of the unworthy older properties in that district. If that had been done and handled properly, there never would have been a need for an expensive special election and all the rancor it produced.
Instead what the gullible North of Montana residents got were at-large, SMRR council hopefuls like Pam O’Connor pledging their support at a meeting at Franklin School prior to the election. However once O’Connor got elected she turned her back on the NoMo district and the chasm between homeowners and renters widened. That could not happen if the VERITAS proposition had passed If you go on and look at the troubling issues in the last six months, each one has a direct impact for one of the seven districts in Santa Monica. Wouldn’t those mid-city residents near Madison School feel a lot more protected if they had a dedicated council person in their corner for their fight against SMRR legacy Dennis Zane and his proposed Madison Performing Arts Theater being built in their front yard? As it is they have no one and they’ll shoulder the burden.
Next time we have a chance to change the way representatives are elected do not be fooled by the rhetoric spun against it. District-wide representation is grassroots democracy pure and simple. It’s time we get back to those roots and break the “at-large” SMRR hold that controls the city.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 5, 2003. Read the original PDF.