7 Lead Field to Fill Santa Monica Seat Held by Edwards

With the deadline for filling a Santa Monica City Council vacancy less than three weeks away, the list of applicants for the job is growing. But council members said no one has emerged as a clear front runner.

Several community and business leaders are vying for the seat left open by the death of Councilman Ken Edwards. City Hall observers said, however, said that none of them qualifies as a consensus candidate.

Four Votes Needed

“Nobody has the votes at this point,” said Councilman James Conn. “There’s a good possibility that nobody (on the council) likes anybody.”

Four votes are needed to fill the council vacancy. The All Santa Monica Coalition, which holds four of the seven council seats, could appoint a replacement without the support of the rival Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights. But Mayor Christine E. Reed has vowed to seek an accord.

Reed called it “unfair” to replace Edwards, a renters’ rights leader, with someone unacceptable to Edwards’ two council allies. At the same time, Reed acknowledged that her organization is looking for someone to run on the coalition slate (with or without renters’ rights support) in next year’s election.

“It would be my hope that we would appoint someone that both organizations would be comfortable supporting,” Reed said. “It’s probably impossible to find someone who’s absolutely in the middle, but the person doesn’t have to be in agreement with Chris Reed on every issue. . . . I don’t want (renter activists) to think they’re being shut out of this government.’

Councilman Dennis Zane, a renter activist, was skeptical about the chances of finding a candidate who would appeal to both political factions. If the coalition really wanted to be fair, Zane said it should agree not to endorse the new appointee in next year’s election. But he admitted that was unlikely.

The choice of Edwards’ replacement is considered pivotal for several reasons. Although the city is less divided than it was at the height of the rent control struggle, the two factions that control Santa Monica politics--the moderate coalition and the liberal renters’ rights organization--continue to compete at election time.

With the appointment, the coalition will have a 5-2 majority on the council, its largest hold ever and enough votes to hire, fire and make changes in the budget. The appointee also becomes an incumbent in the November, 1986, election, when the coalition will be fighting to retain all but one of its seats. In addition, the appointee would be expected to support coalition positions favoring modifications in the rent control law and better opportunities for business.

Popular Politician

Finally, the appointee will be replacing Edwards, the most popular politician in recent Santa Monica history, and both organizations agree that the new council member should uphold his commitment to conciliation.

The seven people who have made serious overtures to the council or have been seriously discussed are: Pete Barrett, a retired businessman; Alan Katz, an attorney and former Assembly candidate; Martin Sosin, an attorney and Santa Monica Arts Commission member; Nat Trives, a criminal justice professor who served as the city’s only black mayor; Irene Zivi, the coalition-backed runner-up in last year’s council election; Judy Gewertz, a member of the city’s Commission on Older Americans, and Eileen Hecht, a city planning commissioner.

Although it is a nonpartisan race, Council members said two of the contenders--Sosin and Barrett--may be handicapped because they are Republicans in a predominantly Democratic city. Some council members respect Trives’ political experience but say he may not be interested in running. And two others, Gewertz and Hecht, are considered dark horses because their prime support comes from minority council members Conn and Dennis Zane.

That makes Katz and Zivi appear to be the prime contenders, according to people close to City Hall, who cautioned that others could enter the race later. And although Conn and Zane said they will probably unite behind the same candidate when the votes are cast, coalition members may find themselves divided.

“In the first round of voting there may be a three- or four-way split among candidates,” said Mayor Pro Tem William Jennings, a coalition member. “Right now it’s wide open, although I’d expect to see some people withdraw their names from the competition.”

“You want somebody who’s going to do a good job,” said Councilman David Epstein, another coalition member. “You also want someone who’s going to be a conciliator like (Edwards) and not too far from where Ken was politically. All the people mentioned fit that in a broad sense.”

‘Tough Order’

“It should be a person whom all of us on the council can accept,” said Herb Katz, the fourth coalition representative. “But that’s a tough order. If we can do it and that person can remain non-endorsed (by either political faction in the upcoming election) or totally endorsed, that’s beautiful.”

All of the contenders except Trives made themselves available for interviews on the council appointment. Each said he expected to meet with the council members over the next couple of weeks, and all seemed confident of receiving serious consideration for the post.

Pete Barrett, the retired owner of Barrett Refrigeration & Appliance Inc. on Main Street, has been active in Santa Monica business and community affairs for 40 years. The 63-year-old Barrett, who calls himself a moderate Republican, said he hopes to be the council spokesman for small businessmen.

Barrett said he would also like to help reunite the city’s divided political factions. A tenant who lives in Ocean Park, Barrett said he supports rent control. He said his first concern as councilman would be finding solutions to Main Street’s parking problems.

“I think I have a lot of support,” Barrett said. “People are calling on my behalf and writing letters. But there are some very good candidates.”

Judy Gewertz is the chairwoman of the city’s Commission on Older Americans. The 57-year-old Gewertz, a moderate Democrat, is a member of the Santa Monica Democratic Club and Assemblyman Tom Hayden’s Campaign for Economic Democracy. She and her husband own a home north of Montana Avenue, and both have been active in social services.

Independent Voice

Gewertz called herself a strong rent control supporter, and said she sees no reason to modify the law. She said she would be an independent voice on the council.

“I plan to get some feedback and see if I would be acceptable,” Gewertz said. “I understand that they would like to appoint someone moderate, and not affiliated with the political groups, and I feel I fit that description.”

Eileen Hecht was appointed to the Santa Monica Planning Commission last year. A liberal Democrat, she works as a fabric designer and consultant and served on the city’s Architecture Review Board for five years. Hecht, a 40-year-old homeowner, called herself a rent control supporter, but added that she has never been pleased with the way the law is administered. Hecht said she could support vacancy decontrol if it allowed only moderate increases in rents. The planning commissioner said she also considers herself an independent.

“I’m not involved with either political group,” she said. “My political views lap over each group. I’ve never felt comfortable aligning myself with either one of them totally.”

Alan Katz, a former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer, ran for public office in 1982, when he briefly challenged Hayden for the 44th District Assembly seat. Katz said he dropped out of the race because Hayden and other challengers had too much money. Since then, the 32-year-old “progressive liberal” Democrat has run his own marketing firm in Fox Hills.

Katz is a member of the New Deal Democratic Club and the Santa Monica Democratic Club and worked for Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley in the 1982 gubernatorial race. He is also president of the Southern California region of the American Jewish Congress and vice president of the Westside Fair Housing Council. He lives in a rented apartment on Montana Avenue.

“One of the most important roles Ken Edwards played was to serve as a bridge between the factions and that’s the kind of role I would like to play as well,” Katz said. “We need less factionalism and more of a community posture.”

‘Moderating Influence’

Martin Sosin said he would represent a “moderating influence” on the council. The 63-year-old Sosin is a certified public accountant and an attorney and helped start the independent Columbia National Bank.

Sosin, who described himself as a moderate Republican, also serves on the city’s Arts Commission and is treasurer of the Senior Health and Peer Counseling Clinic. A homeowner, Sosin said he favors rent control, but would support changes that would allow for rent increases when units are vacated.

“The people who have to make the decision (on the appointment) have a lot of planning to do,” Sosin said. “I would go for a person like myself with a good business and financial background. . . . I’m a good speaker. I also think fairly well on my feet and listen very well.”

Irene Zivi was endorsed by the coalition in last year’s council election, when she was the first runner-up. Zivi, 54, said she demonstrated her commitment to the post by running last year. She called herself a moderate Democrat with a special concern for social issues.

Zivi served on the city’s special task force on the homeless and has worked with the Westside Shelter Coalition. She is also a member of the Commission on the Status of Women. A six-year resident of Santa Monica, Zivi and her husband own a home in the Sunset park area. Zivi said she supports rent control, but has serious concerns about the deterioration of the city’s housing stock.

“It seems to me that the council people are all looking for the same kind of person, someone they can get along with and someone who shares their concerns,” Zivi said. “I’ve been openly identified with the All Santa Monica Coalition, but when it comes down to really voting on the issues. . . . I’d judge each one as it comes up.”