Coalition Torn by ‘Family Squabble’ on Council Choice

Time was running out for the All Santa Monica Coalition, the moderate political organization that commands City Hall, when a dozen of its most prominent members met at the home of Councilman Herb Katz.

Within one day the coalition’s four council members would be appointing a successor to Councilman Ken Edwards, the popular leader who had died in August, and the lobbying on behalf of a handful of council hopefuls was intense.

Coalition organizers had promised to present a united front at the council’s meeting the next day. But there was a serious problem. The more liberal wing of the coalition supported Alan Katz, a young attorney and businessman; and the conservatives favored Irene Zivi, an older, well-known community leader.

When it became obvious Monday that Katz had the support of the coalition’s four council members--Mayor Christine E. Reed and Councilmen William Jennings, David Epstein and Herb Katz (no relation to Alan Katz)--Zivi’s backers reportedly became furious and accused the Alan Katz camp of cutting a “back-room deal.”

Alan Katz won the appointment, but coalition members said the disagreement has left the organization seriously splintered.

One organizer who asked to remain anonymous said the coalition has been “rocked to its core.” Others agreed, but predicted that the wounds would heal before the next election. They said it’s business as usual for the coalition’s disparate interest groups that united in opposition to Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, the city’s powerful tenant activist organization.

“We’re a diverse group and we need time for healing,” said Herb Katz. “But it won’t be easy. A lot of people are going to be (upset).”

“No decision comes easily for us, and this one was especially difficult because there were true friends competing for the position,” Reed said. “We’re going to have to work very hard to resolve these difficulties.”

Wesley Wellman, a landlord spokesman who supported Zivi, said, “They don’t know how we feel because they don’t ask us. Decisions are being made by three or four people, with no attempt to reach a broad consensus.”

“I feel like it’s a family squabble,” said Stan Robbins, a local business leader and coalition supporter who vehemently opposed Katz’s appointment.

“I was upset that they went ahead with the appointment without consulting those of us who were active in the coalition.”

The coalition, which is composed of several political factions, never meets as a group. Its leadership includes about a dozen people, who make decisions and speak on behalf of the organization.

Ironically, the disagreement comes at a time when the coalition looks stronger than ever. With the appointment of Alan Katz, the organization holds five of the seven council seats (renter activists occupy the other two) and thus possesses the power to hire and fire and make changes in the city budget.

The group also has a full year to solidify its position before Reed, Jennings, Epstein and Alan Katz face reelection. Although Santa Monica politics are much less contentious than they were at the peak of the rent control struggle, coalition members said they expect a tough challenge from tenant activists in 1986.

The renter organization will hold its first convention today. Councilman Dennis Zane, who is a member of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights along with Councilman James Conn, said tenant activists are already discussing candidates for next year’s race. Zane accused the coalition of appointing Alan Katz to the council to “create the illusion” that it is liberal.

“They have to present as liberal a front as they can,” Zane said. “And there aren’t many liberals who’ll align themselves with them. Katz will have an interesting dilemma. If indeed he’s a liberal Democrat, he doesn’t belong with them. He belongs with Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights.”

Coalition members disagreed, saying their organization has always been composed of people representing a wide range of views.

The organization was founded in 1982, when businessmen, homeowners, landlords and others from the Republican and Democratic parties came together to oppose tenant activist control of City Hall. The new group stunned the renter faction by defeating its leader, Mayor Ruth Yannatta Goldway, in 1983. A year later it captured the council majority when Councilwoman Delores Press, a tenant activist, failed to gather enough signatures to make the ballot.

Since its formation, the coalition seems to have drifted to the left, observers said. In the past, coalition members criticized the city’s Rent Control Board. Now, the group officially supports rent control, even though some members say they would like to see the law modified to provide better incentives for landlords. The coalition has also supported more stringent development guidelines imposed by tenant activists, but its members say they hope to encourage more business activity in Santa Monica.

Some critics in the tenant-activist ranks find these stands contradictory. But coalition backers said it proves that the group is composed of independent thinkers. “It has not been easy to keep the coalition together,” said Terry Pullen, president of Marathon Communications, which has run coalition campaigns. “We want to keep it as broad-based as possible.”

Until recently, the attempt to establish an independent image was unsuccessful. But in 1984, the coalition edged closer by successfully endorsing Herb Katz, who had run as an independent. When Edwards, a tenant activist and former mayor, died in August, coalition members pledged to once again endorse someone unaffiliated with the coalition.

Few Agreed

What immediately became apparent, however, was that few people agreed on the best person for the job.

Pullen and coalition member Christopher Harding pushed for Alan Katz, a former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer who had once challenged Tom Hayden for the 44th District Assembly seat. Wellman, who represented landlords, and some feminists, including the Westside chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus, supported Zivi, a community volunteer who had been endorsed by the coalition in her unsuccessful 1984 council bid.

Others pushed for Pete Barrett, a retired businessman; Martin Sosin, a member of the city’s Arts Commission, Judy Gewertz, a member of the Commission on Older Americans, and Eileen Hecht of the city planning commission,

Initially, coalition members said they would take their time considering applications and even offered to pull Zane and Conn into the process to obtain a consensus. But the plan changed when council members saw the lobbying efforts on behalf of various applicants turn nasty, Reed said.

‘Campaign of Rumors’

Herb Katz said he started to receive half a dozen telephone calls a day from people speaking on behalf of one applicant or against another. Jennings said he was lobbied by “everyone under the sun.” And Reed said a “campaign of rumors” started circulating around the applicants.

Coalition members said Alan Katz and Zivi eventually emerged as the front-runners because they were seen as the most independent applicants and were supported by the organization’s most influential leaders.

Those same members say that Katz emerged as the winner because the progressive wing of the coalition now wields more authority and is stepping away from the old guard, which has traditionally provided much of its funding, because conservative viewpoints don’t win elections in Santa Monica, where more than 80% of the residents are tenants.

Epstein was the last council holdout. He said he agreed to shift from Zivi to Katz in order to maintain unity. Epstein said he expected certain coalition members to disagree with his decision, but predicted that tempers will cool.

‘We’re Alive’

“The coalition is not like SMRR (the renter activist organization),” Epstein said. “We’re not a monolith. We’ve been bickering on and off or worse for as long as I can remember. I always take it seriously, but I don’t necessarily view it as a disaster. It shows we’re alive.”

Jennings agreed.

“They elected us because they trust us, I hope,” Jennings said. “I don’t think they’ve been lost from the fold by all of this. There were some other candidates they preferred. But they’re all grown-ups. They’re not going to pick up their marbles and go home because they didn’t get their way.”

“We don’t perceive it leaving any lasting scars,” said Pullen. “Our perception is that there are some short-term scars, some wounds that will need to be healed. Our hope is that when it comes time for the election, Alan Katz will have proved himself to be a solid member of the City Council and that the coalition and all of its supporters will units behind him.”

Wellman said the Katz opposition is adopting a wait-and-see attitude, but has become skeptical of the coalition’s leadership. Robbins, another opponent, said he had no comment on his future involvement with the organization.