Santa Monica Race Goes Down to Doorbell : Edge on Council at Stake for 3 Incumbents

When Santa Monica voters respond to a knock at their doors during the next two weeks, they are likely to find a city official standing on the other side.

Incumbents do not always commit to intensive canvassing. But Mayor Christine E. Reed and Councilmen David G. Epstein and William H. Jennings of the All Santa Monica Coalition slate are not taking anything for granted this year.

The three council members and their supporters hope to reach 70% of the city’s households by election day, when they will face a stiff challenge from three candidates affiliated with Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights.

Multicolored push pins on a city map inside the coalition’s headquarters chart the group’s weekly progress. Campaign manager Colleen Harmon said the field operation is a crucial element of the coalition’s campaign strategy.

“There is definitely an emphasis on voter contact,” Harmon said. “Campaigns should be people-oriented. And we have been very aggressive.”

A sweep in the Nov. 4 election is crucial to the coalition’s future. The current council is made up of four representatives from the All Santa Monica Coalition, two from Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights and one independent. A loss by one of the coalition members would leave the council evenly split between the two factions. A loss by two coalition members would cost the group its majority.

So the coalition, founded by homeowners, businessmen and landlords in 1982, is doing everything possible to broaden its base of appeal. Reed, Epstein and Jennings have targeted much of their campaign effort at tenants, who account for about 80% of the city’s population, by voicing strong support for rent control. They have also stressed a commitment to strict development controls.

Mostly, however, the All Santa Monica Coalition has promoted itself as the moderate alternative to the stridently liberal Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights faction that controlled City Hall from 1981 to 1984. One flyer proclaims that the coalition has re-opened the door to city government.

The coalition will spend about $250,000 on the Reed, Epstein and Jennings campaign, about twice as much as the opposition expects to spend. The incumbents have been billed as a rock-solid team with more than 20 years of experience. At the same time, however, they are three very different people.

Reed is the dean of the council. The 42-year-old Republican won her seat in 1975, running in opposition to a proposal to dismantle the Santa Monica Pier. She was reelected in 1979, despite the fact that she was against the rent control initiative that passed that year. And she won a third term in 1983, in the first race pitting the coalition against Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights.

Realized Her Dream

When coalition members assumed control of the council in 1984, Reed realized her dream of becoming mayor. She is seen as the strongest of the three coalition candidates in this year’s race, largely because of the exposure she received during her council tenure and two years at the helm of city government.

Rent control is cited as the No. 1 voter concern in most polls taken by the candidates, but Reed has tried to downplay it as a campaign issue. She credits her opposition with creating the law, one of the nation’s toughest, but is quick to add that coalition members stand squarely behind it.

“The rent control law has been in place for seven years,” Reed said. “And it has been rendered quite secure by the courts. There’s nothing more that Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights can bring to the table except rhetoric. All they can say is that they give better rent control speeches than we do.”

From among the other problems facing the city, Reed singled out the homeless, toxic dumping and traffic congestion. She favors tougher prosecution of panhandlers, but opposed a lawsuit that the city filed against Los Angeles County alleging that it provides inadequate services for the homeless. She said she would press the county and the state to do more to prevent toxic waste dumping in Santa Monica Bay, and work to divert traffic from residential areas.

Reed added that she supports the city’s land-use plan, which strictly regulates growth. But she said the council should reconsider some specific zoning regulations, such as the regulation that prohibits hotel construction along the southern edge of Main Street. She stressed her role in promoting a toxics round-up program in which the city disposed of residents’ leftover paints and other substances, her support of a $187,000 financial aid package for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and her record as mayor.

“I’m proudest of the way I chair the meetings and the way I represent the city in a generic way, not a political way,” said Reed, who once cut short an argument between lawyers by telling the “Perry Masons” to pipe down. “I try to keep in mind that I do this for all seven of us, not just Chris Reed.”

License Tag

Reed is married and has two school-aged children. She lives in a modest home north of Wilshire Boulevard and drives a battered green 1967 Volkswagen Bug with personalized license plates that say “SM MAYOR.” As a housewife, Reed is able to dedicate much of her time to the job of mayor.

Epstein, a lawyer, won his spot on the council in an upset of Ruth Yannatta Goldway, the symbolic leader of the rent control movement. His narrow victory in the 1983 at-large race set the stage for the coalition to take control of the council the following year, when Herb Katz won a seat.

The 43-year-old Epstein is widely viewed as the most conservative of the seven council members. He has been the most consistent critic of liberal City Atty. Robert M. Myers and refers to Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights as a “radical coalition.” Epstein, who works in the Orange County counsel’s office, championed the Santa Monica law that restricts city employees’ smoking rights.

Epstein also helped lead the drive to alleviate problems faced by the city’s homeless population this year. He supported increased social services for vagrants but at the same time called for tougher prosecution of panhandlers, charging that they pose a public safety problem. “I want to enforce people’s rights to walk the streets without being harassed,” Epstein said. “But we need balanced programs.”

Epstein considers himself a supporter of rent control, but he has also been a frequent critic of the Rent Control Board. Recently, he filed a complaint against the board for publicizing three candidates in its newsletter. The district attorney’s office is investigating.

Improved City Government

Epstein contends that Santa Monica city government is far better off than it was two years ago, when the coalition came to power. He said the coalition’s strongest attribute is its propensity for dealing with “nuts-and-bolts” issues such as street lighting, crime, traffic and parking.

“We have brought back an efficient and open city government,” Epstein said of the coalition. “We are three very different individuals. And we disagree, sometimes quite sharply. But I would say that we all respect each other.”

Epstein is considered one of the council’s intellectuals. He was a self-described socialist in the 1960s and ‘70s, but switched to the GOP several years ago because he agreed with the Republican Party’s foreign policy stand. He has made no secret of the fact that he desires a judgeship, but Epstein says he would be perfectly happy to spend the next four years on the City Council.

Epstein and his wife are Ocean Park tenants. He spends his spare time reading and playing piano and guitar. He also holds a Ph.D. in anthropology.

Jennings is the only candidate who has belonged to both political factions. He was first elected to the council in 1979, on the Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights slate. In 1983, he bolted the group and successfully ran for reelection on the All Santa Monica Coalition Slate. Jennings said he left Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights because he was discouraged from expressing his opinions.

Jennings, 44, remains critical of slate politics. Two years ago, the Century City attorney suggested disbanding the coalition, and he still argues that the slates drive up campaign costs and put less-known candidates at a disadvantage.

Jennings is closely identified with the coalition and its various political stances. But he also has a reputation for espousing his own ideas, and for being the most unpredictable of the seven council members. In one instance, Jennings has suggested converting the downtown-oceanfront area of Santa Monica into a European-style walkway with restaurants, shops and entertainment.

Could Become ‘Crown Jewel’

“That area could be the crown jewel of West Los Angeles,” Jennings said. “I would like to see it become much more of a regional attraction.”

Jennings also favors converting the Civic Auditorium into an entertainment complex. And he said he plans to suggest that the council hold “town hall” style meetings to encourage more citizen participation in government.

Jennings supports rent control but, because he is disturbed by the deterioration of empty apartment buildings in Santa Monica, says he would consider an ordinance that would require better maintenance of empty buildings, some of which are being held off of the market by their owners in protest of rent control.

Jennings is the only Democrat on the coalition slate. Like his running mates, he maintains that the coalition has returned fairness to city government. As a banking lawyer, Jennings said one of his strong points on the council is his knowledge of the legal and financial aspects of development.

Jennings lives in an apartment north of Wilshire Boulevard, and is engaged. He was a professional actor in the early 1970s. In his biggest role, Jennings played Thomas Jefferson in a national touring company production of “1776.”