Reform Overshadows Rent Control : The New ‘Big R’ in Santa Monica

Reform has replaced Rent as the Big R of Santa Monica politics, at least temporarily.

The City Council has ordered its staff to study a package of campaign reform proposals that could cut election costs, reduce the power of the city’s political organizations and discourage deceptive campaign practices.

Election reform will be discussed at a special March 17 council session, and a number of council members have said they intend to push for changes in the local laws.

“I would say everybody on the council has some dissatisfaction with some aspect of the way elections are run in this city,” Mayor James P. Conn said.

The reform proposals come in the wake of a November council election that cost nearly $500,000. Campaign expenditures have been rising steadily while the number of candidates has declined.

Thirty-two candidates ran for three council seats in 1975, but in last year’s race only six people battled for three posts. A campaign that cost $4,500 in the 1970s could cost as much as $100,000 today. And a study by the California Commission on Campaign Financing shows that Santa Monica, where people are allowed to contribute as much as $1,491 to a candidate, has the state’s second highest ceiling on political donations for cities and counties.

2 Political Groups Blamed

Some people blame the two political groups that have dominated city politics for most of the 1980s--Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights and the All Santa Monica Coalition--for driving up campaign costs and discouraging participation by those not active in the groups. Others say Santa Monica reflects a nationwide trend toward costlier elections.

“Cities that have campaign finance laws are reevaluating these laws in light of a tremendous escalation in costs around the state,” said Robert M. Stern, general counsel for the California Commission on Campaign Financing, a nonprofit group that advocates campaign reform. “We have seen a flurry of activity in the last year.”

The reform proposals call for stricter limits on campaign spending and tougher laws against deceptive campaign practices. Another calls for numbering the seven at-large council seats. There even has been talk of establishing geographic council districts.

The idea of numbering the seats may be the most significant, several council members said. The current election system pits all of the candidates against each other. Under a plan proposed by Councilman Alan Katz, candidates would run for a specific council seat.

Katz, the council’s only independent, said his proposal would weaken Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights and the All Santa Monica Coalition because challengers could target a specific incumbent instead of taking on an entire slate.

“In the mob situation we have now it is impossible for someone who is not affiliated with an organization to win,” Katz said. “The structure of elections is such that we have no choice in this town anymore.”

Katz, who was appointed to fill a vacancy in 1985, should know. Last year he ran against another independent in a special election and received about 80% of the vote. Had he run in the regular election, against candidates affiliated with the two political groups, Katz believes that he would have finished last.

The proposal has gained support among Katz’s fellow council members. Conn, Dennis Zane and David Finkel are members of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, and Christine E. Reed, William H. Jennings and Herb Katz are members of the All Santa Monica Coalition.

‘Us Versus Them’

“There has been a context in which it’s us versus them, slate versus slate,” Reed said. “You lose the personalities. Alan’s proposal would bring independent-minded people . . . back into the framework of elections.”

“If we ran against individuals, there would not be anywhere near the incentive or need to raise vast amounts of money” than is needed now, Jennings said. “The candidates . . . would have to run on their positions.”

Katz’s plan, which would require a citywide vote to become law, does not call for geographic council districts. He said he rejected that idea because Santa Monica, which is about eight square miles, is too small.

Said Reed: “In a city the size of Santa Monica it is far more important for us to work together than to break into constituent parts. We need people who will look after the needs of all 90,000-plus citizens.”

Conn, Zane and Finkel, however, said the idea of geographic council districts may be worth considering at the March council session.

Katz’s plan “has renewed discussion of the question of districting the city,” Zane said. “There are a lot of advocates of that because the districts create a clearer accountability . . . between a neighborhood and a council member.” Zane said district races could also cut campaign costs.

“I’ve always liked geographical districting,” Finkel said. “It’s one way to get minority representation in government. I am not convinced that we should have districts, but I am convinced that we should have a study made of the question.”

Districting Not Norm

Districting is not the norm in California. According to a study by the League of Cities, 18 cities have districts or wards and 10 cities have a combination of districts and at-large designations. But 444 cities elect their council representatives strictly at-large.

In Santa Monica, the districting idea went down in flames when it was last proposed in 1975. Supporters, many from the poorer Ocean Park area, argued that it would ensure fairer representation. Nearly 70% of the voters opposed it.

Recently, minorities have successfully pushed for districting or redistricting in other cities. But Yolanda Becerra-Jones, head of the Latino Resource Organization, said it isn’t likely to happen soon in Santa Monica. Latinos, who compose about 15% of Santa Monica’s population, are not politically organized enough to demand representation, she said.

“We have talked about Latino representation on the council and other bodies,” Becerra-Jones said. “We don’t have a chance the way things are set up now. By and large, our people are not connected to either political slate.”

Zane and Finkel plan to advance their own election reform plans at the March meeting. Finkel wants the council to consider a campaign spending measure, and Zane’s proposal urges the council to broaden its definition of conflict of interest. Under his plan, a council member would be disqualified from voting on a contract or permit that would directly benefit anyone who has contributed more than $1,000 within a two-year period to that council member’s campaign.

‘Dampening Effect’

“The community and contributors should know that the council members are going to make a commitment to distance their decisions from people’s contributors,” he said. “This will have a dampening effect on the amount of money spent on campaigns, although it is not the same as a contribution limitation.”

Finkel also has suggested that the council curb unfair campaign practices. His renters’ rights group had accused the coalition of sending out deceptive mailers in the November campaign, and each group has accused the other of harassing campaign workers and illegally removing mailers from residents’ doorways.

Reed acknowledged that deceptive campaign practices are troublesome, but said enforcing a law to prevent them would not be easy.

Jennings, who has spoken against the increase of slate politics, said he is inclined to favor anything that reduces the power of the two political organizations before the next election in November, 1988.

“There used to be three or four candidates for each slot, now there are only two for each slot,” he said. “People should not think they have to raise $100,000 to run for the job. I don’t think that furthers democracy very well.”

Jennings also said he wants the council to consider placing a limit on the number of consecutive terms members can serve. “If you don’t run for reelection you give up that incumbency factor for your side,” he said. “But people deserve new officials periodically. It brings in new ideas.”

Councilman Herb Katz (who is not related to Alan Katz) may be the council’s staunchest traditionalist and has been the least vocal on campaign reform. However, Katz said he realizes that change may be needed.

“I have no specific ideas,” Katz said. “But I would like to see something done.”

CANDIDATES FOR COUNCIL ELECTIONS

Santa Monica’s City Council has seven seats. Every two years, elections are staggered with three seats filled in one election and four the next. Two special elections held in 1979 and 1986 are not included here because they involved only one council seat.

Year Candidates Seats 1975 32 3 1977 15 4 1979 14 3 1981 12 4 1983 10 3 1984 9 4 1986 6 3