Zane Changes His Mind, Will Finish City Council Term

Parting with City Hall has been such sweet sorrow for veteran Santa Monica Councilman Dennis Zane.

Last August, he announced his resignation, saying he needed to devote himself to earning a living, traveling and starting a family. At the behest of colleagues, he reluctantly agreed to stay until the end of the year.

He pushed back his departure date twice more, saying he needed to complete some projects that were important to him.

Last week, acknowledging what was already clear to some of his colleagues, Zane said he will stay on the council until his term expires in November so he can finish work on the pier, the promenade and the homeless task force recommendations.

After that, Zane insisted, it’s adios. He said he will not run for reelection to the post he has held for 12 years. Given the depth of his attachment to the city and the difficulty he has had separating from his life’s work, that remains to be seen.

“I am embarrassed,” Zane said. “Of course it’s embarrassing to have announced your retirement and then not leave.”

What does the ever-shifting retirement date mean? “It means I’m vulnerable to events to a greater extent than I believed,” he said. “From the vantage point of the issues before the city, I needed to stay.”

Zane said he realizes that the issues he cares about won’t be resolved until at least June, which will leave his appointed successor coming in cold in the middle of what promises to be a difficult budget process.

Also, Zane said, his personal finances have improved sufficiently to take the pressure off for a few months. Although there is a recommendation by a charter review commission to raise council members’ pay to $600 a month, they are currently paid just $50 a month.

Only three of Santa Monica’s seven council members have full-time jobs. The other four, including Zane, have consulting businesses or work part time.

Zane has for years served as a liaison between the council and the officials and business people involved in the Third Street Promenade redevelopment and the Pier restoration.

Zane’s support for the pier and promenade projects has put him increasingly at odds in recent years with the more militant elements of the city’s slow-growth movement. He has defended the developments as necessary to revitalize the city and as sources of revenue for the city’s ambitious array of social and environmental programs.

Another significant piece of unfinished business for Zane is a plan to provide temporary housing for homeless people until permanent housing can be built.

Although he is a popular leader of the renters’ rights movement, not all of his allies are pleased with his long goodby.

Last summer, Councilman Kelly Olsen pleaded with Zane to stay until the end of the year to deal with the homeless task force report and other issues. But a few months ago, Olsen said that if Zane wanted to leave, he should do it sooner rather than later so a new council member could get the visibility needed to get him elected in November.

The most frequently mentioned prospective replacement, Rent Board member Dolores Press, however, is a Zane fan who has frequently maintained that he should stay as long as he wishes.

Because the renters’ rights faction has a 5-2 majority on the council, any interim appointee would come from its ranks.