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| Evening Outlook Front Page SM Rent Control Wins photo credit: Outlook Archives |
SUSAN CLOKE
Columnist, the Mirror
Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights
(SMRR) began 34 years ago. They will hold their Annual Membership Convention
this Sunday at 2 pm at the Church in Ocean Park.
SMRR has enjoyed 34 years of political
dominance in Santa Monica electoral politics. In anticipation of the upcoming
SMRR Convention, today’s column features an interview with Patricia Hoffman,
co-chair of SMRR. Future columns will feature political leaders in Santa Monica
with other points of view.
What
was the impetus for forming/organizing SMRR?
A group of local senior citizen
retirees, calling themselves the Santa Monica Committee for Fair Rents, was
alarmed at the rapidly rising rents and condominium conversions that had begun
to plague the Santa Monica renter community.
They were chaired by Santa Monica
Housing Commissioner Syd Rose, and initiated the first rent control measure in
1978.
When the 1978 measure failed the
organizers redoubled their efforts and supported the April 1979 Proposition A.
It was our first victory. Rent Control
passed. SMRR candidate Ruth Yannatta Goldway became the first SMRR candidate to
win a seat on the Santa Monica City Council. Cheryl Rhoden won a seat in the
following November.
Rent Control came about because of a
few things. The speculative market for property in Santa Monica, the ease and
frequency of evictions of long time tenants and the belief that everyone should
be secure in his or her home.
Did
winning mean that SMRR held a majority of the Council seats?
In April of 1981, Ken Edwards, Dolores
Press, Dennis Zane, and James Conn were elected for the first SMRR majority on
City Council and Ruth Goldway became the first SMRR Mayor.
However, Goldway lost her seat and SMRR
failed to win two other seats in the 1983 election.
In June of 1984, Santa Monica voters
approved a measure to change the local elections from April of odd years to
November of even years.
That November, Edwards, Zane and Conn
were reelected but Press, who was a write-in candidate and got more than 13,000
votes, was replaced with Herb Katz. The SMRR majority was restored in 1988. And
have mostly, but not always had a majority since then.
Why
did SMRR decide to focus on issues other than rent control?
Rent Control has always been the number
one issue in SMRR. The Rent Control Board was established as part of the
implementation of the Rent Control Law and is crucial to making sure rent
control is implemented as intended by the people.
However, SMRR has always been a
big-tent non-partisan organization. This has been both an asset and a
challenge. The organization has one of the best platforms of any organization.
It is a progressive document that looks at real needs of real people.
The only means of holding people
accountable to the platform is the electoral process. This includes the
democratic endorsement conventions to select SMRR candidates and the general
citywide elections.
Do
SMRR elected officials vote as a bloc?
SMRR-endorsed candidates often disagree
on how to implement the platform. This has led to some fractionalization within
the organization from time to time.
What
is most important to you about Rent Control?
Since Rent Control, there are many more
tenant protections from harassment and evictions. Rent Control was an important
step in making Santa Monica child friendly. Before Fair Housing laws and Rent
Control, tenants could be evicted for having children.
Why
does SMRR run candidates for School and College Board elections?
The answer is simple. We care about
education.
Renters knew that they were likely to
be able to raise their families in place. That meant that they could
participate fully in the schools. It also helped stabilize the existing decline
in enrollment in our public schools. Rent control was, and is, good for the
schools.
Santa Monica renters vote heavily in
favor of school measures, both parcel taxes and General Obligation Bonds.
Renters pay a significant share of these taxes.
Just as it is with City Council
candidates, the School and College Board candidates are selected at the SMRR
Convention. Their questionnaires and interviews are focused on education
issues.
Do
you, does SMRR, have regrets about things done in SMRR’s name?
It is hard to have too many regrets
about a democratic process. There certainly have been candidates whom I did not
support who won the SMRR nomination. There have been elected officials who have
left something to be desired.
But we have also selected and elected
some of the best officials Santa Monica has had.
I especially miss the leadership and
guidance of Ken Genser. He didn’t start out as one of our best council members
but he grew on the job. His death has made it much more difficult for the City
to move forward with a coherent plan.
What
will happen at the 2013 Convention?
The main business of this
convention/annual meeting will be electing the SMRR Steering Committee. The
focus of this meeting will be Rent Control and Housing.
How
are other issues discussed and decided?
The Steering Committee conducts SMRR
business between general meetings and addresses local issues of concern and
statewide issues of importance to SMRR.
Quality of life issues have always been
important to SMRR, as they have been to most of the people of Santa Monica.
There is significant disagreement on
how to best protect and enhance the quality of life, though. It would help if
we could have a common vision of what Santa Monica should look like in 5, 10
and 20 years. Unfortunately, the LUCE is too broad and doesn’t provide enough
guidance.
What
are the major challenges facing the City today?
There are a number of challenges facing
Santa Monica today. Many of the worst have regional components but we also have
local issues. We are suffering traffic congestion problems that are both local
and regional. We have not completed re-writing the zoning codes necessary to
implement our most recently adopted Land Use and Circulation Elements. We have
too many Development Agreements in process and we are currently fighting a lot
of battles about height and density of new development.
You
have lived in Santa Monica since 1979, you are married to the physician Gene
Oppenheim, and you have three children; Jonas, Lucas, and Jed. Why did you get
involved in local politics? Why SMRR?
Growing up in Van Nuys made living in
Santa Monica seem almost perfect. I was excited about having the seats of
government almost in my back yard. Participation was natural. It was exciting
to be able to participate in a progressive movement. There were different
groups meeting each week to discuss issues such as Rent Control, Social
Services, the Arts, and Education. It was a wonderful time.
For more information about Sunday’s
convention, visit www.smrr.org/news/2013Convention.html
What Say You?
