SANTA MONICA
VOTES
SUSAN CLOKE
Columnist, Santa
Monica Mirror
June 6, 2014
Santa Monicans
take elections seriously. Usually
it’s the top of the ticket that brings people out to vote. But the top of the ticket was a no
contest race with Governor Brown, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and State
Attorney General Kamala Harris handily keeping their place on the November
ballot. In Santa Monica the races
were a lot more exciting.
Sheila Kuehl and
Bobby Shriver are in a runoff to replace Zev Yaroslavsky as the next 3rd
District Supervisor in the upcoming November general election. Santa Monica/Malibu School Board
Member Ben Allen will face public advocate Sandra Fluke in a run-off for 26th
District State Senator.
I spoke with all
four candidates about campaigning, about their issue and policy goals, and
about their leadership skills and about public service. What follows is a snapshot of each
candidate.
Candidate for 3rd District
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl
“Kuehl talked
about campaigning saying, “We started the campaign in March 2013 to work on
fundraising and on building and reinvigorating a base of supporters as we knew
we would need to raise $1.2 million for the campaign. We built the website, organized social media and I started
to write regular essays “County 101” on County government and issues.
“I like
campaigning. It puts me in touch
with so many great and interesting people.
We met with
voters by going to meetings of local organizations, we sent out direct
mail. Our mail started to go out
the same day the voter pamphlet went out.
We had phone banks. All our
contact was direct. No TV ads.
“Leadership on
the Board of Supervisors is both District focused and County focused. There are two aspects to the work of a
Supervisor. Everything in every District is on the agenda at the Tuesday Board
of Supervisor’s meeting. You have
to know about everything and be prepared to act on everything – from golf
courses to jails – and every decision is important.
“As a Supervisor
I would focus on Foster Child Care, Health Care for all, and improving
transportation in the region.
“Foster children
are not getting the care they need and deserve. There are recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission
for large structural changes.
Instead of many agencies each responsible for a part of care for foster
children, combine into one agency, a ‘Department of Children’, if you
will. With more social workers and
more support staff. Also there’s a
bill pending in Sacramento to equalize pay for kin and non-kin foster
parents. Currently non-kin foster
parents receive higher levels of support for each child they foster. This bill would provide the same
support for every child.
“The County is
responsible for a huge health system – LA Care – for MediCal patients and for
kids formerly enrolled in the State’s Healthy Families program. We need to increase financial support
for health care and develop insurance for those who can’t qualify under ObamaCare.
“Transportation
– getting from one part of the County to another is a challenge. We need to make it possible to travel
on public transportation with as few transfers as possible. We need to build the Valley to LAX line
and we need a ‘first mile-last mile’ strategy – a way to plot a door-to-door
trip.
On raising
campaign money and on ethics Kuehl said, “Bobby contributed his own money to
the campaign. I can’t match him
for personal wealth. So we have to
wait and see what the rules will be in the general and that depends on
Bobby. What I can say is that I’m
thrilled and really looking forward to the next five months.”
Candidate for 3rd District
Supervisor Bobby Shriver
Shriver talked about
campaigning in the County saying, “Campaigning is great. I met people doing amazing things all
over the District. We did lots of
events. It’s a great way to meet
people and to learn about the work they’re doing. I visited women living with their children in supportive
housing, I went to Farmer’s markets to meet people, to chamber meetings,
everywhere people were getting together.
“I continue to
work on my goal of creating housing for homeless people. The new housing at the Veteran’s
Administration, housing for homeless Vets, is a project
I worked hard to
create.
“Water is
important to the whole State and of particular importance to the County with
major issues of water quality and water conservation at the beaches and in the
Valley.
“Transportation
is on everyone’s mind. We need to
finish the Purple Line and build the Valley to LAX line. We need to make it possible to get from
door to door without
a car.
“The County has
the responsibility for the protection of foster children and that
responsibility has been failed way too many times. I would create one agency with one person in charge and
accountable, and to build on the work of the Blue Ribbon Commission.
“My leadership
skills are best shown through my own experiences. As part of my work to
eradicate HIV/AIDS I got George Bush to give 15 Billion to treat people in
Africa who were suffering with HIV/AIDS.
It took two years of doing nothing but that work to get it done. And for a Shriver to get a Republican
Administration to give money for a program to fight AIDS in Africa I had to be
focused like a laser beam.
When asked about
campaign ethics and campaign finance Shriver said, “We are allowed to raise 1.4
million and to accept donations of up to $1500/person. If a candidate wants to spend over the
limit then individual donations must be limited to $300/person.”
Campaign Manager
Sarah Dusseault said, “In the primary Bobby chose to put in some of his own
money and went over the limit.
Individual donations to the campaign were capped at $300.00. Still we raised $900,000 from over 3000
individual donors. That speaks
very well for the campaign.”
Shriver said,
“It will take us some time to figure out what is right for us in the general
election, but whatever we do it will be transparent. You show your ethics by how you run your own campaign.
“I swear too
much and I’ve been called on it.
Blame me for what I do wrong, not what I do right.”
Candidate for State Senate 26th District
Ben Allen
Speaking about
the campaign Allen said, “I introduced my self to folks outside Santa Monica
and we reached tens of thousands of people. We knocked on doors, we had phone banks and we went to
events. I’m thrilled by results
and humbled – especially by support form my hometown. It is an honor to represent them and all the people of the
District.
‘We spent over
$400,000 raised from online donations and I loaned the campaign $50,000. We had a real mix of donations small
and large. Hundreds of donors gave
from $10 to the maximum allowed of $4100 and, of course, all donations are
reported so everyone can see who supports each campaign.
“I think I offer
deep roots. I was born and raised
in the District. I was a member of
the Board of Regents at the University of CA. I’ve been elected to two terms in the Santa Malibu Unified
School District so I’ve served in both local and State government positions.
“I was able to
get a measure passed by the Regents requiring professional schools to increase
loan forgiveness for people who used their degrees to work in non profit and
public interest sectors. This increased awareness within the system of loan
forgiveness, which I thought was essential if it was going to be necessary to
raise fees.
“In Santa Monica
we worked on school financing, passing propositions which gave schools stable
and steady income even as state funding dropped.
“Going to
Sacramento is an exiting possibility in that you could really make a
difference. My goals are to
protect the Santa Monica Mountains, create more open space, and enhance
environmental protection, especially in the Santa Monica Bay.
“I want to
guarantee a free higher education degree to students in the top 10% of their
class who agree to spend 5 years teaching after graduation. We need the best and the brightest in
the teaching profession. We need
to fund and support early childhood education.
“It’s
extraordinary how far behind CA is on transportation issues. We need to have
advocates at all levels working together to create a working transportation
system that includes and supports walkability and bikeability. Transportation is becoming a black eye
for Los Angeles and our ability to attract residents and business at risk. And, of course, water is a statewide
issue because of the drought, the need for water conservation and the
protection of water quality.”
In response to
the question of campaign reform Allen said, “I think it’s a great question and
a great idea for candidates to make an agreement to have a positive campaign.
It’s in the best interest of the voters and the best interest of the
candidates. Sandra and I both care
about campaign reform and want to work to get ‘pay to play’ out of the culture
of Sacramento.”
Candidate for State Senator 26th District
Sandra Fluke
“I’m not someone
who thought for a long time about running for office,” said Fluke. “I’ve been
devoted to public interest work.
I’ve done legislative advocacy and represented indigent clients. And I’ve seen what I can accomplish as
a lawyer and advocate and thought of how much more I could accomplish as a
legislator and that is why I chose to run for office. The decision is not more
complicated than giving voice to people without voice.
“I’m also
concerned about the number of women in office and helping to make sure
government looks more like the people.
“I’m looking to
be most effective and where I can pass legislation for maximum impact. That commits me to working in CA
because we in CA can make a national impact.
“My commitment
comes from shared values with my parents and the place where I grew up - a
rural, conservative community in Central PA and they are still trying to figure
out what went wrong with me!
“My husband and
I starting making our home in California about 7 years ago. He is a writer and producer and works
in the Industry. He worked on
Lopez Tonight and on JibJab –internet based comedy videos.”
“Being a State
Senator will allow me to be even more effective as I work for environmental
protections, a fracking moratorium, and particularly important in a coastal
district is the crisis over water.
I work for local solutions for environmental problems.
“We also need to
increase our investment in early childhood education, not only important for
closing the achievement gap but it is also one of the most effective investment
in education that we can make. CA
is one of the lowest states in the Country on per pupil investment and that’s
unacceptable. And we have to make
sure college is affordable and jobs are available to graduates.”
Abigail Gardner,
Communications Consultant to the Fluke campaign said, “Our
campaign wanted
to use every medium. We made over
100,000 voter contacts
We knocked on
doors and made phone calls, used social media, twitter, facebook, and Sandra
sent regular, weekly emails to supporters and volunteers.
“It was a point
of pride for Sandra that there were no independent expenditure campaigns for or
against her. And that the campaign
was entirely supported by over 1800 donors and average donation was under $250.,”
said Gardner.
When asked about
campaign reform Fluke said, “Ben and I are in regular contact with each other
but campaign reform is a bigger issue than our campaign and we need to work on
this in Sacramento – increasing transparency, providing matching funds. It’s clear that people really want to
see action taken and that special interests have too much influence and
control.
“Every candidate
has control over donations to their campaign. I’m proud that my focus has been on community support.”
For your information, below are the official Los Angeles County Voting results. More interviews are planned with Kuehl, Shriver, Allen and Fluke. If you have questions you'd like me to ask the candidates please email me at susan@smmirror.com.
|
SHEILA KUEHL
|
|
43,348
|
36.18
|
|
BOBBY
SHRIVER
|
|
34,509
|
28.80
|
|
JOHN
DURAN
|
|
19,577
|
16.34
|
|
P
CONLEY ULICH
|
|
7,821
|
6.53
|
|
RUDY
MELENDEZ
|
|
4,569
|
3.81
|
|
DOUG
FAY
|
|
4,205
|
3.51
|
|
YUVAL
D KREMER
|
|
3,897
|
3.25
|
|
ERIC
PREVEN
|
|
1,898
|
1.58
|
|
Registration
|
1,020,338
|
|
BEN ALLEN
|
Pref: DEM
|
19,710
|
21.82
|
|
SANDRA
FLUKE
|
Pref: DEM
|
17,797
|
19.70
|
|
SETH
STODDER
|
Pref: NP
|
15,786
|
17.47
|
|
BETSY
BUTLER
|
Pref: DEM
|
15,064
|
16.67
|
|
AMY
HOWORTH
|
Pref: DEM
|
13,994
|
15.49
|
|
VITO
IMBASCIANI
|
Pref: DEM
|
3,999
|
4.43
|
|
PATRIC
M VERRONE
|
Pref: DEM
|
2,698
|
2.99
|
|
BARBI
S APPELQUIST
|
Pref: DEM
|
1,291
|
1.43
|
|
Registration
|
595,374
|
