Santa Monica : Initiative on City Attorney
An initiative that would make the city attorney’s position elective rather than appointive qualified to be placed on the November municipal ballot after the necessary petition signatures were gathered, the county registrar-recorder verified Tuesday.
Nearly 11,000 signatures were filed with the city clerk. Of the 9,869 signatures that were verified by the registrar-recorder, 83% qualified, exceeding the 7,842 signatures needed to qualify the measure for the ballot.
Proponents of the Citizens Protection Act blame increased street crimes by transients on City Atty. Robert M. Myers’ policy of not prosecuting many misdemeanor crimes committed by homeless people.
Myers refused to comment on the initiative, but he has maintained in the past that prosecuting homeless people for sleeping in parks and non-aggressive panhandling does not address the homeless situation.
According to the petition, the city attorney’s failure to prosecute laws that discourage street crime, panhandling and trespassing, is “in part due to political influence from the City Council.”
The council will formally receive the initiative at the July 24 meeting.
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