Election Could Shift Power From Renters Advocates

Thirteen candidates are vying for four Santa Monica City Council seats in Tuesday’s municipal election, a contest that could shift the balance of power away from renters advocates who have dominated local politics for nearly 15 years.

Two council members affiliated with the group Santa Monicans for Renters Rights are up for reelection and a third is stepping down. Supporters of the organization--known by its acronym SMRR--have held a four-vote majority on the seven-member City Council for all but four years since 1981.

Throwing a wrench into the equation is the decision by Mayor Paul Rosenstein, a SMRR member, to run an independent campaign. Rosenstein said he chose not to seek the organization’s official backing because its slate was “not something I felt in good conscience that I wanted to run with.”

SMRR is endorsing incumbent Ken Genser, former Councilman Kelly Olsen and environmentalist Michael Feinstein.

However, the issue of rent control, normally a hot-button topic at election time, has not surfaced as a key issue this year. Observers say a new state law that crippled rentcontrol laws across California has deflected attention from the issue.

SMRR’s political rival, the Coalition for a Safe Santa Monica, is endorsing a slate of three candidates. They are incumbent Asha Greenberg, public policy consultant Shari Davis and Frank Schwengel, chairman of the city Recreation and Parks Commission.

Six other candidates are running independent campaigns: community volunteer Donna Dailey Alvarez, family law attorney Richard Bloom, business owner Jeffrey Hughes, environmental consultant Susan Mearns, furniture maker Jonathan Metzger and financial advisor Larry Swieboda.

For the most part, the tone of the election has remained genial. Candidates have largely expressed agreement over a $29.5-million bond measure to build a new police facility.