ACTION Apartment Association

Why Won't Any of the Incumbents Talk About Crime? It's All Residents Talk About

10/05/2018 8:54 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Armen Melkonians is a local rabble rouser (my term), founder of Residocracy on Facebook, “which has grown quite a bit, we’re getting more readership and it continues to grow. And it goes to show you that people are very concerned about crime, because most of the posts are about crime.”

“I’m finding crime is number one election issue. Amazingly, among candidates, no one is discussing it.

Santa Monica School Bond Measure Largely Bankrolled by Outside Firms

10/05/2018 8:46 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

About 80 percent of the money raised to support a record $485 million facilities bond for Santa Monica public schools has come from companies outside the City, according to the latest campaign finance disclosure statements.

As of October 1, outside firms had donated $81,000 of the $99,782 raised by The Committee for Safe & Modern Santa Monica Schools - Yes on SMS, according to the statements filed with the City Clerk.

Of the 29 contributors, 20 were companies from outside Santa Monica that provide consulting, design, engineering and construction services, in most cases to school districts.

The two largest contributors -- DLR Group, which contributed $7,500, and Massetti Consulting, LLC, which contributed $7,000 -- have received contracts from the School District.

NOMA Neighborhood election meeting - Thursday, Oct. 4

10/04/2018 9:20 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Focusing on upcoming Election Day, the North of Montana Neighborhood Association (NOMA) will be featuring candidates for Council and Local Ballot Measures at its meeting Thursday night, October 4, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Montana Avenue Library. The public is invited. Next NOMA meeting, November 1, will feature presentations from Candidates for the School Board, the College Board and the Rent Control Board.

It's expensive to be a tenant in California. Will Proposition 10's rent control expansion help?

10/04/2018 8:54 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In less than five weeks, California voters will decide on Proposition 10, a ballot initiative that would allow cities and counties across the state to expand rent control.

Economists of different political stripes rarely agree on much. But there’s consensus, even among liberal economists, that rent control doesn’t help with housing affordability.

Economists generally believe that when government limits the price landlords can charge for housing, there will be fewer houses produced, which in turn drives up prices.

New Study Highlights Risks Of Proposition 10

10/04/2018 8:49 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

New Study Highlights Risks Of Proposition 10 For Homeowners And Single Family Home Renters

The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act prevents cities from applying rent control to single family rental properties. Proposition 10 on the November 2018 ballot would repeal Costa-Hawkins and give cities unrestricted power to control rents on all types of rental properties, including single family homes.

NOMA Neighborhood election meeting

10/03/2018 11:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Focusing on upcoming Election Day, the North of Montana Neighborhood Association (NOMA) will be featuring candidates for Council and Local Ballot Measures at its meeting Thursday night, October 4, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Montana Avenue Library. The public is invited. Next NOMA meeting, November 1, will feature presentations from Candidates for the School Board, the College Board and the Rent Control Board.

Your Chance to Ask 2018 Election Candidates a Question

10/03/2018 9:49 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Calling on questions for City Council, Rent Control Board and School Board candidates.

Election season is approaching and for voters, arriving at the polls informed is just as important as going to the polls in the first place.

The Santa Monica Mirror will be sitting down with every candidate running for City Council, Rent Control Board and School Board for a 10-minute question and answer session that will be streamed live and posted online after for residents to watch. Each candidate will be asked the same set of questions, depending on the respective race they are running in.

We are calling on Santa Monica residents and our readers to submit questions they would like asked to these candidates. These questions should reflect a pressing issue facing Santa Monica and ask candidates how they intend to address the particular issue.

Why Are Santa Monica's Elections So Noncompetitive This Year?

10/02/2018 8:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Political Observers Weigh In

Some will point to a lull in the development wars, others to what they see as an all-powerful local political machine or a voting rights lawsuit that could change the way Council members are elected.

Still others point to the high-stakes drama in the nation's capitol that could be distracting voters from local issues.

But for whatever reason, the November 6 race for three open council seats -- as well as the four local measures on the ballot -- have generated the least interest in decades.

"There isn't a real outcry about development, and so people are less motivated to run," said former Mayor Denny Zane.

"We have elections, and the thing is a done deal," said Tricia Crane, a local slow-growth activist and vocal critic of City Hall. "People have just given up."

Santa Monica Public Safety Unions Endorse Four City Council Candidates in Race for Three Seats

10/02/2018 8:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Two more major political groups in Santa Monica have endorsed more candidates than there are seats available in the race for City Council.

The Santa Monica Police Officers' Association (SMPOA) and the Santa Monica Firefighters (SMFF), Local 1109 threw their political muscle and campaign warchests behind three incumbents and one challenger in the November 6 race for three Council seats.

The two public safety unions announced they would back Councilmembers
Sue Himmelrich, Kevin McKeown and Pam O'Connor, as well as challenger Greg Morena for City Council.

Proposition 10 just throws gasoline on the housing crisis fire

10/02/2018 8:22 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

This November, Californians will see several taxpayer threats on the ballot, not the least of which is Proposition 10, titled “Local Rent Control Initiative.” This measure would open the floodgates to big government bureaucracies, burdensome regulations and a loss of property rights. The word must be getting out, because a poll released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California shows Proposition 10 lagging.