We are already jammed, we have so much in the pipeline, we have limited resources (especially water), our traffic is rapidly grinding to a standstill, we have a light rail now so those who work or play in Santa Monica don’t have to live here. And yet the chorus rises up from throats paid to sing — We need more! 

Read More: http://smdp.com/dance-to-development/157172

September 6, 2016 -- Of the six challengers seeking a seat on the Santa Monica City Council this fall, three have run before. The large number of repeat candidates is not unusual in this city, although the success rate is not high.

In the past two decades, 20 candidates who were not elected incumbents have sought council seats after losing in a previous election--several doing it more than once. Just five have won.

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2016/September-2016/09_06_2016_Repeat_Santa_Monica_Council_Candidates_Struggle_for_Victory.html

September 9, 2016 -- Plans to add childcare and early education to the activities taking place at a religious facility located in a residential neighborhood on 1440 Harvard Street have sparked at least one neighbor into creative protest.

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2016/September-2016/09_06_2016_Santa_Monica_Quaker_House_Expansion_Could_Be_Controversial.html

You find out who your friends really are when you decide to run of office. Ask Phil Brock.

He ran for City Council in 2014 and lost by a few hundred votes. He competed against Kevin McKeown, Terry O’Day and Sue Himmelrich, and Pam O’Connor. O’Connor nudged Brock into fifth place and out of the running thanks to last minute support from deep-pocketed developers who mounted a “do or die” campaign blitz.

Read More: http://smdp.com/my-write-politics-is-like-a-knife-in-the-back/157136

Throughout Southern California, residents are using voter initiatives to push back against the trend to overbuild in their communities.

Read More: http://www.smmirror.com/articles/News/SMart-OpEd-A-Sense-of-Place/45982

The California State Assembly passed two affordable housing bills Wednesday authored by Assembly member Richard Bloom, which will help remove barriers to the creation of affordable housing.These two bills, AB 2501 and AB 2299, were both passed with bipartisan support ...

Read More: http://www.smmirror.com/articles/News/Affordable-Housing-Bills-Passed/45978

September 1, 2016 -- Opponents of Measure V, the $395 million Santa Monica College (SMC) bond measure that would fund facilities improvements, picked up a major name for their campaign -- former Mayor Bob Holbrook.

The bond debt would be paid off through a property tax -- $8.56 per month for the average Santa Monica homeowner and $1.59 per month for the average renter, SMC officials say.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2016/September-2016/09_01_2016_Former_Mayor_Opposes_Santa_Monica_College_Bond_Measure.html

With four incumbents running from a City Council that hasn’t yet seen a big development they didn’t like, and no one save Armen Melkonians (with any chance to win) pushing for reasonable development, we need Phil Brock. We’re about to be deluged with overdevelopment, with what has already been put in the pipeline. In two more years of the same, many of you won’t like it here anymore.

Read More: http://smdp.com/bully-politics/156976

If politics were a commercial market, endorsements would be a product whose value and cost depended on the producer and consumer. What is the endorser’s worth (the ‘give’) and what are candidates willing to buy, or say (the ‘get)? Put simply, how do endorsements affect an election? How do voters respond?

Read More on page 5: http://backissues.smdp.com/083016.pdf

I don’t remember a time when traffic congestion (and homelessness) weren’t “Number One” or “Number Two” on my list of community problems that never get fixed.

Read More on page 4: http://backissues.smdp.com/082916.pdf