This past week, the Coalition of Santa Monica City Employees (CSMCE), Treesavers, and the combined forces of the Santa Monica Police Officers Association (SMPOA) and Firefighters Local 1109 each weighed in on the subject of endorsements for the upcoming November 4 elections.
CSMCE, which represents over 1,500 non-sworn City employees, announced its support for the four incumbent City Council members seeking reelection. “After much consideration, we believe that Council members Richard Bloom, Ken Genser, Herb Katz, and Bobby Shriver are the right choice for Santa Monica,” said Coalition representative Lauralee Asch, referring to the vote of the CSMCE Board. “Each has demonstrated a commitment to providing the resources we employees need to maintain the high level of customer service the residents of Santa Monica expect.”
SMPOA and the firefighters, making joint endorsements this year, also supported the four incumbents seeking reelection.
Santa Monica Treesavers, which celebrated its one-year anniversary Friday, September 12, voted to endorse its co-founders, Jerry Rubin and Susan Hartley, and two long-time activist members, Linda Piera-Avila and Herbert Silverstein, in their bid for the four open seats on the City Council. The vote of Treesavers’ members came on Monday, September 15, at a meeting in Palisades Park near the historic Saint Monica statue.The CSMCE Board also voted to oppose the commercial growth limits of Proposition T (“negates years of public input and staff, Planning Commission, and City Council effort in drafting a new Land Use and Circulation Element,” said Asch) and to support the Proposition SM amendments to the User Utility Tax regarding telecommunications (“protects vital city services for all residents and city employees,” she said). SMPOA and the firefighters likewise opposed Proposition T and supported Proposition SM
