Community Corner

Letter: We Need a Council That Doesn't 'Sell Out'

A letter to the editor from 2012 Santa Monica City Council candidate Jonathan Mann about putting the brakes on development.

Editor:

Santa Monica can easily improve its quality of life and win the $5 million “City of Wellbeing" grand prize, if the City Council would listen to its residents and put the brakes on development—which is escalating out of control—especially after the Land Use and Circulation Element was passed.

I've been spreading the same message for over 20 years how to do just that. It is amazingly easy to implement, cheap, and the technology is in place to put a virtual town hall on the city website. Maybe one of the other 20 cities selected for the competition will do just that, and Santa Monica will miss the boat...

Voters can change that by holding a recall election and replacing everyone on the city council who has received endorsements and contributions from developers and upscale businesses, voted for LUCE, waived ceiling limits for the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, opened revolving doors for City Council, city staff, cronies, SMRR colleagues, etc.

This council will use any means to increase revenue, such as raising fees and fines for parking, tickets, etc. to reward powerful city employee associations for supporting their reelection.

Only by electing a new council that will listen and respond to what the residents want can we improve the quality of life for residents.  We need a council that won't sell out to developer PACs, Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights, and city employees to get their endorsements and contributions.

See: Winner Winterer Routs Incumbents for Most Votes

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Other major factors that city policy implements that is destroying our quality of life is fostering dependency among the homeless and creating a bloated bureaucracy that creates jobs for more city employees and public agencies, who know how the patronage game is played.

Another way the city can improve our quality is to close Santa Monica Airport, another issue I was the first candidate for city council to advocate.

Those are only three ways the council can implement to win the Mayor’s Challenge competition which challenge cities to create local solutions that can be applied to national problems.

Jonathan Mann, Santa Monica resident

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