URSM Another acronym?! Just what we need.
Well, maybe we do, this one. We need some umbrella, some place we can go, we beleaguered residents who care about Santa Monica’s future, and recognize and value our unique past, to be able to stand up in the present to the organized, moneyed forces of greed and political influence who do not care about any of that.
Of course, those of us in that mindset of awareness and caring do not agree on everything. But there are enough big issues facing our city that we can agree on — safety, water, homeless/mental health, budget allocations, density, sea rise/climate change, schools, traffic, small businesses, historical preservation — that we can make huge progress, if we organize and speak with one voice.
All these issues beg some path toward solutions. Sooner, not later. Instead we have been misled, misinformed, propagandized in the direction of a handful of too-influential ideologues with their own agendas.
(I use the term “ideologue” frequently, and while I do favor running to my online dictionary for an unfamiliar word or uncertain definition, let me save you a trip this time. “1) an often blindly partisan advocate or adherent of a particular ideology; 2) an impractical idealist.” And yes, you can spell it with or without the “-ue.”)
How?
Maybe not so hard. Maybe it can happen soon. We already have good organizations in place, with our neighborhood groups. But they haven’t really acted in concert. Here’s one idea.
We have seven groups that pretty much cover the city. Individually, they are valuable because they discuss issues affecting their population, get a feel on larger city issues, and bring in as guests experts and city leaders, for information (and, often, grilling, uh, I mean, holding to account). Each of those groups has a chair, and they are passionate and informed about our issues. Those chairs already meet once a month. They are the logical ones to organize this, and could serve as the Board. No campaigns or elections necessary. That would be a reasonably sized governing board, with six members.
BUT – THERE ARE SEVEN
Neighborhood groups, you said. Yes, but you wouldn’t want to include the Ocean Park Association (OPA), in my opinion, from my experience. Many informed residents will tell you we have six neighborhood associations, recognizing that reality.
They are, unfortunately, my neighborhood group and I attended meetings off and on for years until finally realizing I was wasting my time. They rarely take a stand on anything of importance (not even the monster housing development going in at Ocean Park and Lincoln, which will adversely affect OPA residents), and when they do present information to members it is often one sided (LV, massive school bond).
Judy Abdo was a Council member 30 years ago (also was on the Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, SMRR, Steering Committee, and currently co-chair of Forward, a group advocating for much more development in SM, richly funded from outside,) and she was a prime mover in getting the early childhood center built, inappropriately on civic land, near the SM Civic Auditorium, almost edging out the soccer playing field we now have, in defiance of a long-approved City plan for that area, in a financial deal with the City that would make Donald Trump jealous. Abdo seems to me to control OPA, for years, with a majority. And that is also what I have been told by former Board members.
OPA board plays fast and loose
It’s a ridiculously large Board, 14 members (down from 17), and many neighbors have complained to me they were intimidated from speaking at meetings because of that. There are often more honchos at long tables up front, than folks in the audience. Abdo has even had housemates/renters on the Board, shamelessly never finding that to be a conflict of interest. Exceptions for many years have been Jeff Jarow, Mary Marlow, Dave Tann and Patty Gordon-Tann (longtime Treasurer — they need her expertise, no matter how she votes).
When Council member Gleam Davis and husband John Prindle moved to Ocean Park recently, Prindle (who worked for mega-developer Michael Dell, whose projects include the ghastly behemoth Miramar Hotel redevelopment, something Davis did not disclose, or recuse for, until a resident confronted her with it) was very quickly appointed to the OPA Board, in violation of their long-standing rules for that position. He then immediately started pushing his idea for closing Main Street to cars, which was abandoned after several trials brought little enthusiasm, except from bar and restaurant owners, and a lot of complaints. Prindle’s bio still states, “I have been a SM resident for nearly three decades, and in Ocean Park for 13 of those years” — but does not mention that it had been decades since he lived in Ocean Park, making him less familiar with the current situations, than someone who had lived here. When I asked some Board members how that happened, they said, well, we made an exception.
So those are my reasons for suggesting we need a six chair, not seven, Board of neighborhood leaders for URSM. Personally, I do not like the politics I have observed from the OPA leadership, nor their practices. But that’s just me. I think it is the exact opposite of what residents want for this city. But I hate to exclude my own neighborhood of 38 years, so maybe an “at large” appointment could be made. There are plenty of good folks in Ocean Park who could be an asset.
We need this…
I was among many who thought Armen Melkonians’ Residocracy organization of a few years back would become a political party of sorts, representing the interests of residents. But Armen often overruled his Board, by his own design. And I think his intention from the beginning was to see this function so well in Santa Monica that he could franchise it, all over the country.
I like the acronym for the name, because it sounds like, You Are Santa Monica, the notion behind it all. But I am open to a different name, and a different organizational plan. But please, let’s do something now, before the next election throws us back so far we may never recover.
URSM!
Editor’s Note: Judy Abdo used to hold many positions. An earlier version of the column suggesting she still held those positions was in error.