Santa Monica seems to have a new Mayor: Jawann Garnett. Mr. Garnett has the dubious distinction of having assaulted three women on the beach last week, yet Mr. Garnett, a homeless convicted sex offender, took charge of the agenda for the City Council meeting last Tuesday.
What should have been a tedious meeting finalizing the biennial budget was dramatically wrenched off course when Mayor Phil Brock threw in an 11th hour demand to cut municipal funding across the board (except the police) and use the money for additional police officers to combat the public safety emergency, exemplified by Mr. Garnett.
“We have a crisis in our city,” Mayor Brock proclaimed.
There is indeed a public safety crisis in Santa Monica, but it didn’t begin last week. In May alone, two German tourists were stabbed downtown and an attempted rape took place at the beach. Unfortunately, the list goes on, and that’s just violent felonies.
There’s also “simple assault,” which is defined as any attack without a deadly weapon, so when a 6-year-old was attacked by a homeless man on Main Street in March, that was a simple assault. Back in February, Police Chief Ramon Batista reported to the Council a 15% increase in simple assaults, which was on top of a 30% increase the previous year, which means there was almost a 50% increase in two years.
When Santa Monica residents line up at Council meetings to plead for improved public safety (as they have been doing for some time), it’s because they particularly fear this kind of random violence while waiting in line at the post office or taking a child to the park.
So my problem isn’t that the Mayor wants to address the issue. No, my problem is the belated and half-baked way he did it. He didn’t alert his colleagues about his intentions, nor did he make the effort to identify the specific tradeoffs he was requesting from them. Instead he spoke in broad, hyperbolic terms.
“I don’t want any crime happening in our city,” he stated, as if that was an attainable goal. He added, “I want to make sure that as much as we can we’re stopping crime before it happens.”
Councilwoman Davis was obligated to point out that “Police officers can only arrest people after they’ve committed a crime.” She also reminded the Mayor that the Council already provided funding for 20 additional police positions that haven’t been filled and are unlikely to be filled before 2025.
What is immediately needed is pre-emptive outreach to unhoused people from mental health professionals, which Mayor Brock has stated emphatically many times, including at this meeting. Yet his plan would reduce the budget for such efforts. It would also diminish the Office of Emergency Management, which handles 911 calls.
At one point, Councilmember Davis suggested the Mayor’s action was somewhat “performative,” and if I were being cynical, I would agree. However, I’ve rarely seen an elected official as sincerely and passionately devoted to his city as Mayor Brock. I have no doubt about his concern for the well-being of residents, and I’m glad he’s willing to think outside the box.
In the end, Councilmembers Lana Negrete, Christine Parra and Oscar de la Torre tempered the Mayor’s impulsiveness by voting with their fellow Councilmembers to develop a more coherent plan after consulting with public safety departments. Yet the same trio’s last act of the evening was a vote to increase the allowable height of fences and hedges in the city to six feet — without first consulting with the police department, which, according to Councilmember Davis, previously objected due to the public safety risk if officers can’t see over the barriers.
Bringing the evening full circle, along with the cognitive dissonance, Councilmember de la Torre dismissed the safety concerns based on his determination that all police officers are over six feet, which I’m guessing is welcome news to those officers who are not.
Last Thursday, all Americans had the opportunity to witness the dangerous and depressing spectacle of national political leaders veering wildly from facts — and lucidity — and there’s no doubt that’s fueling my frustration. I can’t do much about what comes out of the mouths of Presidential candidates, but I can beseech our Councilmembers to think before they speak.
Bravado isn’t a substitute for substance and presumptions are never a substitute for facts. Honoring our commitment to the self-evident value of truth seems an ideal way to celebrate the anniversary of our country’s birth — as is gratitude to those who serve our community, even when frustrated with them. Happy fourth of July.
Devan Sipher
