CITY HALL — It seems like everyone knows what Bob Holbrook will do next except Bob Holbrook.
Rumors abound that the six-term City Council member will not seek reelection this November but Holbrook says he's undecided.
"At this point I'm just watching to see who pulls papers," he said.
Monday marked the beginning of the period for those interested in running for council (or school board, Rent Control Board, and college board) to "pull papers" and begin collecting the necessary 100 signatures from registered Santa Monica voters.
When will Holbrook make his decision?
"Certainly by the time you have to turn them back in," he said laughing.
That date is Aug. 8.
Holbrook has heard from a recent poll — one the Daily Press couldn't track down — that he has high popularity rating.
"Election-wise, I've had several people ask me to run again," he said. "It's mostly people in business. I haven't heard much from residents."
Holbrook is the only member of council who is not endorsed by the city's largest political party, Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR).
He was elected in 1990 and was a member of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education prior to that.
"I'm reaching an age — I'm in my 70s — where I have grandchildren who are two years old and three years old and most people my age have grandchildren in college or graduating college and I'm just really enjoying this time of life for me, which came later in life," he said. "Instead of happening when I'm 50 years old it's happening in my 70s."
The meetings, he said, are getting a little long, too.
"Sometimes it's 12 o'clock and you're saying we should have been done by 12 o'clock but people are talking so long about stuff that doesn't need to be talked about," Holbrook said. "Or they try to explain why they're voting for something when they could just cast their vote. Over and over."
The tone of the discourse, he said, is getting more vitriolic, he said, and it's grating on him.
"There's a lack of civility, not so much in the Council Chambers — there was at one point with all the hissing and calling people liars — but there's obviously a lot of people unhappy with Santa Monica," he said. "Maybe not a lot of people but there's a couple hundred people definitely."
Councilmember Kevin McKeown and Mayor Pam O'Connor are also up for reelection this year.
dave@www.smdp.com
