Editor:
Once again the leadership of Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR) is talking out of both sides of their mouths, trying to convince us Santa Monicans that the group is actually anti-development ("SMRR board says can the Hines project," Jan. 22).
For those who don't know, SMRR is the single political party in Santa Monica that has controlled all aspects of city politics, government, planning and development for the past 35 years. You can see and experience all the dreadful changes that have occurred over that time period on SMRR's watch.
SMRR, through its hand-picked political operatives, including the City Council, Planning Commission and other boards, is completely responsible for all the devastation caused by over-development and traffic congestion in the city.
Allow me to say it again. SMRR has supported and approved all the massive commercial and residential development that has increased density and caused traffic congestion throughout Santa Monica. Traffic congestion has been further exacerbated by its support of the citywide elimination of traffic lanes. And don't forget about the group's support of and investment in a train it claims will reduce traffic, but in fact will only increase traffic congestion when intersections will regularly and repeatedly be blocked to allow the train to pass.
So it is disingenuous when SMRR now voices opposition to a development at the Hines property by now denouncing past over-development that came before this project and condemning snarled traffic patterns while trying to convince us to ignore the group's support of the over-development that led to these conditions and has put us in the rotten predicament we now are in. And the group, which has been touting the train as the salvation to our traffic woes, now wants to dismiss its relevance and effectiveness, at least for the time being in order to oppose the Hines project.
SMRR has supported and approved all this over-development and the resulting traffic congestion with the same gusto and jubilation that a drunken sailor throws away money while on shore leave. Perhaps SMRR only opposes the Hines development because it does not contain enough apartments occupied by renters the group hopes to convert into the ill-informed voting disciples who will fall for the group's duplicitous rhetoric that SMRR actually cares about renters and opposes over-development.
Of course, and in all fairness, it's also the brainless voters who continue to buy into SMRR's double-talk and blather and keep electing the pro-development politicians supported by the group
Conor McCaulley
Santa Monica
