City Council incumbent Bob Holbrook leads challenger Ted Winterer by a slim 61 votes with less than 6,000 ballots remaining to be counted.
So this week, Q-Line asked:
Who are you rooting for and why?
Here are your responses:
“Bob Holbrook, of course! He is the only council member in many years that has an actual physical connection to Santa Monica, having attended Santa Monica High School and other local schools. Most other council members, as the citizens they represent, have no history or a mature perspective of this wonderful city and are transplants from another part of the state or country. Bob’s Santa Monica background makes him a priceless asset to this city.”
“I’m rooting for Bob Holbrook. If Ted Winterer wins, it will be because this time Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights put him on their slate. Two years from now, if Bobby Shriver doesn’t seek a third term, we are in danger of having every single person on the 2012 council controlled by SMRR, our hometown political machine. We need Holbrook’s independent voice and his presence on the council to encourage more independents to run in 2012.”
“I hope Ted Winterer will win but, unfortunately, I voted by absentee ballot and cast votes for both Ted Winterer and Bob Holbrook so my votes cancel out. If the voting for all candidates had been numbered, with one being the first choice, Ted would have been one. He is smart, knowledgeable, efficient, has a sense of humor, and is from my neighborhood, which has no members on the City Council. Taxation without representation. (No, I am not a Tea Party member.)”
“The best thing would be to have both Ted Winterer and Bob Holbrook on the City Council since many people would be disappointed if either one of them lost, and they both have a lot to contribute to the city. It would be good if the council could change the number of council members temporarily to eight members for this election term.”
“Why bother with comparisons, incumbent or challenger, what does it matter? They are all awful. Holbrook and his socialist cronies on the City Council have had decades to destroy this town with their misguided progressive policies. Tax and spend idiots are what we have.”
“I hope Ted Winterer wins over Bob Holbrook. I am tired of these City Council members who are in the pockets of the developers that are completely erasing Santa Monica off the face of the map with overdevelopment, ugly architecture and not listening to the citizens. They are an arrogant group of people and they need to go. I’m sorry Pam O’Connor won. It seems she won by sleazy tactics and this should be investigated.”
“I’m rooting for each candidate to be patient and understanding of the fact that there are outstanding votes that need to be tallied and that each candidate assure their supporters this is part of the election process for each ballot to be properly tallied. And I also hope that each voter in Santa Monica will utilize their opportunity to vote instead of having dismal voter turnout. With more voters participating we wouldn’t have cliffhangers like this one and if we did have cliffhangers we would know more people would be participating in an election to help determine the future direction of the city.”
“Like the Supreme Court, appointment to the Santa Monica City Council means lifetime tenure. Even if he winds up two votes ahead, Holbrook should retire gracefully with a big retirement party or something and let Winterer take his place since Winterer should have been on the council by now.”
“I’m definitely behind Ted Winterer because I think we need another honest person on the board.”
“I am for Winterer because I know enough to read the very small print on the deceptive mailers and advertisements and understand when the developers are financing them. All of Winterer’s advertisements were his own. He is owned by no one else.”
“Definitely Ted Winterer because I’m sick of all the City Council people. They all need to be out. The Santa Monica City Council is the biggest joke going.”
