What's at Stake?

The Empty Seat

Early Turnout Low in Historic Weekend Election

By Jorge Casuso

Sunday, April 25 -- The state's first two-day weekend election got off to a slow start Saturday and early Sunday with a miniscule turnout in the race for an empty seat on the Santa Monica City Council, a turnout that was only bolstered by an inordinate number of absentee ballots.

A cursory look at the polls showed a turnout Saturday ranging from 10 to 20 percent. On the other hand, the city clerk issued 6,141 absentee ballots and had received back 4,243 as of Thursday afternoon.

"It makes you nervous, but it makes sense also," said former mayor Dennis Zane, a leader of Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, which is backing candidate Richard Bloom. "There's no urgency about Saturday, cause there's Sunday. And there's a big absentee vote, compared to what you would expect."

But Susan Cloke, the other front runner in the seven-member race, said Sunday afternoon that it was also hard to get voters to the polls on the second election day.

"People didn't seem to mind being called yesterday," Cloke said. "But they seem to mind being called on a Sunday."

All weekend long SMRR and Cloke's rival camp were busy phoning voters and walking precincts. Her camp includes volunteers, as well as paid workers. In addition, a flurry of Cloke's campaign pieces hit mailboxes and doorknobs this week.

SMRR, which has raised more than $40,000, counted on some 90 volunteers, many of them from the Hotel Workers and Restaurant Workers Union. The politically powerful tenants group also sent out four mailers during the last week and distributed door hangers. The effort was boosted by mailers from Bloom, who has raised more than $20,000; Mayor Pam O'Connor, who sent a letter to constituents, and the police and firefighters' unions, which have sent out two joint campaign pieces supporting Bloom.

Cloke, who has raised more than $40,000, also has sent a steady stream of campaign mailers, several during the final week. In addition, she has sent out three anonymous pieces attacking Bloom. Cloke said the attribution was inadvertently left off the literature.