By Jorge Casuso
January 23 – The Santa Monica City Council is poised to launch a search for a replacement for Council member Herb Katz, who died earlier this month, likely spurring a battle between former council hopefuls, The Lookout has learned.
The process will likely kick off Tuesday, when the council is expected to officially declare Katz’s seat vacant and discuss options to fill the post. Chances are the council will not opt to hold a special election, as it did the last time a seat opened ten years ago.
“I think we should go for an appointment,” said Mayor Ken Genser.
Some council members, however, favor holding an election, although that will likely not be the majority view.
“I’m for the election,” said Council member Bobby Shriver.
Shriver noted that the new council member likely will hold a key vote on the update to the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) the council is expected at approve this year and which will help shape traffic and development for the next two decades.
“The idea that the swing vote on a 20-year thing is done by appointment isn’t very democratic,” said Shriver, who easily was the top vote getter in the November council race.
If the council chooses to make an appointment, it would have to do so within 30 days of declaring the seat vacant, according to the City Charter. The council is expected to choose a replacement on February 24.
If the council fails to fill the seat vacated by Katz, who died January 7 after a long battle with cancer, an election would be held.
If the council chooses to make an appointment, the City Clerk would be directed to accept letters of interest from potential candidates that both the council and public can review.
Already there is speculation swirling around possible replacements for Katz, who was a longtime foe of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR), the powerful tenants group that has controlled City Hall for most of the past three decades.
The leading contender seems to be Planning Commission Gleam Davis, SMRR’s co-chair and a former council candidate. If SMRR council members vote along party lines, Davis would have the four votes necessary to fill the seat.
Other potential contenders are Planning Commission chair Terry O’Day, who made an unsuccessful bid for council two years ago without SMRR’s backing. O’Day was considered an ally of Katz.
Ted Winterer, a parks and Recreation Commissioner who finished fifth in the race for four council seats in November, also could throw his hat into the ring. In his council bid, Winterer had the backing of Shriver and Council member Kevin McKeown, but is unlikely to win over others on the council.
If the council does not make an appointment, a special election would likely be costly.
The race to fill the vacancy left on the council when Asha Greenberg resigned shortly after being re-elected a decade ago cost some $175,000, although it was an unusual two-day weekend race, said Assistant City Clerk Beth Sanchez.
The April 1999 council special election was won by Council member Richard Bloom.
A special election in 2003 for Prop A, the "Homeowners Freedom of Choice Initiative,” cost about $100,000. The cost was significantly lower because it was an all-mail election.
The initiative failed. Had it passed, Prop A would have required the consent of the owner of a single family home before it could be designated a landmark or included in a historic district.
