By Jorge Casuso
January 26 – Council member Bobby Shriver
extended his voter base across the city, picking up 50 of
Santa Monica’s 54 precincts in the November race for
four City Council seats, according to an analysis of election
results by The Lookout.
In his first bid for council four years ago, Shriver won
59 of the City's 66 precincts, including 44 normally dominated
by Santa Monica for renters’ Rights (SMRR) candidates.
“I’m thrilled that I did better than I did
last time,” Shriver said. “My little campaign
team, we had a goal to do that, and it’s thrilling
that the people thought enough of the work I’d done
to vote for me again.
“I attribute it to some people seeing the work I’ve
done with homelessness and the progress we have made,”
Shriver added.
Shriver has been a leading force on the council when it
comes to tackling Santa Monica’s chronic homeless
problem, pushing for the hiring of a homeless “czar”
and helping steer the City’s policies away from providing
emergency services.
He also has been a driving force behind successful negotiations
to set aside three buildings on the Veterans Administration
grounds in Westwood to house and provide services for homeless
veterans.
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The only four precincts Shriver failed to win in 2008 are
all in the Pico Neighborhood, an area he also failed to capture
four years ago.
According to the final tally, Shriver finished behind Council
member Richard Bloom and Mayor Ken Genser in the four precincts
in the Pico area. During their campaigns both Bloom and Genser
pushed to build a library in the city’s poorest and
most diverse neighborhood.
But Shriver swept all other areas of the city, once again
beating SMRR in its tenant strongholds and winning handily
in his home turf North of Montana.
Shriver’s 24,298 votes was the second-highest vote
tallyl in local council history. Bloom finished second with
20,232 votes, followed by Ken Genser with 19,145 and Herb
Katz, with 17,202votes.
Katz died January 7 after a long battle with cancer, and
the council on Tuesday will declare his seat vacant and launch
a process to replace him.
Despite his strong showing at the polls, Shriver failed to
win the mayor’s seat, with his council colleagues picking
Genser to hold the mostly ceremonial post for the next two
years.
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