Don't Trivialize RIFT

By Ellen Brennan

In politics, when people say things you don’t like, it’s always clever to try to undermine, or trivialize, the messenger. Frank Gruber took just such a tack in his recent column. ("WHAT I SAY: It's About Power," June 30, 2008)

According to him, Diana Gordon, author of the RIFT initiative, “sputtered” in annoyance at the city council meeting. (cute word, “sputtered”). She wasn’t justifiably outraged, she “sputtered.” And, according to Frank, “they” (the RIFT proponents) just don’t like not having power so they want to embarrass the power holders.

But it seems Frank is ignoring one small fact. 10.000 Santa Monica residents signed the RIFT petition to get it on the ballot. That’s almost twice as many signatures as were needed. 10,000 Santa Monica residents signed the RIFT Initiative. Only 13,000 people voted in the last Santa Monica election.

Getting RIFT on the ballot was not the work of a small group of malcontents. It was the result of 10,000 people who live in Santa Monica, who are fed up with development, with worsening traffic, and are sick of watching our beach town disappear into developers’ pockets.

Frank can have all the opinions he wishes. He can tell the world about the motives of these trivial people who just want to give the present regime an embarrassment. It won’t matter. Because those 10,000 people know they mean business.

There’s never been an initiative campaign like the RIFT campaign. Over 100 volunteers came forth to gather those signatures. People who had never been involved in politics in any way volunteered to gather signatures. They came out of the woodwork, unsolicited. It was truly amazing.

There’s a force gathering in this city -- an anger, and a determination. Residents are sick of telling the City they want to keep the beach town feel of Santa Monica; tired of telling the city they want a low skyline and don’t want density; tired of telling the city that traffic is the number one problem.

They say it over and over and over and over and city staff just goes merrily on its way planning the next wave of taller buildings and greater density, claiming that more development will “ease” the traffic.

The City staff knows well what residents want and don’t want, but behaves as if residents were flies to be brushed off, or dolts to be treated as charming children – patted, smiled at, smoozed and ignored.

The cumulative effect of the City’s non-response to residents has resulted in a low, boiling rage, so that when people were asked if they’d like to sign the RIFT petition, they grabbed the chance and signed with gusto. Frank Gruber can trivialize RIFT in any way he likes, but he’ll see it pass at the ballot box. Just watch.

Ellen Brennan
Santa Monica