Leaders React to Prop T Vote

Mayor Pro Tem Richard Bloom:

I am pleased with the results of Measure T and think they are significant for a number of reasons.

First, the community rejected a poorly conceived, ballot-box solution to a regional problem in favor of strategic local action. By implication, then, voters validated the collaborative, community-based approach of the LUCE process. The intense community debate over Measure T underscores the importance of promptly moving the LUCE, and its landmark traffic management plan to completion. The community deserves nothing less than our best work on this issue.

I was alarmed by the negative tone of the "Yes on T" campaign. Therefore, I was pleased that the vote marked the second consecutive election where Santa Monica voters overwhelmingly repudiated negative attack politics. I hope that the lessons learned from this are not lost on those who might consider using this strategy in the future.

Council member Kevin McKeown:

When residents see the amount of pending development in the pipeline that this unleashes, I think they'll be shocked.

"To whatever extent voters reflected fear about the pressures on our existing rental housing, I hope they'll join in pressing my Council colleagues to enact the proposal I offered earlier this year to limit the massing and scale of new buildings in multi-family neighborhoods.

Let's not forget almost half of Santa Monica, despite dire warnings from developers, voted to slow down the commercial growth of our city. In the new spirit of our inclusive Obama Nation, those voices need to be heard and respected along with the victors'.

Diana Gordon, co-chair of the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, which sponsored Prop T

Thousands of residents have voted that they believe our city is failing to manage traffic and overdevelopment. This residents’ coalition has grown broader and stronger and will continue to fight for residents’ quality of life.

We were outspent more than 10 to 1 and if this had been anything close to a level playing field, T would have overwhelmingly passed. In the end, the out-of-town developers defeated T.

According to campaign finance disclosure statements, Save Our City (the group formed to oppose the measure) raised, in total, $830,000 with more than $800,000 of it coming from developers. Two-thirds of the money came from developers who were not even from the region, much less Santa Monica.

Terry O'Day, Planning Commission Chair and Co-Chair of the No on T Campaign

Santa Monica voters have once again proven that they will do their homework to understand the facts on election day. They saw the range of community leaders that opposed the initiative and sided with people they trust.

Unfortunately, this campaign drew a great deal of resources in time and money from our progressive community and distracted us from the real efforts to reduce traffic, improve quality of life, and perhaps more importantly, to fight for the important progressive causes on the ballot this year.

I hope that all sides can now productively engage in the LUCE and get a product we can all be proud of. Then we can once again champion the big progressive policies that Santa Monica is known for.