Final Tally in Wage Initiative's First Battle

By Jorge Casuso

The final signature count for the hotel-backed living wage initiative is in, and it shows that a strong campaign mounted by opponents made a dent but fell far short of stopping the measure from being placed on the November ballot.

Facing a groundswell of opposition, sponsors of the measure played it safe by submitting 15,532 signatures, nearly double the 8,067 necessary to qualify a charter amendment on the November ballot, according to the City Clerk. Of these, the County Registrar deemed 9,815 of the signatures valid.

A signature revocation effort by opponents - who view the nation's first business-backed living wage initiative as a "Trojan Horse" - made a dent in the final tally. Of the 1,005 requests to have signatures rescinded, 549 were valid, according to the City Clerk.

City Clerk Maria Stewart said that some of the individuals who submitted requests to have their signatures removed weren't sure they had signed the petition. The requests to rescind were sent in via "a mix of cards, letters, fliers and handwritten notes," Stewart said.

The City Attorney is currently drafting the wording of the question that will be posed to voters. On July 25, the City Council will be presented with a report to accept the measure for the ballot, Stewart said. Both sides must submit their ballot arguments within 10 days after the council calls for the election.

The City Council has until August 11 to place a competing measure on the ballot, Stewart said. If council members fail to do so during the regularly scheduled public meeting August 8, they can call a special meeting.

"They have to adopt a resolution," Stewart said. "They have to have the question ready by then."

The council will likely seriously consider drafting a rival measure because the ballot initiative - which covers businesses with city contracts or subsidies - erases any living wage measure the council might pass, now or in the future.

The council is expected to approve its own living wage ordinance before the November election. The proposed ordinance being studied by the city was crafted by Santa Monicans Allied for Responsible Tourism and targets hotels not covered by the ballot initiative.

The proposed ordinance, which would be the first in the nation to cover businesses with no city contracts or subsidies, requires that businesses with more than 50 employees in the city's lucrative Coastal Zone pay their workers at least $10.69 an hour.

The hotel-backed ballot initiative - sponsored by a group calling itself Santa Monicans for a Living Wage - is similar to the county's living wage law and follows the pattern of 32 other local laws across the nation.

If approved, the measure would require employers who receive at least $25,000 in City contracts for services to pay their workers a living wage of at least $8.32 an hour with health benefits, or $9.46 without.

Opponents contend that the measure will cover less than 200 workers citywide.