Nine Council Candidates Pull Papers to Run; 3 School Board and 2 College Board Candidates Also File with City

By Lookout Staff

Nine City Council hopefuls - including three incumbents - rushed on Monday to file the papers necessary to begin circulating nominating petitions to run for four open council seats in November.

Among those filing on the first day were three incumbents -- Mayor Ken Genser and Councilmen Michael Feinstein and Richard Bloom, all members of the Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights council majority. Councilman Paul Rosenstein has announced he will not seek reelection.

Others pulling papers on the first day were former City Councilman Herb Katz, who served on the council from 1984 to 1992; neighborhood activist David Cole, the former chair of Mid City Neighbors; longtime activist Jerry Rubin and Chuck Allord, a vocal critic of City Hall who recently helped start a neighborhood group near downtown.

Two newcomers to the political scene also threw their hats in the ring. They are Robert Ross, an attorney who sells industrial real estate outside of Santa Monica, and Edward Curnel.

Also filing their intent to circulate petitions were three candidates for three open seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board. They are Jose Escarce, a researcher with the RAND Corporation; Allan Paul Shatkin, an education activist who chairs the district's Special Education Advisory Commission and Dr. Eleanore Meyer, a pediatrician.

In the race for Santa Monica College Board of Trustees, two candidates pulled papers on Monday -- incumbent Pat Nicholson and Joe Weichman, a political science student at the college.

On Tuesday, incumbent Annette Shamey filed her intent to run.

No one has yet pulled papers for the two open seats on the Rent Control Board.

To qualify for the ballot, candidates must gather the valid signatures of 100 registered voters from Santa Monica. The nominating petitions must be filed no later than August 11.

If an incumbent does not seek reelection, candidates who are not incumbents have an additional five calendar days to submit their petitions.