Council Delays Putting Initiatives on Ballot

By Jorge Casuso

Figuratively holding their noses in disgust, members of the City Council Tuesday night postponed for one week an inevitable vote to place two controversial measures on the November ballot.

In strongly worded attacks, the council characterized a hotel-sponsored living wage initiative and an initiative sponsored by a statewide citizens group intended to weed out corruption in City Hall as reprehensible measures that garnered the necessary signatures to get on the ballot through deceit.

Despite its opposition, the council has little choice but to place the measures on the ballot. The delay, however, will give council members time to decide whether they will participate in drafting arguments against the two charter amendments.

"I'm doing both of these by holding my nose to do it," said Mayor Ken Genser. "I really think that this is a cynical, cynical fraud that's being put forth on the ballot and the people of Santa Monica will see through it," Genser said, referring to the living wage measure.

"I also feel disgust for the position we're put in," said Councilman Paul Rosenstein.

"It's shameful," said Councilman Michael Feinstein. The wage measure, Feinstein added, is sponsored by "very well-healed interests who didn't have the dignity to let the public process unfold. Instead, our residents were misled. In the end karma will rule and people will know they've been hoodwinked."

The council voted to make some minor changes to clarify the living wage initiative, which according to a city staff report will likely cover about 200 employees who work for companies with city contracts. The initiative also would erase any wage measure the council might consider, now or in the future.

The council added the words "establishing" and "regulating" and dropped the word "the" before "wage and benefit requirements" in the ballot question drafted by the City Attorney and City Clerk.

The question will now read: "Shall the City Charter be amended to add specified minimum wage and employee benefit requirements for some employees doing work on City contracts and grants and barring the City from establishing, modifying or regulating wage and benefit requirements except by initiative?"

"It would more accurately reflect the proposal," said Councilman Kevin McKeown, who proposed the changes.

Council members noted that although more than a dozen opponents testified, supporters did not show up to speak on behalf of the initiative, which would be the nation's first business-backed living wage measure.

"I find it interesting that tonight there are no proponents here," Genser said. "This highlights the fact that the measure was put forth by large anonymous corporations."

The initiative would require employers who receive at least $25,000 in City contracts or subsidies to pay their workers a living wage of at least $8.32 an hour with health benefits, or $9.46 without.

The council also used strong language to express their opposition to a "Taxpayer Protection Amendment" that would "prohibit any City public official, who approves giving a public contract or other benefit to any person from receiving 'personal or campaign advantages' from that person for up to six years."

Council members took personally the insinuation that there is corruption in City Hall and warned that the measure would disuade citizens from joining boards and commissions and would be difficult to enforce.

"I've never heard an allegation that city contracts are let out on a political basis," Genser said. The mayor added that this is the kind of "simplistic, cynical approach that is hurting campaign reform in this country."

"I feel like I'm being asked to put something on the ballot to stop beating my wife and I'm not married," McKeown said.

"It's just morally reprehensible," said Council member Pam O'Connor.

Unlike the living wage measure sponsored by large hotels, the "taxpayer protection" initiative is sponsored by the Oaks Project, a non-profit, non-partisan group founded in 1997 by consumer advocate Ralph Nader (who is a presidential candidate) and Harvey Rosenfield to train citizens to participate more effectively in California politics.

"We want to prevent the possibility of any corruption," said Bill Gallagher of the Oaks Project.