By Jason Islas
Staff Writer

July 23, 2012 -- Members of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR) voted Sunday to back only two candidates in the race for four open City Council seats, leaving the other two endorsements at the discretion of the group's Steering Committee.

Planning Commissioner Ted Winterer and incumbent Gleam Davis both received more than the 55 percent of the votes needed to win a spot on the SMRR slate in the November race, with Winterer winning handily and Davis squeaking by.

But as the four-hour meeting attended by more than 250 members drew to a close, there was speculation that Tony Vazquez -- the only Latino ever elected to the Council -- would be added to the slate by SMRR’s Steering Committee as early as this week.

Vazquez -- who lost his seat in 1994 after serving one term -- finished second in all three rounds, falling 2, 8 and 13 votes shy of an endorsement.

SMRR members cast ballots at Sunday's convention (photos by Jason Islas)

“We do not have any days or times set aside,” said SMRR Co-Chair Patricia Hoffman, when asked when the Steering Committee would meet. “We will try to meet this week.”

Hoffman said that the latest the committee is likely to meet is next Saturday, but added that an endorsement is not necessarily guaranteed, since the committee is not required to endorse any more candidates.

In the first round of voting, only Winterer received more than the necessary 55 percent from the floor to win the group's backing, with brings with it an army of election workers, campaign mailers and the group's 30-year reputation with tenant voters. Winterer won 125 votes, putting him 16 votes over the necessary 109.

“I’m delighted,” said Winterer. “But this is the first step in a long campaign trail.”

This will be the third time Winterer -- who considers himself a “responsible growth” candidate – will make a run for a seat on the Council.

Two years ago, Winterer -- with the backing of SMRR -- fell fewer than 60 votes shy of defeating Bob Holbrook, who has sat on the dais since 1990, making him the longest-serving council member in the Santa Monica history.

In the second round, Davis squeaked past the 55 percent threshold by one vote, earning 101 votes from the floor.

Candidate Frank Gruber talks with SMRR members before the vote

“I’m very honored and thrilled to have SMRR’s endorsement,” said Davis, one of the five SMRR members on the seven-seat council. “I look forward to representing SMRR’s platform in my campaign and on the council.”

Davis has served on the Council since 2009, when she was appointed to replace Herb Katz, who died during his term. She was elected, with SMMR's backing, to serve a two-year term the following year.

No candidate managed to muster the votes necessary to earn an endorsement in the third round, but Vazquez managed to come closest to the third round threshold of 95 votes, with 82 votes.

Incumbent Terry O’Day picked up 73 votes. O'Day was appointed to the council in early 2010 to fill the vacancy left by the death of Ken Genser, then won a two-year term later that year with SMRR's backing. He had run unsuccessfully without the group's backing in 2006.

Education activist Shari Davis received 65 votes and former Planning Commissioner and Lookout columnist Frank Gruber, who had finished fourth in the first round, garnered 39 votes in the final round.

Tony Vazquez makes his return to Santa Monica politics

With Vazquez finishing just below the threshold in each round, several political observers who attended the meeting predicted he would be added to the slate by the steering committee.

In 2010, the 13-member committee added incumbent Pam O'Connor to the slate after she fell shy of the threshold in the three rounds of voting.

Before the votes were cast Sunday, SMRR introduced the members of its Steering Committee after the Lookout called them "secretive." ("Secretive SMRR Committee Could Shape Santa Monica Council Race," July 20, 2012)

This year's race has drawn an exceptionally strong field of hopefuls, with only two of the four incumbents -- Davis and O'Day -- pulling nominating papers so far.

Mayor Richard Bloom finished second in the primary for State Assembly in District 50 and will face incumbent Betsy Butler in November. Council member Bobby Shriver is not expected to run, making it the first time in a quarter century that the seats of two incumbents are up for grabs.

“This may be the strongest field of candidates I’ve ever seen,” SMRR co-founder and former Mayor Dennis Zane told the crowd Sunday.