December 2, 2024 -- A monthly poll of Santa Monica residents concerned with public safety are not confident the four newly elected Councilmembers will boost efforts to fight crime.

The Pulse Poll of "civically engaged" residents also found that increasing public safety and reducing homelessness remain top priorities and that the City is headed in the wrong direction.

The survey taken via text between November 22 and 27 found that 72 percent of respondents are "not confident in the newly-elected City Council's ability to improve public safety."

A total of 16 percent said they were confident, with 7 percent of them saying they were "very confident," while the remaining 12 percent were not sure.

Newly-elected Councilmembers Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Barry Snell and Natalya Zernotskaya swept a pro-law enforcement slate that included two incumbents in the November 5 race for four open Council seats.

The four candidates backed by Santa Monica's political establishment endorsed District Attorney George Gascon, who championed lenient crime policies, including no bail, and was handily ousted by tough-on-crime challenger Nathan Hochman.

The four Council winners also opposed Proposition 36, a statewide measure to toughen lenient policies for those who commit drug and retail related crimes that won with nearly two-thirds of the vote ("Council Votes to Back Prop 36," October 24, 2023).

Asked what the incoming Council's top priority should be, 44 percent chose increasing public safety and 33 percent reducing homelessness from five options given.

Seven percent chose revitalizing Downtown and 3 percent expanding support for small businesses, while 13 percent chose "something else."

The survey also asked respondents if they thought "Santa Monica is headed in the right direction."

Seventy-four percent said no, 9 percent said yes and 17 percent were "not sure."

As with previous polls, the latest Pulse poll was sent via text to about 1,000 Santa Monica residents who "previously opted in to receive more information on education efforts surrounding crime and safety in their city." It had a 10 percent response rate.

Those who wish to be included in the next poll conducted monthly by the Center for Union Facts, a hotel union watchdog, should email their name and cell phone number to SaMoPulse@gmail.com.