By Jorge Casuso
Editor's note: this article has been updated to include comments from Councilmember Zwick and additional comments from the City Attorneys Office.
September 19, 2025 -- City Councilmember Jesse Zwick has been hired as director of a housing advocacy group, but it remains unclear how his new role will impact his participation on housing issues before the Council.
Zwick, who was elected in 2022, will head the Bay-area based Housing Action Coalition's new office in Southern California, where he will be responsible for "growing HAC’s membership and advancing pro-housing solutions across the region," the non-profit said.
According to the job description, Zwick will be paid $120,000 to $130,000 a year with full health benefits and the potential for a performance-based bonus. The organization notes it supports "hybrid work schedules."
Zwick told The Lookout he would not be lobbying in Santa Monica and would recuse himself on items that could pose a conflict of interest,
"Like most current members of our part-time council, I work full-time in another capacity to make ends meet in Santa Monica," Zwick wrote in an email.
"I’ve worked closely with attorneys at the city of Santa Monica and those at my new employer to ensure that I keep my two worlds completely separate and avoid any conflict of interest.
"In the rare instance in which a vote at city council may present a conflict I will of course be recusing myself, as all council members are obliged to do," Zwick wrote.
The City Attorney's office said Zwick's participation in Council items "will be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the specific facts of the situation."
"As with any public official, whether Councilmember Zwick’s employment requires recusal from a particular decision pending before the City Council, including matters related to housing, will be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the specific facts of the situation," the City Attorneys office said in a statement.
"The requirement to register as a lobbyist in Santa Monica applies only to lobbying activities within the City of Santa Monica. To the extent Councilmember Zwick’s employment involves lobbying activities outside the City of Santa Monica only, the City’s lobbyist regulations, including the registration requirements, would not apply."
The job description posted online requires the Councilmember to "establish HAC’s presence in Southern California, with a focus on Los Angeles County and surrounding areas."
Zwick is responsible for building relationships with "local policymakers, government officials, and civic leaders" and "collaborate with other advocacy organizations."
The organizations include YIMBY Action and Abundant Housing LA, groups that advocate for building housing that is larger and more dense with less public input, policies Zwick has championed on the Council.
In announcing his appointment on his LinkedIN profile, Zwick said HAC has united a diverse coalition "around the idea that the key to solving California’s most pressing social and economic challenges is to build more housing for people of all income levels."
"As the title suggests," Zwick wrote, "my role will entail transplanting HAC’s proven model to Southern California to expand our growth and impact across the state."
While it remains unclear whether Zwick's new position will curb his ability to weigh in on housing issues before the Council, his potential recusal would have little immediate impact, since pro-housing advocates hold a 6 to 1 majority on the Council.
