By Jorge Casuso
February 6 – Santa Monica’s most uneventful City Council race in years also proved its least expensive, with all 13 candidates spending a combined total of $341,538, less than the $372,923 Council member Bobby Shriver alone spent four years ago.
Once again, Shriver was the biggest spender in the race for four open council seats, listing $119,493 in expenditures on the campaign finance disclosure statement filed with the City Clerk this week.
Shriver, who was the top vote getter with the second-highest tally in council history, raised $236,770, with $108,000 coming in the form of a loan, according to the statement, which covers the period from October 19 to December 31.
Shriver was followed by former Mayor Herb Katz, who died in office last month after a long battle with cancer. Katz spent $65,346 on his fourth successful bid after having raised $74,164, according to his campaign’s statement.
Long backed by Santa Monica’s business community, Katz raised $87,579 in his 2004 reelection bid, finishing third. Last year, he finished fourth, nearly 2,000 votes behind the third place winner.
Two candidates who raised more than they did four years ago were Mayor Ken Genser and Council member Richard Bloom, who were backed by Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR), the powerful tenant’s group that has controlled City Hall for most of the past 30 years.
Both SMRR incumbents won the support of former foes from the business community when they opposed Prop T, a failed ballot measure that would have capped most commercial development in the city at 75,000 square feet a year for the next 15 years.("Rival Factions Bankrolled by Developers," October 8, 2009)
Thanks in large part to money from developers who helped bankroll the opposition to Prop T, Bloom raised $53,812 and spent $56,174, posting a debt of $1,525. That was far more than the approximately $35,000 he raised and spent in 2004.
Genser also benefited from developer money, which helped him raise and spend about $50,000, compared to the approximately $37,0000 he raised and spent four years ago.
Ted Winterer, a staunch supporter of Prop T, raised $33,554 in his first council bid and spent $33,037. He fell some 5,000 votes short of winning one of the four open seats.
Susan Hartley, also a vocal supporter of Prop T, raised $9,894 and spent $9,060, finishing sixth.
The only other three candidates who reported having received campaign contributions were Michael Kovac, who raised and spent $7,496; Linda Piera-Avila, who raised $2,632 and spent $2,460, and Herbert Silverstein, who raised $725 and spent $540.
