Santa Monica Voters Buck the Trend

By Mark McGuigan
Staff Writer

Oct 9 – Most Santa Monica voters who made it to the polls Tuesday were disappointed the next morning as nearly two-thirds of them voted not to recall the governor, according to preliminary statistics from the county.

The city’s voters are typically out of step with the state’s more conservative electorate and this election was no different. Despite having established his campaign headquarters in the heart of the city, Santa Monica was not a Schwarzenegger stronghold. The governor-elect amassed 7,658 votes, or just over 30 percent of the total ballots cast.

Santa Monica was one of the few cities to buck the statewide election trend that saw Schwarzenegger walk away with nearly 48 percent of the total vote. Democrat Cruz Bustamante garnered close to 33 percent of the vote, Republican Tom McClintock, 13 percent, and Green Party candidate Peter Camejo just under 3 percent.

Provisional statistics from the Los Angeles Registrar's Office show that 44 percent of Santa Monica’s registered voters -- or 25,192 of 57,198 voters -- flexed their political muscles at polling stations citywide.

Although the turnout is high in comparison to figures from previous off-election campaigns in the city -- 28 percent in April 1999, 38 percent in March 1996 and 33 percent in June 1994, according to city officials – this week’s turnout falls below the projected statewide turnout of 55 to 60 percent. Seven percent of the votes were considered spoiled and were not counted.

"Voter turnout corresponds directly to when people feel they have something to vote for," said Council member Michael Feinstein. "The Democratic Party did not give the Democrats (in Santa Monica) a reason to turn out to vote."

Bustamante did capture 43 percent of the popular vote as more than 11,000 Santa Monican's hitched their wagons to Bustamante's campaign.

"In a City that is overwhelmingly Democratic, Bustamante didn't even have the majority of the vote," commented Feinstein. "For Bustamante to only have that total shows how unexcited the Democrats in the City were by the alternatives they were given."

Third place on the voting table went to Republican candidate Tom McClintock who garnered 1,802 votes and Green Party nominee Peter Miguel Camejo filled fourth spot with 1,370. The remaining 1,599 ballots were spread among the long list of other candidates.

On the question of whether state and local governments should be prohibited from classifying any person by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin as framed in Proposition 54, Santa Monicans voted with the state in rejecting the measure. Nearly 70 percent of city voters cast a no vote.

In response to Proposition 53 -- whether the state should dedicate up to 3% of General Fund revenues annually to fund state and local infrastructure projects -- the city's voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure two to one.

Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to take office sometime before November 17 to serve out the remaining three years of Gov. Davis's term.