By Daniel Larios
Staff Writer

November 7, 2014 – Santa Monica’s established political groups were the biggest winners in Tuesday’s election, backing more than three quarters of the winning candidates and measures, according to an analysis by The Lookout.

The Lookout analyzed seven Santa Monica groups and based the results on the winning percentage of the candidates and ballot measures they endorsed.

The analysis includes local races for City Council, School Board, Rent Control Board and College Board; races for State and County seats; ballot measures and the race to replace U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman. Rent Board endorsements are included even though the race was noncompetitive.

The top four organizations who benefited most from the election were the Santa Monica Democratic Club, Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR), the Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS) and the Police and Firefighter’s Union. 

They were followed by the hospitality union UNITE HERE local 11, Residocracy and the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City.

Santa Monica Democratic Club

The Santa Monica Democratic Club took the top spot among local political organizations with 26 of its 28 endorsements winning, or 93 percent.

Only Measure H, which would have raised property taxes, and School board incumbent Ralph Mechur failed to win with the group’s backing. (“Santa Monica Democrats Back McKeown and Himmelrich for Council Race,” September 4, 2014)

“The Santa Monica Democratic club is pleased to be able to give serious support for the candidates as they head into the November election and we’re honored to be able to give our endorsement,” said Jay Johnson, co-president of the Democratic Club.
 
For the election, the Santa Monica Democrats raised about $26,000 in the largely progressive Democratic area.

SMRR  

The powerful tenant rights group saw the second highest number of endorsed candidates and measures winning Tuesday, with 86 percent of those endorsed. (for a full list of SMRR endorsements, check out “SMRR Fails to Back Santa Monica Council Candidates,” “Sue Himmelrich Backed by SMRR Leadership for Council Race,” “SMRR Endorses Incumbents in Santa Monica School, College Board Races,” and “SMRR Supports Four of the Five Ballot Initiatives.”)

“I think it’s pretty clear that we supported the correct people,” SMRR co-chair Patricia Hoffman told the Lookout.  “I’m really proud of our people. This year was a year of change and voting in a slow growth majority will make a difference in the future for Santa Monica.”

Nineteen out of the 22 endorsements made by SMRR were approved by voters, including first time City Council candidate Sue Himmelrich and incumbent Kevin McKeown.  Planning Commissioner Jennifer Kennedy finished sixth out of fourteen candidates, despite the group’s endorsement. 

“Part of it was, when there’s a big field, it’s hard to get the message out” Hoffman said. “She’s the kind of person that when you meet her and talk to her you think ‘wow this is the type of person to represent me.’” 

Kennedy, Mechur and Measure H were the only endorsed candidates and measures that did not win Tuesday’s election.

One factor may have been a weakened ground campaign, which Hoffman said did not start till the last weekend of the election, typically reserved for get-out-the-vote campaigns.

This year, UNITE HERE – which in the past had provided an army of volunteers to campaign for SMRR’s slate -- backed McKeown and former planning commissioner Frank Gruber, two staunch union supporters on opposite sides of the development issue.

“We’ve worked with the union for a number of years and it’s disappointing that we weren’t able to get together with our candidates and campaign,” said Hoffman.

Also missing from SMRR’s ground campaign were the SMC student who have participated in previous elections as part of Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein’s political science classes for extra credit. 

Since Tahvildaran-Jesswein was a candidate, he could not coordinate with SMRR on their campaign strategies, according to Hoffman.

However, Hoffman said that she saw a number of students volunteering with SMRR and that it didn’t play a major role in the campaign.

During the election season, SMRR raised $129,505.75, including two $10,000 donations made by Himmelrich’s husband Michael Soloff and the Huntley Hotel.

CEPS

The 15-yeqar-old Santa Monica education advocacy organization was mostly successful in its campaign efforts, becoming a bigger player in local politics than ever before.  (“Santa Monica Education Advocacy Group Raises More Than $50K,” October 22, 2014)

Ten out of 12 candidates chosen by CEPS – or 83 percent -- won Tuesday night.

Among the endorsed winners were incumbent mayor Pam O’Connor, all four College Board incumbents, school board member Ben Allen for State Senate, Sheila Kuehl for Supervisor and three of the four endorsed candidates for School board.

CEPS raised $69,429.36 for the election, dwarfing the total $31,696 raised in the previous four elections combined.

Police and Fire Unions

Santa Monica’s most politically powerful unions backed four out of the five winners on Tuesday’s election, finishing up this campaign season with an 80 percent win rate. (“Santa Monica Police and Firefighters to Back O’Connor, McKeown and Gruber,” September 18, 2014) In addition to three counciol candidates, the unions endorsed Allen and Kuehl.

The safety unions spent $81,620 to back their five candidates in this election.

UNITE HERE Local 11

The hospitality union UNITE HERE local 11 had nine out of its 13 endorsements (69 percent) win their respective races. (“Hotel Workers Union Backs McKeown, Gruber for Santa Monica Council,” September 8, 2014)

Despite a comprehensive ground campaign, the union failed to elect former Lookout columnist Frank Gruber to the City Council, Mechur for School Board, and Maria Loya for College Board.

Residocracy

Santa Monica’s new slow-growth group Residocracy -- which gathered more than 13,000 signatures to halt a major development earlier this year -- had mixed results with its slate, as eight out of 12 candidates and measures (67 percent) met with voter approval. (“New Santa Monica Group Weighs in on Council Race Electronically,” October 2, 2014)

Council candidate Phil Brock and College Board candidates Maria Loya and Dennis Frisch lost their respective bids.

Residocracy also endorsed a no vote on Measure HH, which passed by a slim margin.

The new slow-growth group received only one non-monetary contribution of $8,500 from Kate Bransfield.

SMCLC

The slow growth group SMCLC saw 50 percent of its endorsed candidates and positions win on Tuesday. (“Santa Monica Coalition Makes Endorsements Four Months Before Election,” July 15, 2014)

Although two out of three of its candidates won Council seats, official disclosure forms show that the SMCLC PAC’s main purpose was to unseat O’Connor. The mayor, whom the group believes is too pro-development, retained her seat.

The slow-growth group raised $35,735 for the election, according to campaign disclosure reports.