November 13, 2024 -- The last full meeting of a City Council that has been among Santa Monica's most acrimonious ended on a bitter note Monday with an item to address "Councilmember decorum."
The discussion item was placed on the agenda by Councilmember Oscar de la Torre, who lost his reelection bid amid a barrage of attacks and allegations made by his political opponents ("Behind the Efforts to Unseat de la Torre," October 31, 2024).
The item called for "an amendment to the Council rules to address Councilmember decorum on the dais so that Councilmembers agree to treat one another respectfully and professionally."
During his introduction to the item de la Torre directed himself to rival Councilmember Gleam Davis, a member of the political establishment that will hold a 6 to 1 majority when a new Council is seated on December 10.
De la Torre accused Davis, who did not seek reelection, of lying in a text message sent to voters shortly before Election Day.
"Oscar and his wife are suing the City," the text message said, "but he insists that he can still vote on whether to settle the very same lawsuit with the People's money.
"Oscar has been pressuring us to concede the lawsuit and pay millions of dollars to his personal attorney," the text message said.
The message sent the weekend before Tuesday's election, de la Torre said, lied about his role in the voting rights lawsuit filed against the City in 2016 (“De la Torre Free to Take Part in Voting Rights Lawsuit Decisions,” July 20, 2022).
"You attacked me personally," de la Torre told Davis, who stared at him in silence.
"You said I'm a plaintiff in the lawsuit, that I'm trying to pressure other Councilmembers so my attorney can make money. That's totally wrong to say that."
Mayor Phil Brock who had admonished de la Torre for "going off the rails" during previous comments about Davis, broke in again.
"You have to stop the personal attacks," said Brock, who ran on the Safer slate with de la Torre that lost the race for four seats on the Council. "Please stop that or I'm going to have to turn off the microphone and stop you."
De la Torre tried to read a statement into the record, as Councilmembers Christine Parra and Jesse Zwick engaged in a brief exchange with their microphones turned off.
"This forum is to conduct City business, not to hold personal gripe sessions," Brock said. "Councilmember, you know I support you, but this is far away from the people's business."
"I disagree," de la Torre said. "The people's business is to get the truth, when you have people lodging false allegations."
After allowing de la Torre to read the statement, Brock noted that his item addressing Councilmember decorum required no action.
"Last thing," de la Torre said. "I just want to announce that I have just lodged a complaint against Councilmember Gleam Davis for violating our confidentiality rules that we just approved regarding closed session."
De la Torre said he had submitted the complaint in writing to the City Attorney accusing Davis of revealing to her supporters that the Council was discussing settling the voting rights lawsuit in closed session.
"I want the City officials to look into it," de la Torre said.
"And I welcome the investigation," said Davis, "unlike you in previous times."
Davis had led the call for a probe into the source of closed session leaks that the Council majority, which includes Brock and de la Torre, rejected ("Council Nixes Probe into Closed Session Leaks," February 23, 2022).
The current Council's last full session highlighted the deep policy differences and personal dislikes that led to contentious meetings that often ended long after midnight.
The tensions also led to a June 2022 Council retreat conducted by a doctor of psychology that resembled more of a group counseling session than a traditional Council retreat focused on policy priorities ("Council Retreat Focuses on Getting Along," June 25, 2022).
De la Torre ended Monday's meeting with a final motion. "I move to adjourn," he said.
"With that," said Brock, "I adjourn the meeting before 9 p.m. That's a miracle."