Press Release: Green Party November 2016 Ballot Measure Recommendations for Santa Monica

Press Advisory
Green Party of Los Angeles County losangeles.cagreens.org
Tuesday October 18, 2016

The Green Party of Los Angeles County (GPLAC) opposes Measure LV in Santa Monica, and endorses Santa Monica ballot measures GS, GSH and SM. The GPLAC also endorses county measures A (parks) and M (public transit) on the Santa Monica ballot. losangeles.cagreens.org/voterguide/2016-november.

"The Green Party supports measures GS and GSH, because we believe in affordable housing to promote a Santa Monica for everyone" said former Santa Monica Mayor and current Green Party County Councilmember Michael Feinstein, a Santa Monica resident since 1984. "Allowing people to live closer to their work is also a key strategy in addressing climate change, by providing more affordable housing in our jobs-rich city."

The Green Party opposes measure LV. ''How can residents help build a healthy, humane community here in Santa Monica - and be part of larger efforts to address climate change  -- if all of our planning is subject to expensive, short-term oriented election campaigns? , said Green Party County Council member Cris Gutierrez, a leader in Climate Action Santa Monica, and a 35 Santa Monica resident in Sunset Park.

"Measure LV threatens to drive out middle and low-income Santa Monica residents by making it more expensive to develop affordable housing, by shifting development from the commercial zones into the neighborhoods, and by incentivizing the tearing down of existing apartment buildings and building high-end condominiums in their place" adds Linda Piera-Avila, a former Vice-Chair of Santa Monica's Urban Forest Task Force and a Pico Neighborhood/Mid-Cities resident in Santa Monica for 36 years.

"We can keep our community diverse, and still address traffic, overdevelopment and the environment, through comprehensive smart growth strategies that fit our community. Measure LV isn't the way to get there, and will cause more harm than good," adds Green County Councilmember Annie Goeke, a former Chair of the Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women, a north of Wilshire resident, and the Executive Director of the Earth Rights Institute, an international NGO working on sustainable development in Africa.

The Green Party also supports local Measure SM and county measures A and M on Santa Monica's November ballot. "The Green Party supports Measure SM, because it is good government measure that clarifies and strengthens our local conflict of interest laws," adds Green County Council member and active community gardener Cordula Ohman, a 36 year Santa Monica resident in Ocean Park.

"Santa Monica is also part of a larger region that we all live in and enjoy. That's why the Green Party endorses county measures A and M, for more parks, public transit and quality of life county-wide", adds Green County Councilmember Justine Bierne-Akley, a Brentwood resident in Los Angeles who coaches women lacrosse at Santa Monica High School.

GPLAC positions are taken by the GPLAC's 17 member County Council, which is elected in the June primary in presidential years. The County Council is akin to what are called 'central committees' in other ballot-qualified parties in California. Five of the GPLAC's 17 members are from Santa Monica, while a sixth works in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. All GPLAC positions on the ballot measure were arrived at by consensus at the GPLAC's October 2 County Council meeting. 

For more on Measure LV
Why I'm Voting No on Measure LV in Santa Monica • Initiative Reform and Measure LV Drafting Errors • LV's Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail