Electronic Democracy Downsize City Hall

By Jonathan Mann

Resurrect the Public Elecdtronic Network (PEN)

Most election are determined by endorsements and who raises the most money. This forces candidates to make compromises in order to get elected. I believe that resurrecting the Public Electronic Network, (PEN), would level the playing field so that the main priority of government would be to provide the services Santa Monica residents want without apealing to outside interests.

My experience in running for City Council has made me extremely cognizant that we need to support candidates who have no obligations to ANY special interests (other than the voters). I can't afford signs with my name, or distribute campaign literature because I receive no contributions from any organizations having their own agenda. I use the internet to campaign.

I would like a thorough investigation into how ALL city revenues are being distributed and if any of the recipients are contributing, in any way, to candidates for public office. I support Clean Money, Ranked Voting and vehemently oppose Proposition W's attempt to rescind the campaign reform voters passed in 2004.

I have serious questions regarding the disposition of the millions of tax dollars disbursed by the housing division, as well as many of the funds disbursed to social service agencies and city departments. I would audit the entire budget on the City website (with a search function) to expose mismanagement.

Every time I run for City Council the incumbents usually get re-elected, or perhaps one other candidate who receives the endorsement of the police department and/or SMRR. No candidate who dares to represent ONLY the residents has ever been elected. My purpose, all along, has been to promote an agenda for an electronic town hall. Since the advent of MoveOn.org and weblogs, an electronic plebiscite is finally starting to emerge.

I hold the entire present and past city councils accountable for the state of affairs in this city (which has escalated under the leadership of the present council). While there are deep divisions among the council, the deteriorating situation in Santa Monica happened on their watch and is their fault. There are numerous special interests, appointed officials, city employees, and so on, that share the blame. The council could have prevented much of the chaos, instead of approving corporate development, increasing tourism, raising taxes, and opting for increased revenues. We need to down size and streamline our bloated bureaucracy.