Santa Monica Mayor Snubs Vote 4 Times, But Wins After Extracting A 2-Year Term

Santa Monica has a new mayor … and it is a two year term.

Like in Malibu … a mayor is selected in Santa Monica by a vote of the city council.

But Malibu rotates the mayor title amongst city council members for equal shares of the two-year.

That means Malibu can have three mayors during a two-tear period.

Santa Monica eight used to select the mayor for one year at a time.

But now that city council is going with the veteran city council member Sue Himmelrich.

She was selected by a 5 – 2 vote margin to serve as Mayor for two years … according to the Santa Monica daily press.

It was not an easy vote.

The Santa Monica city council went through four rounds of voting to arrive at a majority … and each time … the winner was Himmelrich.

But each time the term was for one year … and Himmelich tuned it down each time.

Himmelrich told the Daily Press she would only accept a two year term as she believes the job requires continuity in leadership.

And she said that she needs a longer term to justify cutting back from her important work at the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

Himmelrich is described as a slow-growth advocate.

And the three new city council members have been loudly expressing their staunch opposition to large projects.

“We have palm trees that are the highrises of the City,” said one city council member … quoted in the Santa Monica Lookout newspaper.