Resident to City: Honor City Clerks Week by Replacing Unethical Anderson-Warren

While I am happy to celebrate the City Clerks Week, and I am supportive and grateful for some of the employees at the City Clerk's office, I have grave concerns about the continued employment of Denise Anderson-Warren as City Clerk.

According to Transparent California, Ms. Anderson-Warren's total pay with benefits in 2019 was $307, 686.

Ms. Anderson-Warren is commonly known to be serving the interests of the lobbyist group Santa Monica Forward instead of being a politically neutral public official for the City of Santa Monica. This is very concerning, as in her role as City Clerk, Ms. Anderson-Warren is in charge of elections.

During the most recent election year, Ms. Anderson-Warren interfered with and lied about a submission by a group opposing one of the ballot measures. As far as I know she was never disciplined for that.

I am informed that there have been HR complaints filed against Ms. Anderson-Warren, which were whitewashed.

The City needs a highly skilled and ethical City Clerk, not a plant within the City Hall doing the bidding of a lobbyist group like Santa Monica Forward.

The City Council appoints and fires City Clerks.

I am looking to the Change Slate to be true stewards of public funds, and to replace this overpaid, underperforming and unethical City Clerk with one worthy of the tax dollars the City has to expend on the important position of City Clerk.

Ms. Anderson-Warren should not be the Clerk trusted to take the City through another election.

Editor's Note:

This public comment was delivered at the 4/26/22 meeting of the Santa Monica City Council