Should Mayor Pro Tem Lana Negrete Be Recalled? #FollowTheMoney

The relatively unknown music store owner Lana Negret was appointed to the Council in June 2021 after a nomination by her friend, Council Member Christine Parra, who is a member of the Change Slate. During the vetting process preceding the appointment it is reported that Negrete expressed to at least one member of the Change Slate her support for the city switching from at-large elections to district elections where each district elects one council member only.

This was an important declaration by the candidate since it was in line with the Change Slate's platform. Negrete needed at least one vote from a Slate member to be appointed to the Council. If Negrete was appointed, the Change Slate would need her vote to be able to settle the California Voting Rights Act litigation against the City by the Pico Neighborhood Association that sought a switch to district elections.

However, once Negrete became a council member, with the help of the Slate, she clearly never voted to settle the lawsuit, or the case would have been settled by now, with the districts drawn and a new election system introduced. So far, the 8-year long lawsuit has cost the taxpayers a reported $14M. At a recent hearing the judge predicted the litigation in the lower court to continue for another four years, likely raking up millions more in legal bills to be footed by Santa Monicans. Then there is the possibility of an appeal after that.

The draining of taxpayers pockets does not seem to worry Negrete, nor does it seem to be important to her to support the plea of her own ethnic group for democratic elections in a city where political power has been consolidated in the hands of a small group of wealthy residents from white neighborhoods. Negrete recently stated to the press that she finds playing the race card to be silly. She also publicly insulted her constituents who were attempting to invite her to a neighborhood group meeting as harassers "coming out of the woodwork."

What Negrete does seem to be concerned with above all is her own pockets. Negrete's music store is staying in business largely thanks to the contracts it has with the School Board. The Board, in turn, is controlled by the developers, and more interested in accumulating a large real estate portfolio than delivering quality education. The developer lobby has its fingers deep in the political establishment of the City, which apart from the brief four-year-period ending now has had full control over the City Council for some four decades, making it virtually impossible for an independent non-monied candidate to win a seat.

When Negrete was appointed to the Council, some saw it as a dangerous compromise by the Slate, who voted for her apparently out of fear of the alternative which was a special election potentially to be won by an establishment candidate again. Negrete's voting record shows an inclination to support the establishment more often than not. Most clearly, Negrete has supported the interests of the School Board (and the developer lobby behind it), despite many publicly voiced concerns about the conflict of interest due to her store's contracts with the Board.

On one occasion Negrete stated from the dais that she had been cleared by the Fair Political Practices Commission whom she had contacted regarding the allegations. However, a public records request revealed that while Negrete did write to the FPPC, the Commission requested more information from Negrete to be able to render an opinion. Negrete never responded to that request. Instead, she misinformed the public that the FPPC had cleared her. When another Council vote was coming up regarding the School Board, an inquiry was made with the FPPC, and the Commission opined that Negrete did in fact have a conflict of interest which barred her from voting on the item. Currently there is a complaint pending with the FPPC which alleges that Negrete's music store received in excess of $87K in contracts from the School Board over a two-year period of time during which she participated in Council votes pertaining to the School Board.

On December 10, 2024 the out-of-her-depth Mayor Pro Tem Negrete might be elevated to the leadership position of mayor by her six fellow council members, all of whom are supported by the entrenched establishment. Optics-wise it is advantageous for the establishment that Negrete, who is Hispanic, becomes mayor, as it superficially appears to build a case against the Pico Neighborhood's position in the CVRA lawsuit. One might fall for these optics if they don't know that Negrete would never have had a chance to become a council member if she had run as an independent candidate instead of being appointed through the establishment's blackmail tactics. And while Negrete likes to call herself an independent voice on the Council, it is clear to anybody who has been watching that her main concern is which side her bread is buttered on.

Now the Santa Monica establishment politically owns all the seven council members, the California Voting Rights Act lawsuit will continue draining the taxpayers pockets for the foreseeable future. Negrete will likely be rewarded with a mayorship as a thank you for staving off the CVRA settlement and keeping at bay the constituents who have tried contacting her since the most recent court hearing. She will continue using her Council seat as a way to preserve her ability to make a living by voting in a manner that satisfies the establishment interested in continuing the status quo. Being used as a tool while disregarding her fiduciary duty to the taxpayers and selling out her own ethnic community will not bother Negrete at all.

Well, unless the taxpayers draw the line and use the one process available to them against unethical, opportunistic, and manipulative public servants: a voter recall.

More information on the CVRA lawsuit: https://www.democratsabroad.org/paulamatos/discrimination_in_santa_monica

John Alle and David Morris