by Kevin McKeown
Chair, Wilshire/Montana Neighborhood Coalition

Santa Monica politics in election season can be like junior high school at its worst. Maybe it's time for a pep rally to recover "school" spirit.

The existing tendency toward grudge-fueled ideological battle led Sun Editor Susan Wilson to lament several weeks ago, "The truth is, the best and the brightest in our community do not want to run for city council or school board."

I was unable to speak a complete sentence or add numbers larger than ten for almost a full day. Then, as the faculty returned, I got to thinking: It doesn't have to be this way!

We can choose to replace argumentative and destructive debate with valuable, rewarding, mutually respectful community conversation. All it takes is growing up a bit, reexamining our motives and nurturing the willingness to open new doors.

Truth is, most of us share in wanting the best for this wonderful community we call home, Santa Monica. As residents, we have far more in common than divides us.

I have said this before: a community is defined by the connections among its members. Those connections depend on communication, the very human ability to share ideas and aspirations.

Is it merely high-flying idealism to hope that open-minded and open-hearted communication can heal community divisiveness? I think not. Let me share some on-the-ground examples of what communication has accomplished in the little part of Santa Monica I inhabit, in just the past year.

Despite funding cut to zero, our city's neighborhood groups reached out to each other, forming shared committees on issues like parks, development, traffic and recycling. The most successful committee, chaired by Ocean Park's Sara Faulds, identified potential new parklands and worked with Santa Monica Community and Cultural Affairs Director Barbara Stinchfield on a demonstration greenway between existing parks.

Those same neighborhood groups completed their first year of unsupported activism with a month-long series of annual congresses, where local concerns were voiced and solutions sought in a rancor-free atmosphere of respect and cooperation. If you don't know about your own neighborhood group yet, call 450-5578.

Last month I helped former Recreation and Parks Commissioner Doris Sosin organize the first-ever North of Montana Association of neighbors, fifty or more of whom turned out to identify challenges like "monster mansions" and Montana Avenue parking and traffic problems. On the latter, NOMA will work with my Wilshire/Montana Neighborhood Coalition, raising hopes we can link our neighborhoods not just symbolically but with safe crosswalks spanning Montana. Is this a pedestrian endeavor?

Abandoning the old model of residents versus businesses, Wilshire/Montana also is working with Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dan Ehrler, the Bayside/Downtown District's Kathleen Rawson, St. Monica's Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson and high-level city staff including Planning Director Suzanne Frick, seeking parking solutions for the Reed Park area -- before the reopening of Miles Playhouse and anticipated business resurgence along Wilshire strangle an already parking-challenged neighborhood.

Santa Monica's volunteer citizen Telecommunications Working Group focused on universal access for all residents, assisting Kate Vernez of City Manager John Jalili's office and the Information Systems Division's Jory Wolf. We helped create an ambitious plan for our communications future, which Council approved.

One result is that all Santa Monicans, including those who work or study here, now have free internet electronic mail. We move into a new age of community connectivity. Email me at kevin@mckeown.net!

As a member of the Working Group, I approached President Barbara Inatsugu of the League of Women Voters of Santa Monica, who was wonderfully encouraging. In an exciting cyberfirst for our city, the League has agreed to use the conferencing capabilities of our Public Electronic Network, PEN, to host an open and moderated ongoing discussion of local issues and candidates leading up to the November election.

What's the commonality among all these actions? It's communication, leading to enhanced community.

Talking to each other, we can learn to disagree on specific issues but respect each other for shared hopes. That atmosphere of respect will encourage all members of our community to participate.

Then it's up to all of us to listen, learn, and act in concert. We're in this together as Santa Monicans.

We've already committed to environmental sustainability and economic sustainability. Remembering we're above all a community, and communicating enthusiastically about our common interests, we can create political sustainability.


Kevin McKeown
Santa Monica

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