Tuesday night’s City Council meeting was a cross between Samuel Becket’s  “Waiting for Godot” and the Abbott and Costello “Who’s on First?” routine.

The Council was charged with appointing someone to replace Council member Herb Katz who died shortly after being re-elected last fall.

If the members failed to agree on  a replacement or chose not to make the appointment, they would have to    call for a special election and leave the  decision to the voters.

Bobby Shriver, the only member of the Council who remained rational and consistent through  the witless exercise, repeated a proposal he  made at a previous meeting – that a special election be held so that the people could elect their representative themselves and he or she would not be beholden to anyone but the people.

Several Council members protested, citing  the estimated $100,0 00 cost of a special election .  Shriver said $100, 000 out of a $500 million budget was not too much pay for a vote of the people.

He added that if his colleagues  refused to call a special election, he would vote e to appoint Ted Winterer, who ran fifth in the fall election.

Mayor Ken Genser then delivered a dissertation on the number  of votes other also-rans in earlier elections  had got, and  the percentages of the whole vote they got,  which, by his lights,  was more significant.

Though he didn’t admit it, his point was that Winterer was not only no more qualified than  anyone else, but less qualified than some. His theory was as dubious as his  lecture was dull. It was also pointless as at least half the people in the room knew that he was trying  to clear the way for Patricia   Hoffman  in advance of the vote.

Hoffman, like Genser and three other Council members are Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR) stalwarts. Winterer is not.

Not to be outdone in the tedium  department, mayor pro tem Pam O’Connor (also a SMRR) paid tribute to herself for taking the time out of her busy schedule  to “speed-date” the 27 people who had “applied” for the Council vacancy.

Then, after the usual self-serving flimflam from the other two  Councilmen from SMRR,     Richard Bloom and Kevin McKeown,  the voting got underway.

McKeown nominated Winterer, Genser nominated Hoffman, and O’Connor nominated Gleam Davis. All three had made unsuccessful  runs for City Council, but Winterer  was the only one who had run last fall and taken positions on all the current issues,  Davis and Hoffman are the co-chairs of (SMRR).

Shriver and Councilman Bob Holbrook voted with McKeown for Winterer  on the first round.  Seven or eight rounds followed. Shriver held fast, voting for Winterer through all  eight rounds, while occasionally reiterating the need for a special election.

McKeown jumped back into the SMRR camp after a few rounds.  Then Holbook abandoned Winterer. The four SMRRs then bounced Davis and Hoffman votes around until  Genser abandoned Hoffman in favor of Davis.

In fact. she could have won without his vote, as she had the votes of the other three SMRRs and Holbrook.

When Genser abandoned Hoffman  \to vote for Davis. Holbrook tried to change his vote from Davis back to Winterer. But it was too late.

Davis immediately took the oath of office and joined her new colleagues on the dais. SMRR now has  a five-two majority, which, in effect,  renders Shriver and Holbrook redundant.

Is this any way to run a democracy?

Of course not. But this isn’t a  democracy,  this SMRRland.