Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR), will hold its 2012 Convention at John Adams Middle School Sunday. Registration begins at 12:45 PM.
In the course of the afternoon, SMRR members will nominate candidates in the November election for all local offices, choose which local ballot measures to support and endorse a candidate for the 50th Assembly District representative.

Only SMRR members who joined prior to April 24 and have paid their dues are eligible to vote.
In the view of many residents, (SMRRs and non-SMRRs alike), this is the main event, and the actual election is a mere postscript, as, more often than not, as SMRR goes, so goes the City.

The candidates vying for SMRR support are: 50th Assembly District: Richard Bloom and Betsy Butler; City Council: Ted Winterer, vice-chair, Planning Commission, Gleam Davis, incumbent, Frank Gruber, lawyer, Terry O’Day. incumbent, Shari Davis, and school activist, Tony Vasquez, former Council member; Rent Control Board: incumbent Ilse Rosenstein and lawyer Christopher Walton; School Board, incumbents Ben Allen, Jose Escarce, Maria Leon-Vasquez; College Board: incumbents Rob Rader,
Margaret Quinones-Perez,
Susan Aminoff:

Only candidates who want SMRR’s endorsement and have gone through its interview process, which took place July 14, can win its endorsement.
otential candidates must register as candidates and collect 100 signatures from registered voters living in Santa Monica by August 16.

There may be two vacancies on the Council. Bloom is opting for Sacramento and incumbent Councilman Bobby Shriver has indicated he won’t run for a third term.

UnSMRR Council candidates include Jerry “Win-Win” Rubin, who runs every year or two and loses-loses, Linda Armstrong in her fifth run, and six new entries — Robert Seldon, an attorney and co-founder of Northeast neighbors, Michael Shaver, John Cyrus Smith, Steve Duron, Roberto Gomez, Steven Senft and Armen Melkonians.

Rent Board member Robert Kronovet, the first unSMRR to ever win a seat on the board, will try for a second term.

15 candidates for two open Council seats may or may not be a record, but it suggests that residents’ long simmering discontent with the diminution of this legendary beach town to a fancy money mill has risen to rage.

Wilmont, a once-serene neighborhood organization is at war with itself. Over 1000 people are already on the record opposing the proposed mammoth expansion of the Miramar Hotel. A very mixed up, mixed use project’s threat to roll over the tiny, historic, irreplaceable,unique Village Trailer Park has angered people all over town, And ever-spreading gridlock has seized more and more streets, and residents.

It will be interesting to see who SMRR members choose to send into the fray

John Adams Middle School is located at 2425 16th St, between Pearl St & Ocean Park Blvd. Parking is available at the Will Rogers Elementary School Parking Lot — on the west side of 16th. The John Adams West Gate is across the street from the Will Rogers Parking Lot.