Santa Monicans for Responsible Growth, the Sierra Club and Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution announced plans today to work together to elect two candidates who share their concern about overdevelopment in the City

The coalition of organizations, which together represent over 4,500 Santa Monica residents, will pool their resources to help the Ted Winterer and Richard McKinnon campaigns with visibility, outreach and fundraising.

The Santa Monica City Council has approved several major new commercial developments recently that have had enormous impacts on the aesthetics and character of the community. Members of the three organizations are alarmed at the increase in traffic and parking problems across the City caused by these developments, and are strongly in favor of scaling back activity at the Santa Monica airport on the path towards an eventual closure in 2015.

“There is a clear correlation between corporate jet use at Santa Monica Airport and Santa Monica’s overdevelopment and huge traffic increases,” said Martin Rubin, Director of Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution. “Tech and entertainment industries were welcomed to establish themselves here in what is now proudly referred to by City officials as Silicon Beach, but who is looking at the impacts on the rest of us?”

“The rapid rate of development in Santa Monica has a tremendous impact on our quality of life, and we want our City Council to slow down and take a serious look at these impacts. We believe that Ted Winterer and Richard McKinnon will do that,” said Ivan Perkins, chair of Santa Monicans for Responsible Growth.

The coalition of organizations will turn out hundreds of volunteers to help the campaigns. These volunteers will canvass in the community, make phone calls, help at campaign offices and post signs around the City. The groups will also collaborate on a series of mail pieces to educate the community about Winterer and McKinnon, and urge people to vote. In addition, they will engage in an e-campaign, supporting the candidates by ensuring their members are educated about the campaign and turn out to vote on November 6th.

“This election provides a unique opportunity for residents of Santa Monica to truly impact the future of development in Santa Monica,” said Perkins. “Working together with these other like-minded organizations, SMRG believes that we can have an impact in the election and help ensure that the City Council has two new members who share our interest in slowing down the pace of development in the City.”

Ted Winterer and Richard McKinnon are current Santa Monica Planning Commission members with long lists of accomplishments in the City. Both have been endorsed by the Sierra Club, Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution and Santa Monicans for Responsible Growth, and both have championed scaling back the pace of development. Their campaign positions are closely aligned with the coalition’s emphasis on livability and sustainability.

“Ted Winterer and Richard McKinnon were endorsed by the Sierra Club, and their election to the Santa Monica City Council will help get the City back on track in terms of what’s best for the environment and nature,” said Marcia Hanscom, leader of Sierra Club California & Angeles Chapters and member of the Sierra Club national Board of Directors from 2002-2005.

The organizations have already begun recruiting volunteers and creating the mail pieces, and plan to begin their election efforts immediately.