“Unbrock Santa Monica”: Why the message that propelled council member Phil Brock to his position is backward
By Auden Koetters, Staff Writer
Santa Monica, California. A place encapsulated by sunshine, dotted with surfers and hippies and forever landmarked by its famous pier. Words that come to mind when thinking of this seaside town vastly, but is “dangerous” one of them? The newly elected city councilman, Phil Brock believes so. Brock even goes so far as to claim that the very heart and soul of Santa Monica has been lost in the endless cacophony of burglaries and assaults. But is this true? Is there really a throng of cons roaming Pico Boulevard? Should I begin to carry pepper spray and clutch my purse as I walk? To put it simply, no. In fact, there was recently a 16% drop in Santa Monica’s already minuscule violent crime rates. The only true crime in Santa Monica was perpetrated by the councilmen and leaders of Santa Monica themselves.
“My family certainly did not settle in Santa Monica to be plagued by rampant crime or to be scared of our streets. We must restore public safety to our city. That is the highest priority our local government has in 2020. I Am Committed to Reducing Crime and Restoring Public Safety,” Brock said in his political philosophy statement.
Throughout his campaign Brock spoke of Santa Monica in melancholic tone, reminiscent of a time in his youth when he felt the city to be so much better. Brock focused on bringing back the old and safe Santa Monica; the Santa Monica of the 1960’s. Originally, I ignored this and thought him to be just an old man who missed his youth, however, upon further thought I came to the realization that the Santa Monica of the 1960’s was a white heterosexual male dominated community. In fact, during this time a segregated beach just south of Pico Boulevard nicknamed the “inkwell” still existed and was one of the only places African Americans were able to enjoy the beach without being racially harassed. So, the question stands, what exactly was Brock insinuating in saying he wanted to bring the Santa Monica of his youth? Was the racially segregated Santa Moncia of the 1960’s better than the city today? Why does Brock so vehemently focus on the past when the present and future of Santa Monica is at stake?
More often than not when dining outside or taking a leisure stroll down the beach path, individuals approach begging for money, food, or a morsel of anything you can spare to give them. These individuals have lost their homes, families and lives to the perpetual cycle of homelessness that runs rampant throughout Santa Monica. As the so-called “leaders” of Santa Monica discuss issues such as crime and tourism, members of the city's population lay freezing and hungry on sidewalks and park benches. which However, I suppose this is to be expected seeing that crime could directly affect the Santa Monica homeowners, whereas homeless people can simply be pushed into boarding municipalities. Santa Monica High School student Lillian Topp (‘23) speaks to this issue as she describes actions taken by the city in response to a homeless encampment at Penmar Golf Course.
“When addressing the homeless issue at Penmar Golf Course, Santa Monica seemed to put a few large rocks in part of the pathway and then give up. They had the whole thing fenced off but never did anything with it and now there is a homeless camp set up in the fenced area. Additionally, their approach seemed very one-sided and they didn’t collaborate with the community on the opposite side of the golf course. This approach technically appeased [Santa Monica] residents because it dealt with their side, but was really pointless because the homeless population has become even more crowded on the Venice side of the golf course” Topp said.
This is not to say the city lacks any response to homelessness. Brock does acknowledge homelessness in his campaign; however mirrors the failed response initiatives the city has already taken. Santa Monica has built housing and shelters for the homeless, but such structures are not viable solutions because they are temporary and not able to house the majority of the homeless population. The city of Santa Monica does in fact provide rehabilitation centres for the homeless with drug and alcohol abuse issues, but afterwards, simply returns them to streets which forced them to turn to such substances. The city also has clinics that teach individuals how to gain employment. However, how is one supposed to get hired if they don’t even own shoes to wear to the interview? The city additionally provides food pantries. Unfortunately, these are not open every day and only serve food at specific times. Furthermore, the city has taken many measures to ensure that members of the community don’t lose their homes, which though is admirable, fails to acknowledge the many citizens who already did lose their home.
As described by Topp, the city approaches homelessness with a political mindset that cares more about checking a box claiming effort has been put towards solving an issue rather than actually solving it. During this year's election, the true colours of Santa Monica residents were revealed when they elected a candidate who sermonised an uptick of crime instead of the larger issue plaguing the city of Santa Monica: homelessness.