Dear Voter

By Jonathan Louis "Jon" (Stevens) Mann

Media unfairness, conflict of interest and the dominance of special interests in local politics.

Candidates who do not receive large campaign donations and who represent the residents of this community cannot compete on a level playing field with celebrity, notoriety and fame.

There is also a lack of journalistic persistence in investigating conflict of interest of some candidates and in the selection of which candidates to endorse. We must guard against the City Council creating a health care monopoly requiring city employees to use specific hospitals and care providers. We must protect against abuse of office and look into the disposition of political contributions and whether public officials, sitting and past members of the council, familiy or friends are benefitting in any way from the dispersal of public funds.

I have been trying to expose the ongoing corruption, conflict of interest and sheer incompetence that exists between city government and various special interests since 1989 and am largely ignored due to the powerful internal forces that dominate Santa Monica politics. To counter this monopoly of power I will continue to attempt to create an alternate grass roots participatory plebscite utilizing the electronic interface, using e-mail, websites and web logging, (blogging) to organize an online constituency and topple the existing power structure of outside endorsements and financial inducements that elect city officials.