Phil Brock feels “despair for the future of our community,” but vows to continue fighting for change.
“I am already dejected and I have been in office for less than three months,” the freshman City Council member says. “I am embarrassed by what I see in our city.”
Brock — moderator of the Facebook group Santa Monica Now — shared his feelings with constituents in a lengthy comment early Sunday morning.
He was responding to calls that Santa Monica Mayor Sue Himmelrich be ousted for her lack of response to crime, homelessness and other issues plaguing residents for years.
“It’s not a matter of replacing the Mayor,” Brock wrote. “It is a matter of changing the laws and making sure that our police department enforces each and every law on the books to the maximum or else we will not clean up the city.”
Brock, 67, also shared his accounts of walking through public parks, witnessing drug deals, transients dedicating in trash cans and more.
Brock insisted that City Council only pulls the purse strings and placed the responsibility for the lawlessness mental health crisis on City Manager Lane Dilg, Interim City Attorney George Cardona and Police Chief Cynthia Renaud.
If [they] are not aggressive in enforcing the laws of the city in conjunction with federal and state laws we are doomed,” he blasted. “If our state and county keep stripping away penalties for bad behavior then there is little our public safety personnel can do to restore order in SM. I’m preaching but the response is tepid.”
Brock — one of three newcomers to earn a seat on the City Council in the November election — quickly earned praise from other members of the group.
“Right on Phil,” wrote resident Garry Ventura. “Now you’re starting to get it. I’ve been saying the same thing for 7 years now.
“How does the community go about removing those who have decided to not do their jobs? If you’ve got hold of the purse strings I would suggest cutting them off completely and immediately.”
A full text of Brock’s commentary follows:
Hi – It’s not a matter of replacing the Mayor. It is a matter of changing the laws and making sure that our police department enforces each and every law on the books to the maximum or else we will not clean up the city. It’s also about providing real mental health assistance 24 hours a day to those in need. We cannot solve our problems with a 9 to 5 weekday shift of help for our homeless humans.
Turns out the city council has little power except for the purse strings. If the city manager, city attorney, and police chief are not aggressive in enforcing the laws of the city in conjunction with federal and state laws we are doomed. If our state and county keep stripping away penalties for bad behavior then there is little our public safety personnel can do to restore order in SM. I’m preaching but the response is tepid.
I am already dejected and I have been in office for less than three months. I am embarrassed by what I see in our city. I walked Reed Park last week, walked Chess Park three times, talked repeatedly to the “powers” about the Pier and surrounding areas, pushed staff again about Tongva Park and the Promenade, and consoled a shop owner today who chased a shoplifter down the alley on the border of Noma and NE Neighbors the other day. got hit in the head and was knocked out by the thief. He has seven stitches and the assailant/robber got one night in jail.
In my visit to Reed, I witnessed a drug deal in front of Miles Playhouse. I performed my first play there at 11 years old. I watched a woman pull her pants down and urinate on one of our city trashcans at 7th and California. Yes, the park bathrooms were open.
We are not helping those in need in our community by benign neglect. We are not helping them by leaving them on our streets for months at a time either. As I said in the council meeting referenced above we need new solutions. What we have been doing is not working. That’s obvious.
Frankly, I despair for the future of our community. But I’m going to fight back.
It’s not about Sue. It’s about our city’s culture, our laws, and the conflicting attitudes of our residents. We must make sure our residents feel safe.
