About The Santa Monica Transparency Project
The impetus behind creation of the Santa Monica Transparency Project was the 2008 City Council elections when several citizens realized there was no public reporting on the money and people behind City Council Candidates and ballot initiatives. In response, a ‘let’s-follow-the-money’ effort began; subsequent forensic digging revealed that independent political action committees (PACs) were funding candidates and initiatives, both in support and in opposition, but with no public accountability of either.
As a result, a group of these concerned residents formed the Santa Monica Transparency Project to facilitate openness and accountability in political campaigns and city actions. We believe openness and accountability are the cornerstones of a healthy democracy.
Two years later, community trust was seriously shaken in the 2010 elections when a series of misleading slate mailers were sent to Santa Monica voters citywide that were described as “deceptive” by the Police and Firefighters Associations, the Santa Monica Democratic Club, the Community for Excellent Public Schools and Neighborhood Associations.
A developer-funded group, Santa Monicans for Quality Government (SMQG), was the organization behind the deceptive mailers. SMQG supported Councilmembers Bob Holbrook, Pam O’Connor, Gleam Davis and Terry O’Day. SMQG flouted our City’s campaign disclosure requirements in order to hide the identity of their developer donors by refusing to timely file any statements with our City Clerk. SMQG successfully kept critical outside spending information from the public until the day before the election and then only released the information because of complaints filed by the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City. By then, it was too late to alert voters.
Sadly, the City did not take any action against SMQG for its refusal to file accurate, timely campaign information. The City Council also refused to have campaign disclosure information available to residents at hearings on proposed developments.
Since then, in each subsequent election, the Transparency Project has brought to the City government’s and California Fair Political Practices Commission’s (CFPPC) attention campaign irregularities and violations of Oakes Initiative anti-corruption laws.
Further, we have publicized campaign data for candidates and ballot initiatives in local newspapers, on our website and on social media.
Transparency members are committed to public disclosure of political campaign funding and accountability of Santa Monica public servants, both elected and appointed
As a result, a group of these concerned residents formed the Santa Monica Transparency Project to facilitate openness and accountability in political campaigns and city actions. We believe openness and accountability are the cornerstones of a healthy democracy.
Two years later, community trust was seriously shaken in the 2010 elections when a series of misleading slate mailers were sent to Santa Monica voters citywide that were described as “deceptive” by the Police and Firefighters Associations, the Santa Monica Democratic Club, the Community for Excellent Public Schools and Neighborhood Associations.
A developer-funded group, Santa Monicans for Quality Government (SMQG), was the organization behind the deceptive mailers. SMQG supported Councilmembers Bob Holbrook, Pam O’Connor, Gleam Davis and Terry O’Day. SMQG flouted our City’s campaign disclosure requirements in order to hide the identity of their developer donors by refusing to timely file any statements with our City Clerk. SMQG successfully kept critical outside spending information from the public until the day before the election and then only released the information because of complaints filed by the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City. By then, it was too late to alert voters.
Sadly, the City did not take any action against SMQG for its refusal to file accurate, timely campaign information. The City Council also refused to have campaign disclosure information available to residents at hearings on proposed developments.
Since then, in each subsequent election, the Transparency Project has brought to the City government’s and California Fair Political Practices Commission’s (CFPPC) attention campaign irregularities and violations of Oakes Initiative anti-corruption laws.
Further, we have publicized campaign data for candidates and ballot initiatives in local newspapers, on our website and on social media.
Transparency members are committed to public disclosure of political campaign funding and accountability of Santa Monica public servants, both elected and appointed
Who We Are
Nancy Coleman
I returned to Santa Monica after a 40 year period in Washington, DC in mid-2011 and became active in local efforts to assure that government was transparent. I served a year as a member of the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury, where the charge was to look at all governmental entities within the County. We considered questions of fiscal health and transparency of the cities and agencies in the County.
My family has lived and participated in civic life in Santa Monica since 1956. I graduated from Roosevelt, Lincoln, and Santa Monica High Schools and continued to visit the area during the intervening years. A few months ago I used the findings of the 2012-13 and the 2013-14 Civil Grand Jury Reports to ask the Santa Monica City Council to create an Audit Committee. Whether it is the manner in which public agencies spend their money or whether the officials making decisions are ethical and transparent are concerns that I share as part of the Transparency Project.
I have spent my professional life looking at better ways for citizens to influence public policy whether at the national or local levels. I am working to use my skills to work with those groups in Santa Monica to influence the Santa Monica City Council and other Commissions such as the Planning Commission.
I returned to Santa Monica after a 40 year period in Washington, DC in mid-2011 and became active in local efforts to assure that government was transparent. I served a year as a member of the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury, where the charge was to look at all governmental entities within the County. We considered questions of fiscal health and transparency of the cities and agencies in the County.
My family has lived and participated in civic life in Santa Monica since 1956. I graduated from Roosevelt, Lincoln, and Santa Monica High Schools and continued to visit the area during the intervening years. A few months ago I used the findings of the 2012-13 and the 2013-14 Civil Grand Jury Reports to ask the Santa Monica City Council to create an Audit Committee. Whether it is the manner in which public agencies spend their money or whether the officials making decisions are ethical and transparent are concerns that I share as part of the Transparency Project.
I have spent my professional life looking at better ways for citizens to influence public policy whether at the national or local levels. I am working to use my skills to work with those groups in Santa Monica to influence the Santa Monica City Council and other Commissions such as the Planning Commission.
Jan Ludwinski
Jan has been a resident of Ocean Park for most of the last 39 years. He first became involved in community issues in the late 80's and early 90's as homelessness and vagrancy became a major problem in Santa Monica. He joined the Ocean Park Community Association (OPCO) board in the mid-90s and served two years as Secretary. From 2005 thru 2012, Jan spent 8 years on the Ocean Park Association board, where he served as Secretary, Membership Secretary, Vice President, and President, and was a founding organizer of the SM 4th of July Parade. Jan graduated from Michigan State University in 1980 with a BS in Astrophysics and moved to Ocean Park in 1981. He is retiring from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the fall of 2020 after a 35 year career there, where he has worked on several successful planetary missions including Galileo, the Mars Exploration Rovers, and the Kepler space telescope, and very recently supported the Europa Clipper mission, expected to launch in 2024. Jan joined the Transparency Project due to his strong conviction that facts matter, and the public deserves to know who is funding our electoral candidates.
Jan has been a resident of Ocean Park for most of the last 39 years. He first became involved in community issues in the late 80's and early 90's as homelessness and vagrancy became a major problem in Santa Monica. He joined the Ocean Park Community Association (OPCO) board in the mid-90s and served two years as Secretary. From 2005 thru 2012, Jan spent 8 years on the Ocean Park Association board, where he served as Secretary, Membership Secretary, Vice President, and President, and was a founding organizer of the SM 4th of July Parade. Jan graduated from Michigan State University in 1980 with a BS in Astrophysics and moved to Ocean Park in 1981. He is retiring from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the fall of 2020 after a 35 year career there, where he has worked on several successful planetary missions including Galileo, the Mars Exploration Rovers, and the Kepler space telescope, and very recently supported the Europa Clipper mission, expected to launch in 2024. Jan joined the Transparency Project due to his strong conviction that facts matter, and the public deserves to know who is funding our electoral candidates.
Mary Marlow
Mary Marlow has lived in Ocean Park since 1997. She is a retired AT&T executive with over 20 years experience in sales and marketing to multinational corporations. She has a MBA from USC and serves as an occasional mentor to current graduate students. Mary has been active in the Ocean Park community, successfully pressing for needed changes to large projects in her neighborhood, which would have had significant and negative impacts on the mass, density, scale and character of the historic neighborhood. Mary serves as chair of the Neighborhood Council Advisory Committee working with the Director of City Planning and his staff on neighborhood and city-wide issues.
Mary has remained active in the community by joining the Board of Directors of the Ocean Park Association, serving as OPA president in 2009 and 2010, organizing Santa Monica’s successful 4th of July parade, launching the Santa Monica Transparency Project to monitor campaign finance disclosures in our local elections and ensure compliance with the anti-corruption law known as Oaks, and serving as co-chair of the Bergamot Advisory Committee for the Arts Center at Bergamot. Her primary concern is the loss of community character with the continued construction of ever larger and denser buildings, which drive out neighborhood serving local businesses in favor of retail chains and increase parking and traffic congestion.
Mary Marlow has lived in Ocean Park since 1997. She is a retired AT&T executive with over 20 years experience in sales and marketing to multinational corporations. She has a MBA from USC and serves as an occasional mentor to current graduate students. Mary has been active in the Ocean Park community, successfully pressing for needed changes to large projects in her neighborhood, which would have had significant and negative impacts on the mass, density, scale and character of the historic neighborhood. Mary serves as chair of the Neighborhood Council Advisory Committee working with the Director of City Planning and his staff on neighborhood and city-wide issues.
Mary has remained active in the community by joining the Board of Directors of the Ocean Park Association, serving as OPA president in 2009 and 2010, organizing Santa Monica’s successful 4th of July parade, launching the Santa Monica Transparency Project to monitor campaign finance disclosures in our local elections and ensure compliance with the anti-corruption law known as Oaks, and serving as co-chair of the Bergamot Advisory Committee for the Arts Center at Bergamot. Her primary concern is the loss of community character with the continued construction of ever larger and denser buildings, which drive out neighborhood serving local businesses in favor of retail chains and increase parking and traffic congestion.
Elizabeth M. Van Denburgh
Elizabeth Van Denburgh is the Managing Principal of Van Denburgh Consulting (VDC) Group. VDC focuses on employee and customer transformation around the smart grid and smart city evolution. Previous to VDC, she was a Principal at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and led the Support Services Practice in the Energy, Utilities and Chemicals industry group. In 1981 she joined Arthur Young’s Los Angeles office and has consulted with over a hundred public and private sector clients.
Ms. Van Denburgh received her BA in Economics from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA in Finance from the University of California, Los Angeles. A California CPA (inactive), she currently sits on the Audit Committee of the UCSD Foundation. Born and raised in Arizona, she now resides in Santa Monica and is an active participant in the Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition (Wilmont).
Elizabeth Van Denburgh is the Managing Principal of Van Denburgh Consulting (VDC) Group. VDC focuses on employee and customer transformation around the smart grid and smart city evolution. Previous to VDC, she was a Principal at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and led the Support Services Practice in the Energy, Utilities and Chemicals industry group. In 1981 she joined Arthur Young’s Los Angeles office and has consulted with over a hundred public and private sector clients.
Ms. Van Denburgh received her BA in Economics from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA in Finance from the University of California, Los Angeles. A California CPA (inactive), she currently sits on the Audit Committee of the UCSD Foundation. Born and raised in Arizona, she now resides in Santa Monica and is an active participant in the Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition (Wilmont).
Alin Wall
A second generation Angeleno, Alin graduated from UCLA with a degree in Economics. She went on to become a CPA and practice as a partner in several local area firms most recently Armanino LLP where she has co-headed the firm’s Family Wealth Group for the past 16 years. While building her career, Alin also volunteered as a member of the International Executive Board, Board of Trustees and Foundation Board of Alpha Phi International Fraternity. She was Treasurer of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Make a Wish Foundation and is presently a member of Share, Inc.
Alin moved to Santa Monica in 2005 to avoid the traffic traveling from her home in Studio City to her Westside office. Little did she dream the traffic in Santa Monica would grow to what it is today. While serving as chair of the Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition, she experienced first hand the influence developer-created PACS exert over our small city’s elections and the lack of awareness residents have over what they receive in the mail during election time. She joined the Transparency Project because she believes the road to election to the City Council should be easy to follow and all residents should know the source of endorsements and funding of City Council races.
A second generation Angeleno, Alin graduated from UCLA with a degree in Economics. She went on to become a CPA and practice as a partner in several local area firms most recently Armanino LLP where she has co-headed the firm’s Family Wealth Group for the past 16 years. While building her career, Alin also volunteered as a member of the International Executive Board, Board of Trustees and Foundation Board of Alpha Phi International Fraternity. She was Treasurer of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Make a Wish Foundation and is presently a member of Share, Inc.
Alin moved to Santa Monica in 2005 to avoid the traffic traveling from her home in Studio City to her Westside office. Little did she dream the traffic in Santa Monica would grow to what it is today. While serving as chair of the Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition, she experienced first hand the influence developer-created PACS exert over our small city’s elections and the lack of awareness residents have over what they receive in the mail during election time. She joined the Transparency Project because she believes the road to election to the City Council should be easy to follow and all residents should know the source of endorsements and funding of City Council races.