OSCAR DE LA TORRE’S ACTIONS FORCED THE SANTA MONICA CITY COUNCIL TO STOP FUNDING THE PICO FAMILY AND YOUTH CENTER

Dear editor,

For the past two weeks, Santa Monica Councilman Oscar de la Torre has been in the news for an anti-Semitic comment he made as a member of the SMMUSD Board in 2019. School Board Member Jon Kean quotes de la Torre saying: “the biggest problem with the School Board is that it is run by Jews.” The veracity of this claim has been verified by two other School Board members: Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein and Laurie Lieberman.

De la Torre should have acknowledged this statement and apologized for it. Instead, he denied this claim and attacked the messengers.

At the City Council meeting on October 22^{North Dakota} At a meeting, where members of the public raised de la Torre’s anti-Semitic statement, de la Torre lashed out at those who raised the issue and then lashed out, criticizing the City Council’s 2015 decision to stop funding the Pico Youth and Family Center. a non-profit organization founded and led by de la Torre as its Executive Director. De la Torre referred to that previous City Council decision as “racist.”

We were members of the City Council that voted to stop funding PYFC. We did so based on city staff documentation of de la Torre’s misconduct (including racism and dishonesty). City staff’s recommendation to suspend funding was supported by letters from PYFC Board members who had resigned in protest.

Several Board members explicitly pointed to de la Torre’s racism as a key reason for their resignations. Board President Amanda M. Seward criticized De la Torre for stoking racial animosity, stating: “…it was very disturbing to hear statements of an alleged racial conspiracy on the board, particularly given the central message of PYFC unit. The PYFC was founded to help alleviate conflict between the Latino and African American community in Santa Monica, not exacerbate it. “It was irresponsible to engage in this type of race-baiting.”

Similarly, Board member Jan Book noted in her resignation letter: “Oscar verbally insulted several of our Board members with racial, religious, and/or ethnic slurs…”

Two other board members specifically pointed to de la Torre’s racism as a reason for resigning. Shelly Wood, JD referenced a PYFC meeting on December 3, 2012 and stated: “Oscar’s behavior at this meeting was despicable. He tried to polarize the Board and make it a racial issue between the African-American members of the Board and the Latino members of the Board….” Jill Moniz, PhD. stated that she “…cannot tolerate the gross misconduct of PYFC Executive Director Oscar de la Torre”, citing as one of her concerns that Oscar had pursued “his racially divisive agenda”.

In addition to his racism, former PYFC board members commented on de la Torre’s dishonesty. Ms. Book stated that “Oscar intentionally misinformed and misled PYFC staff” regarding the PYFC Board. Ms. Wood noted that “I believe Oscar thrives on dishonesty and manipulates the truth for personal gain.” Ms. Moniz stated: “I cannot tolerate the gross misconduct of PYFC CEO Oscar de la Torre.”

Some people familiar with these events have pointed out that they occurred years ago and that de la Torre has had time to change. The short answer is that it hasn’t changed. Instead of acknowledging his past mistakes and asking for space to move forward, de la Torre continues to deny, obfuscate and attack those who criticize him.

Next week, Santa Monica voters will select four City Council members and de la Torre is seeking re-election. We all agree that de la Torre lacks the character, integrity and judgment to continue serving on the Santa Monica City Council.

Gleam Davis, former mayor and current city councilman

Kevin McKeown, former mayor and city councilman

Pam O’Connor, former mayor and city council member

Terry O’Day, former mayor pro tempore and city councilman

Ted Winterer, former mayor and city councilman

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