Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-05-20
START PETITION FOR
BEACH CITIES UNION
FRIENDS OF CONSOLIDATION
LAUNCH CAMPAIGN
Council of Santa Monica Asked tic
Call Election to Determine Will
of Voters-iard Fight
Expected
Lsneclal to The Herald.l

SANTA MONICA, May 19.-The first
real work of the consolidation cam
paign being waged by the members of
the Santa Monica Bay chamber of
commerce was begun today with the
appearance of the petition to the city
council to call an election for the pur-
pose of learning the will of the voters
in the matter.
The petition reads as follows:
THE undersigned petitioners, quail
fed voters of the cities of Ocean Park
and Santa Monica, respectfully state
and show:
THAT the undersigned petitioners
constitute and are more than one-tifth
of the qualified voters of each of said
municipal corporations of Ocean Park
and Santa Monica as shown by the
total number of votes east at the last
preceding state election in each of said
municipal corporations respectively;
THAT the said cities of Ocean Park
and Santa Monica are contiguous to
each other;
THAT the city of Santa Monica is
governed by and operated under a
freeholders' charter and the city of
Ocean Park is governed by and oper-
ated under the general Incorporation
laws of the state of California as a
city of the sixth class;
To Be Called Santa Monica
THAT the city of Santa Monica is
greater in population than the city of
Ocean Park and the larger number of
votes were cast in the said city of
Santa Monica than in the said city of
Ocean Park at the last preceding gen
eral state election
THAT the undersigned petitioners as
aforesaid hereby petition and pray that
the said two cities of Santa. Monica
and Ocean Park may be consolidated
and merged together as a single city
and municipal corporation to be oper-
ated and governed under the existing
freeholders' charter of the city of Santa
Monica, and that upon receiving this
petition your honorable body will forth
with submit to the qualified electors of
each of such corporations the question
whether such municipal corporations
shall become consolidated into one mu-
nicipal corporation to be governed in
the name of and under the freeholders
charter of the city of Santa Monica
which is the greater in population, and
that your honorable body shall desig-
nate day on which d special election
shall be held in each of said municipal
corporations, submitting to the quail
fed electors of each of said municipal
corporations the question whether
such consolidation shall be effected
and shall cause written notice that
such petition has been received and of
the date of such election to be given by
the clerk of your honorable body to
the board of trustees of the city of
Ocean Park.
Hard Fight Expected
your petitioners further pray that
such other and further proceedings be
had in the premises as are provided in
the act of the Legislature of the state
of California entitled An Act to Pro-
vide for the Consolidation of Municipal
Corporations approved March II,
1907
The proponents of consolidation de-
sire to have the question voted on
sometime in July and claim that they
will have double the required 20 per
cent of the actual voters of the two
cities on the instruments.
From this date on the campaign in
all probability will be waged hand to
hand, as it were. Meetings and heart
to heart talks with citizens will con-
sumo large quantities of time and the
mails Will be flooded with campaign
matter sent out by both pro" and
anti
President Webster of the Santa
Monica Bay chamber of commerce
says that IN a conversation with Abb
bot Kinney held today the latter stated
that he was against the movement
and would lead the fight both with
arguments and with financial aid. With
the organization in the center of the
beach working for the movement the
two commercial bodies in Venice
against it and a large number of the
members of the Santa Monica board of
trade opposing the union, there is every
prospect of a hard fight before the con-
solidation will be effected.