Santa Monica’s Epstein Ponders a Comeback : Out of Office but Not Out of Town

Those who expected David G. Epstein to leave Santa Monica after his unsuccessful bid to retain his seat on the City Council are in for a surprise. The colorful and sharp-tongued Republican attorney is buying a house in the Ocean Park area and plotting his next political play.

The effusive Epstein, who capped his single council term by publicly telling a longtime critic to “shut up” during a meeting, said he expects to spend the next year examining his options. He said he may run for office in 1988.

“There’s a good chance that I will be involved in politics in some way,” Epstein, 43, said last week. “Whether it will be the City Council or some other office, it’s too early to tell. And even if I knew, I wouldn’t say.”

Epstein is currently renting an apartment in Santa Monica. There were rumors that he would scurry off to solidly Republican Orange County, where he works as an assistant county counsel, after his November council defeat. But Epstein maintained that a GOP loyalist can succeed on the Democratic Westside if he is flexible on the issues. He said that he would consider running against Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) or Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica).

“A bigger problem than registration is the fact that we have incumbents that have been in for a while,” Epstein said. “If they aren’t found with their hands in the cookie jar, they’re difficult to beat. But it’s not impossible. I would hate to think that once someone acquires a seat, they basically own it.”

Personal considerations also played a role in Epstein’s decision to remain in Santa Monica. His daughter is a student at Santa Monica College and Epstein said that he has established community ties that he does not want to break.

Even if Epstein were to forget Santa Monica, however, it is doubtful that Santa Monica would forget Epstein. He was a virtual unknown when he was elected to the council in 1983 in a stunning upset of Mayor Ruth Yannatta Goldway, the symbolic leader of the city’s rent-control movement. However, he quickly earned a reputation as the seven-member council’s most conservative, and often most outspoken, member.

Epstein was openly critical of the city’s Rent Control Board, a sacred cow in the tenant-dominated city. He also tried to have City Atty. Robert M. Myers fired for insubordination when Myers refused to prosecute nonviolent vagrants at a time when the city was searching for ways to deal with the homeless.

In a criticism of the city’s now defunct fair Election Practices Commission, Epstein said he was skeptical of “excess moralism” in elections. He called his council opponents “radicals.” And he had a habit of touting his own intellect, a practice that may have backfired when his opponents sarcastically challenged voters to “Match Wits With David Epstein” in a campaign mailer.

In a more serious vein, Epstein, who belonged to the moderate All Santa Monica Coalition, was viewed as a hard-working council member with a keen understanding of complex matters such as the budget and land use. He also championed the law that restricted city employees’ smoking rights and came down in support of increased social services for the city’s homeless population.

“I have a certain type of mind that was different from most other people on the council,” said Epstein, an attorney with a doctorate in anthropology. “I have an academic background. That might not make me smarter, but it does make my thinking different. It puts me in a more philosophical or theoretical framework. On the other hand, most councils are composed of insurance salesmen and Rotary Club members. So that kind of thinking may not be essential.”

There is still a trace of bitterness when Epstein talks about his defeat in the council race that pitted him and two allies from the coalition, council members William H. Jennings and Christine E. Reed, against three challengers from Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights. After Reed and Jennings won and he lost, Epstein charged that he had been shortchanged in campaign mailers.

230 Votes Short

Epstein, who missed reelection by about 230 votes, also blamed his defeat on his outspokenness and said he should have gone after more absentee voters. He added, however, that the loss was not totally unexpected. “Santa Monica is not the kind of place where you can serve comfortably and safely for years and years,” he said. “The council has changed by one person in every one of the recent elections and I happened to be the one on the losing side this time.”

Epstein said he spends his spare time these days writing and pursuing his hobbies. He gets up at 5 a.m. and spends about two hours at his word processor before heading to the office. Epstein is also an avid reader, and plays the guitar and piano. One of the advantages of being off the council is not having to attend meetings until 1 a.m., Epstein said. He said that one of the worst parts is having to put money in parking meters where parking is free for city officials.

Epstein said that he may address the council on certain topics that interest him during the next couple of years. But, whether he decides to run again or not, he said that he does not expect to be a familiar figure at City Hall.

“The important thing is I have discovered I am happiest and most effective being myself,” Epstein said. “That’s the way I was on the council and it’s nice to know I’m still myself, even if no one calls me ‘Honorable’ anymore.”