I had my Fancy Hands assistant research Santa Monica's city council candidates on their stances on the Time Warner/Comcast merger

sm_candidates.txt

Kevin Mckeown response which was the longest was, "...corporate mergers and buyouts are not under the 
jurisdiction of municipalities. Some years ago the State of California even took away our ability to negotiate with internet/cable/phone providers over franchises...I helped write the long-term plan that put fiber into every utility trench dug in Santa Monica for the past almost 20 years. As a result, Santa Monica is uniquely positioned to provide 100-Gigabit internet through a fiber network we control locally, which means no throttling and absolute net neutrality...The next phase of the plan is to bring this municipally-provided extreme-bandwidth fiber internet to individual residential households. Over the years I’ve been on Council, we’ve twice tried to establish city-wide wifi...I realize I’ve gone a bit beyond the initial question about corporate 
internet providers. I hope to make them far less relevant for Santa Monicans, as they do not serve us well and show no sign of getting better." This is a short excerpt but I copied his full email to the end for reference. 

Jon Mann responded, "I am not a fan of Comcast or Time Warner so a merger between them makes the result twice as bad. I intensely dislike the trend toward corporate merging of airlines, banks, communications, etc. It reminds me of the film, "Rollerball". Corporate capitalism is taking over the free market and free enterprise by eliminating competition.However, IF the merger really improves service and reduces prices, AND allows me to choose what I want to watch rather than giving me a choice between "bundles" I will support the merger. Otherwise, I stick with: Down with the running dog capitalist pigs!~" 

Whitney Scott Bain responded that, "I haven't watched television in twelve years and use the computer for research and correspondence. I expand my mind by reading two books a week, so this doesn't affect me, but for those who do; its an Orwellian nightmare of major proportions. Comcast is the world's largest telecommunications network in the world. With the merging of Time Warner, it will have the biggest monopoly in what people see as well as open peering into your ISP's on what you search and buy on your computer. Everything you watch run by one corporation that can dictate what you see and buy? Ray Bradbury was spot on with Fahrenheit 451 when he wrote it sixty years ago." 

Phil Brock responded, "I am always deeply concerned when companies become larger and squash competition. I am aware that we do not have enough quality internet options now and that the Comcast acquisition ultimately spells trouble for smaller providers. It may also mean that a defense of net neutrality is in order. Ultimately, Santa Monica needs to expand it's internet service past our parks and libraries and into our resident's homes as a quality alternative." 

Nick Boles responded, "The merger threatens net neutrality. This is an issue to be solved on a federal level. On a local level, Santa Monica should continue to invest in our own internet infrastructure to provide net neutrality on a local level and provide a level playing field for our entrepreneurs and tech start- ups." 

Pam O'Conner responded but did not state an opinion instead mentioning, "Yesterday the City hosed the Next Century Cities event. Next Century Cities mission is to help cities across the country by sharing what innovative municipalities are already recognizing the importance of leveraging gigabit level Internet to attract new businesses and create jobs, improve health care and education, and connect residents to new opportunities. Next Century Cities is committed to celebrating these successes, demonstrating their value, and helping other cities to realize the full power of truly high-speed, affordable, and accessible broadband. The City of Santa Monica is the first city in the US to provide 100 gig service. The next steps in growing the City's network is to service affordable housing buildings.Time will tell how much the private market of telecomm providers serve the community. To date they have avoided serving multi-family neighborhoods." 

Jerry Rubin's response was simply that he did not have a particular opinion so long as there was no power imbalance and that he would have to look into it more. 

The candidates listed below I have not received an opinion or stance from: 
Sue Himmelrich, Terrence Later, Frank Gruber, Richard MicKinnon, Michael Feinstein, Jennifer Kennedy, Zoe Muntaner. 

I hope that this is helpful. 


Kevin McKeown's email is below: 

You’ll probably get some fanciful promises from candidates who have never 
served in office, but corporate mergers and buyouts are not under the 
jurisdiction of municipalities. Some years ago the State of California 
even took away our ability to negotiate with internet/cable/phone 
providers over franchises. 

However, I have a long history of moving internet and media access into 
our purview by taking local actions. Before I was elected to the City 
Council, I served on Santa Monica’s Telecommunications Task Force. I 
helped write the long-term plan that put fiber into every utility trench 
dug in Santa Monica for the past almost 20 years. 

As a result, Santa Monica is uniquely positioned to provide 100-Gigabit 
internet through a fiber network we control locally, which means no 
throttling and absolute net neutrality. This is one reason we have become 
“Silicon Beach.” 

The next phase of the plan is to bring this municipally-provided 
extreme-bandwidth fiber internet to individual residential households. 
Over the years I’ve been on Council, we’ve twice tried to establish 
city-wide wifi, only, both times, to have the venture capital companies 
with whom we partnered go belly up. We will now take the effort in-house. 
We have already greatly expanded the availability of free City Wi-Fi in 
public places and along major corridors. See this web page: 

http://fncy.it/1raEPq1 (smgov.net) 

It includes links to a FAQ and a map. 

I realize I’ve gone a bit beyond the initial question about corporate 
internet providers. I hope to make them far less relevant for Santa 
Monicans, as they do not serve us well and show no sign of getting better. 
I cut my Time Warner cable years ago. I think Santa Monica’s efforts to 
provide residents with reliable, net neutral, broadband internet access 
are the 21st Century equivalent of the Carnegie efforts a century ago to 
provide free public libraries. 

Thanks, 

Kevin