2020 Santa Monica City Council and Board of Education election results
By Sakura Amano, Staff Writer
As of Nov. 3, Santa Monica City Council and Board of Education Election Day, 71,970 city residents were registered to vote for their choice of representatives in the upcoming years. According to the county, 35,889 Santa Monica residents voted by mail and a total of 44,607 cast their ballots in-person, with 32 precincts reporting.
Of the 21 candidates running, there are four available seats for Santa Monica City Council. The most recent report on election results, last updated Nov. 30, states that Phil Brock is in the lead with 19,319 votes, followed by Gleam Olivia Davis with 18,153 votes, Christine Parra with 18,031 votes and Oscar De La Torre with 17,570 votes. Currently, Davis is the only incumbent candidate retaining her seat.
Of the eight candidates running for the Board of Education, there are three seats open. The most recent report on election results, also last updated Nov. 30, shows that incumbents Jon Kean, Maria Leon-Vazquez and first-time candidate Jennifer Smith have consistently held the lead for the School Board, with 23,632, 22,430 and 21,299 votes respectively.
As De La Torre, who has been an 18-year member of the Board of Education, is currently elected for the fourth available position in the Santa Monica City Council, an additional seat is left vacant on the board. De La Torre must resign from his School Board position in order to take his seat on council, where he will begin working Dec. 8. Following his resignation (which was set to have been announced Nov. 30) the board will have approximately 60 days to fill the position, which will be done through an appointment process of accepting applications, interviewing candidates and holding a board meeting to make a decision. It is foreseen that the position will be filled in time for a School Board meeting scheduled on Jan. 14, 2021.
As the elected members of both the Santa Monica City Council and Board of Education will be responsible for taking on a variety of issues, the results of this election have the potential to make many changes to the Santa Monica community. For instance, all four of the elected City Council candidates have stated homelessness, public transportation and rent control/affordable housing as top priorities. They have also pledged to thoroughly address the COVID-19 pandemic which could play a substantial role in the reopening of SMMUSD schools. Further, the elected Board of Education members have influence over curriculum taught in schools and distribution of budgets. For example, elected Leon-Vazquez mentioned that she believes a vital aspect of SMMUSD is its art, music and athletics.
All things considered, with the majority of candidates for both elections being Santa Monica residents and parents, the city is ready to see a unified team of people who all want what they believe is best for the Santa Monica community.
“I am running for a second term on the School Board to continue the other important work I have started. We can do better. We must do better,” Kean said in his candidate statement.