Four Santa Monica City Council seats up for grabs
City of Santa Monica / Contributor
The Santa Monica City Council conducts a meeting 1685 Main St.
The Santa Monica city council election takes place Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. With four out of the seven city council seats up for reelection, a change in Santa Monica’s leadership is possible.
For 40 years, Santa Monicans for Renters Right (SMRR) dominated local elections. While the slate is most recognized for its unwavering support of rent control, the renters’ rights organization holds democratic socialist values. In 2020, in reaction to poor responses to homelessness, rising residential crime and overspending, residents voted out the far left slate. Incumbents Anna Maria Jara, Terry O’Day and Ted Winterer were replaced by Phil Brock, Oscar de la Torre and Christine Parra. Brock, Parra and de la Torre ran under the Change Slate, a new political group with an emphasis on law and order and an ideology closer to the American Democratic Party.
The Change Slate collective grew in size again in 2022, establishing a true majority as Lana Negrette won a seat on the City Council. Brock was appointed mayor and Negrette mayor pro tem. Fast forward to 2024, the terms of mayor Brock, councilman de la Torre and councilwoman Parra run out this November. While Brock and de la Torre are running for reelection, Parra is not, citing family priorities.
Based on historical evidence, Brock and de la Torre are expected to win reelection this November. In local elections around the country, incumbents win reelection overwhelmingly. Santa Monica, for example, has had only seven city council incumbents voted out in the last 44 years. However, three of these instances occurred four years ago in the 2020 election, meaning incumbents may be on the chopping block.
The Change Slate has not effectively met their goals either. Prior to the 2020 election, Brock, de la Torre and Parra made big promises to reduce homelessness, boost tourism and lower spending. While Santa Monica’s boost in tourism in the past few years can be accredited to Change Slate policies, tourism numbers are still down from pre-Covid, homelessness has not decreased considerably and the city is on the verge of bankruptcy. Recently, de la Torre and Brock drew criticism from residents after overspending by $7000 on travel expenses while cutting back funds for public libraries. Piper Forsyth (’25) is one Samo student who can vote in the upcoming election, though she is still unsure of her political standing.
“I haven’t followed local politics too much but I think since I can vote this year I have a responsibility to,” Forsyth said. “I’ve looked at a couple candidate’s platforms but I’m still undecided.”
This year, there are ten total candidates for Santa Monica City Council. Brock and de la Torre are the aforementioned Change Slate incumbents. Additionally, candidates Barry Snell, Dan Hall, Natalya Zernitskaya and Ellis Raskin have been endorsed by SMRR in the upcoming election. Raskin, who lost in his first attempt at city council chair in 2022, is listed as an environmental attorney but also serves on the Steering Committee for SMRR. Rent Control Board Chairwoman, Ericka Lesley, is running unattached but holds endorsements from both the Santa Monica police officers and firefighters associations. Other independent candidates are John Putnam, a small business owner, and Wade Kelley. Kelley, who is officially listed as “Guitar Guy,” has opted not to submit a candidate statement or list any kind of endorsements.
If all four of the candidates endorsed by SMRR manage to win their respective seats, Brock would most likely lose his spot as mayor and the council would award it to someone else. There is no polling data for Santa Monica so it is unsure who is projected to win.