The Santa Monica Democratic Club has received questionnaires from twenty-five local candidates seeking our endorsement this cycle for City Council, Rent Control Board, SMMUSD Board of Education, and SMC Board of Trustees. You can read all of their responses, unedited, on our website, using the links below.
Per our bylaws, we can only consider registered Democrats for endorsement.
Santa Monica and Malibu residents should be sure to join the Club no later than June 15 in order to vote on these endorsements on our upcoming July 15 endorsement meeting.
Candidate Questionnaire Responses
City Council (3 seats up for election this year)
Angela Scott
Ashley Oelsen
Brett Morrow
Caroline Torosis
Danny Ivanov
Doug Trussler
Eli Gill
Ericka Lesley
Lana Negrete
Wade Kelley
Rent Control Board (3 seats up for election this year)
Brad Ewing
Heather Thomason
Kurt Gonska
Soledad Marcial
Sue Himmelrich
School Board (4 seats up for election this year)
Alicia Mignano
Harry Leshner
Laurie Lieberman
Robbie Staenberg
Stacy Rouse
College Board (4 seats up for election this year)
Kera Blades-Snell
Luis Barrera Castañón
Oscar de la Torre
Sion Roy
Tom Peters
Our endorsement process and timeline:
- May 22: Questionnaires distributed to all declared candidates
- June 8: Deadline to submit completed questionnaires
- All questionnaire responses will be made publicly available
- Candidate interviews with the Executive Board will be scheduled following the deadline, and recordings will be made available to the public
Candidate Debates:
- July 1: Rent Control Board, School Board, and College Board
- July 8: City Council
- Both events at the Church In Ocean Park and also streaming on Zoom
Ballot Measure & Endorsement Meeting:
- July 15: Forum on all local and statewide ballot measures, followed by endorsement voting for local offices and ballot measures
All eligible candidates will be invited to participate on equal terms throughout the endorsement process.
Voting Eligibility
To participate in endorsement voting on July 15, you must:
• Be a 2026 member of SMDC in good standing
• Pay your dues by June 15
• RSVP for the July 15 meeting (link coming soon)
Endorsements will be decided by eligible members in good standing via secret ballot, conducted electronically (via ElectionBuddy) in accordance with Club bylaws.
All dates and procedures are subject to change if necessary; any updates will be communicated promptly to members and candidates.