After months of careful consideration of twenty-five candidates seeking our endorsement, the SMDC Membership convened last night for its annual endorsement meeting. In what may have been the largest endorsement vote in Club history, members considered endorsements for City Council, Rent Control Board, School Board, and College Board.
Full results are listed below.
In Case You Missed It 👀, you can watch the whole meeting here:
Endorsement Results
Per our Club Bylaws, contested endorsements require 55% support.
Endorsed candidates listed below in bold blue.
City Council ROUND ONE(351 votes cast)
Lana Negrete – 181 votes (52%)
Caroline Torosis – 164 votes (47%)
Doug Trussler – 156 votes (44%)
Ashley Oelsen – 153 votes (44%)
Brett Morrow – 84 votes (24%)
Danny Ivanov – 73 votes (21%)
Eli Gill – 50 votes (14%)
Angela Scott – 42 votes (12%)
Ericka Lesley – 22 votes (6%)
Wade Kelley – 4 votes (1%)
No Endorsement – 1 vote (0%)
Result = Lana, Caroline, Doug, Ashley, Brett, Danny advance to Round Two; other candidates eliminated.
City Council ROUND TWO(324 votes cast, plus 5 abstentions)
Caroline Torosis – 163 votes (50%)
Lana Negrete – 152 votes (47%)
Doug Trussler – 151 votes (47%)
Ashley Oelsen – 136 votes (42%)
Brett Morrow – 101 votes (31%)
Danny Ivanov – 80 votes (25%)
No Endorsement – 6 votes (2%)
Result = The Club did not reach consensus in this race.
Rent Control Board ROUND ONE (318 votes cast, plus 33 abstentions)
Heather Thomason – 189 votes (59%)
Sue Himmelrich – 154 votes (48%)
Kurt Gonska – 147 votes (46%)
Soledad Marcial – 127 votes (40%)
No Endorsement – 34 votes (11%)
Result = Heather endorsed; Sue, Kurt, Soledad advance to Round Two.
Rent Control Board ROUND TWO(287 votes cast, plus 42 abstentions)
Kurt Gonska – 169 votes (59%)
Sue Himmelrich – 165 votes (57%)
Soledad Marcial – 95 votes (33%)
No Endorsement – 37 votes (13%)
School Board ROUND ONE (300 votes cast, plus 27 abstentions)
Alicia Mignano – 207 votes (69%)
Robbie Staenberg – 192 votes (64%)
Stacy Rouse – 179 votes (60%)
Laurie Lieberman – 161 votes (54%)
Harry Leshner – 124 votes (41%)
No Endorsement – 31 votes (10%)
Result = Alicia, Robbie, Stacy endorsed; Laurie and Harry advance to Round Two.
School Board ROUND TWO (293 votes cast, plus 36 abstentions)
Laurie Lieberman – 153 votes (52%)
Harry Leshner – 127 votes (43%)
No Endorsement – 13 votes (4%)
Result = The Club did not reach consensus in this race.
College Board ROUND ONE(301 votes cast, plus 26 abstentions)
Sion Roy – 219 votes (73%)
Luis Barrera Castañon – 203 votes (67%)
Tom Peters – 194 votes (64%)
Kera Blades-Snell – 169 votes (56%)
Oscar de la Torre – 76 votes (25%)
No Endorsement – 25 votes (8%)
The City Council race featured an exceptionally strong field of candidates, and our record participation reflected the enthusiasm and engagement of our members. While no candidate ultimately secured an endorsement, the evening showcased a vibrant democratic process and a membership deeply invested in the future of Santa Monica.
Congratulations to every candidate who participated in this year’s endorsement process. We appreciate your willingness to serve our community and thank all members who took part in one of the Club’s largest and most engaged endorsement meetings in its history.
Note: Pursuant to the Club’s bylaws, the City Council endorsement process concluded following the second round of voting. Because no remaining candidate received the 55% required for endorsement and there were no candidates below the 20% elimination threshold, there was no basis under the bylaws for an additional round of voting. These results are final.
Congratulations to all of our endorsed candidates:
Heather Thomason
Sue Himmelrich
Kurt Gonska
Alicia Mignano
Stacy Rouse
Robbie Staenberg
Sion Roy
Luis Barrera Castañon
Tom Peters
Kera Blades Snell
and thank you to every candidate who participated in this year’s endorsement process.
Our next meeting will be held on August 26, in person at the Church In Ocean Park and also on Zoom.
We will host a debate between Brian Goldsmith and John Erickson, the two Democratic candidates running for State Senate, seeking our endorsement the same night.
We will also consider all state and local ballot measures, and vote on endorsements on all remaining items on the November ballot.