November 12, 2024 -- Nearly three and a half years after losing control of the City Council, Santa Monica's political establishment roared back, easily sweeping all four open seats in the November 5 election.
With 834 Vote By Mail (VBM) ballots in Santa Monica left to be counted, as well as some provisional and conditional ballots, the four members of the United slate pulled more than 1,800 votes ahead of their nearest competitor on the rival Safer slate.
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Pier Board Chair Dan Hall led all candidates with 20,810 votes, followed by Planning Commissioner Ellis Raskin with 20,697 votes, according to the latest vote count.
They were followed by College Trustee Barry Snell and Natalya Zernitskaya with 19,869 and 19,782 respectively, based on vote totals released by the County Registrar at 4:35 p.m. Tuesday.
Mayor Phil Brock led the Safer slate with 17,953, or 1,829 votes short of fourth place, followed by Councilmember Oscar de la Torre with 16,493 votes.
Safer slate members Vivian Roknian and John Putnam had 15,726 and 13,887 votes respectively, followed by Rent Board Chair Ericka Lesley with 9,111 votes and street performer Wade Kelley with 2,167 votes.
Lesley, who was backed by the Police and Firefighters unions instead of Putnam, likely took votes from the Safer slate that was razor focused on public safety.
The establishment's commanding showing -- despite being outspent by PACs supporting the Safer slate -- marked the return of Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR) to political dominance ("Council Race Shatters Finance Record," October 30, 2024).
Since gaining control of the Council in 1981, SMRR-backed candidates have held a majority for 32 of the past 43 years. And in the few cases the tenants group has relinquished control it was due to defections in its ranks.
For 40 years in a row at least four of the seven sitting Councilmembers were initially supported by SMRR, with two breaking with the group after being elected ("Who Runs the City?" September 20, 2024).
Even after a voter revolt sparked by the coronavirus shutdown and 2020 riots in Santa Monica, SMRR's coalition -- which includes the local Democratic Club and hotel workers union -- managed to retain power ("Santa Monica Voters Usher in New Era," November 6, 2020).
It wasn't until Councilmember Kevin McKeown abruptly left his post at the end of a meeting in May 2021 that SMRR lost its majority, and a divided Council appointed Lana Negrete to fill the vacant spot six weeks later ("McKeown Abruptly Retires," May 26, 2021) .
Negrete would side with the newly elected Change candidates that included Brock and de la Torre. For the first time since 1996, the city's political establishment had lost control of the Council.
The SMRR-backed slate regained two seats in 2022, and needed to win two seats in the current race to regain the majority on the Council.
Despite being SMRR's last remaining opponent on the dais, Negrete is slated to become mayor under a new rotating system based on seniority.
While it would take five votes to change the rule, a newly seated Council would not be able to do so before Negrete assumes the post in December 2024 ("City Attorney Weighs in on Proposed Amendment for Choosing Mayor," October 23, 2023).
On Tuesday, the County Registrar estimated that in addition to some 50,000 VBM ballots yet to be counted, there were another 81,000 Conditional Voter Registration ballots and 10,900 Provisional ballots that remain outstanding.
It is not known how many of those ballots were cast in Santa Monica, but given the proportion of countywide voters in the city of some 93,000, it is clear that the SMRR coalition is once again in control of City Hall.
Tuesday's results also show three local ballot funding measures have won by commanding margins.
Measure F, which would restructure the City's business taxes to fund essential City services, led with 78 percent of the vote -- 34,841 votes to 9,704.
Measure K, which would enhance public safety and create safe routes to school by imposing a tax hike on private parking lots, was leading with 74 percent of the vote -- 33,608 to 11,666.
While Measure QS, a $495 million School bond to improve and replace District facilities, led with 62.75 percent of the vote -- 27,575 to 16,372.
In the race for three seats on the School Board, the three incumbents -- Jennifer Smith, Jon Kean and Maria Leon-Vazquez are poised to regain their seats. Christine Falaguerra, who did not mount a campaign was a distant fourth.
There are no races for College or Rent Control boards due to a lack of challengers.