November 19, 2024 -- It has been two weeks since the polls closed, and there have been no victory or concession speeches and few headlines announcing a clean sweep in the City Council race.
For 14 days, the LA County Registrar has been slowly counting ballots that show the United slate building on the lead its four candidates grabbed after the first mail-in votes were counted on November 5.
 |
When Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Barry Snell and Natalya Zernitskaya are sworn in on December 10, Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR) will once again be in nearly total control of the Council with a 6 to 1 majority.
"CONGRATULATIONS TO SMRR-ENDORSED CANDIDATES!" reads SMRR's website, which then lists the powerful group's sweep of not only the Council, but the Rent Board, School Board and College Board races that were uncontested.
"Thank you, Santa Monica!" Hall wrote in a blast email sent from his campaign Sunday night. "It is an incredible honor to be elected to serve Santa Monica as your next City Councilmember!"
"We gave voters an alternative to the direction our Council was taking the City, and you chose us -- a humbling reminder that we serve at the pleasure of the voters."
That has been the closest any of the candidates has come to publicly declaring victory -- or conceding defeat.
"Mayor Brock graciously congratulated me this week at the City’s Veterans Day Ceremony, offering his support moving forward," Hall wrote.
"I’d like to publicly thank him for his many years of service to our community, culminating in his term as Mayor of the city of his birth."
Hall also thanked John Putnam, a member of the Safer slate with Brock, Councilmember Oscar de la Torre and Vivian Rocknian, "for his kind words and encouragement this week."
The latest results released by the County Registrar at 4:55 p.m. Tuesday show Hall adding 425 votes over the past week, bringing his winning total to 21,235.
Meanwhile, Brock, who led the Safer slate in votes, added 351 votes, bringing his total to 18,314 -- 1,832 votes behind Zenitskaya for the fourth seat.
On November 8, as the United slate built a commanding lead, Brock told The Lookout he did not plan to concede yet ("United Slate Widens Commanding Lead," November 8.
"I'm going to wait until all the votes are in (to see) if something happens and there's a major miracle," the mayor said. "If not I'll shake everybody's hand and move on."