Santa Monica’s candidate window for the November election is now in extra time and while there may be as many as 17 individuals vying for the four open seats on City Council, the rest of the election is looking decidedly less competitive.
The initial deadline to file for the November election was Aug. 9 and while candidates can no longer withdraw nomination papers, the window to return an application is automatically extended to Aug. 14 when an incumbent does not file. This year, both Gleam Davis and Christine Parra chose not to seek reelection extending the council nomination period. As of August 12, 21 individuals had pulled paperwork for the Council race. Four of those individuals (including Parra) withdrew leaving 17 individuals currently contemplating a run for Council.
The number of candidates actually qualifying to run in City Council races has varied over time with an average of 13 people per year over the last 10 years. The two notable exceptions were 2018 where only eight individuals qualified and 2020 when 21 people were on the ballot.
In addition to City Council, the deadline has also been extended for the Rent Control and College Board races. In the race for School Board, all three incumbents filed for reelection (plus one challenger) so nominations are now closed for that race.
Only two individuals have pulled paperwork to run for the Rent Control Board. If a third candidate does not run, the election for that race would be canceled and the two candidates would assume the two open seats.
Three individuals have qualified for the three open seats on the College Board but a fourth candidate has taken out the paperwork and could return it this week.
To run for elected office, candidates are required to establish a Campaign Committee to raise or spend money in support of their election, file a Statement of Organization with the Secretary of State and set up an electronic filing account through the City Clerk’s Office (though specific contribution limitations apply to Council or Rent Control Board candidates). Candidates need at least 100 valid signatures from registered voters in their jurisdiction to qualify for the ballot, as well as fees for filing and submitting a Candidate Statement for the Sample Ballot.
The Secretary of State will hold its public drawing to determine the order of names on the ballot on Aug. 15.
Individuals who miss the August window can still run for office if they qualify as a write-in candidate. Write-in candidates must fulfill the same requirements as regular candidates but do not have their names included in the ballot. The window for write-in applications is from Sept. 9 to Oct. 22.
Ballots will be mailed to voters starting on Oct. 7. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 21 and Election Day is Nov. 5. However, vote-by-mail ballots can be returned starting in October and there may be in-person voting centers open prior to Election Day.
City Council (4-year terms) 4 seats
Whitney Bain
Phillip L. Brock (Incumbent) — Qualified
Oscar de la Torre (Incumbent) — Qualified
Stephen Garr
Dan Hall — Qualified
Nathaniel I. Jones
Wade Kelley
Ericka Lesley
Jonathan Louis Mann
Janet McLaughlin
Marcus Owens
John Putnam — Qualified
Ellis Raskin — Qualified
Dr. Vivian A. Roknian — Qualified
John Cyrus Smith
Barry A. Snell — Qualified
Natalya Zernitskaya — Qualified
Rent Control (4-year terms) 2 seats
Kay Ambriz (Incumbent) — Qualified
Phillis Dudick
College Board (4-year terms) 3 seats
Anastasia Foster — Qualified
Zoe Muntaner
Margaret Quinones-Perez (Incumbent) — Qualified
Rob Greenstein Rader (Incumbent) — Qualified
School Board (4-year terms) 3 seats
Christine Falaguerra — Qualified
Jon Kean (Incumbent) — Qualified
Maria Leon-Vazquez (Incumbent) — Qualified
Jennifer Smith (Incumbent) — Qualified
matt@smdp.com
