When the Pico Neighborhood Association and Maria Loya filed a lawsuit against the City of Santa Monica to attempt to force the city to change its City Council elections from seven at-large seats to ones tied to specific geographic areas, it was assumed by the plaintiffs that such a system would make it easier for candidates such as Loya and her husband, Oscar de la Torre, to win city council seats. You can read the city’s F.A.Q. about the lawsuit here.
The stated purpose of the suit was to increase the voting power of Latino voters throughout the city by concentrating electoral power around the city’s traditional neighborhoods. Communities such as the Pico Neighborhood would be able to substantially impact elections by having a Councilmember elected who would represent not just the neighborhood but the culture of the people living there at City Hall.
A lot has changed in the last eight years. De la Torre himself won election to the Council in 2020, and was defeated in his re-election campaign held last month. However, three of the four candidates that were elected live in the Pico Neighborhood: Ellis Raskin, Natalya Zernitskaya, and Barry Snell.
Next contributor Jason Mastbaum mapped results from the recent election**. In the Pico Neighborhood de la Torre finished fifth in an election where the top four candidates were elected to public office. Here are the results from the precinct that closely mimics the boundaries of the Pico Neighborhood.
Ellis Raskin – 1,106 votes
Natalya Zernitskaya – 1,105
Barry Snell – 1,102
Dan Hall – 1,027
Oscar de la Torre – 921
In addition to de la Torre not making the winner’s circle in his own neighborhood, he also didn’t have any political coattails. Ericka Lesley, who was not part of either of the competing slates, finished ahead of de la Torre’s slate mates, Phil Brock, John Putnam and Vivian Roknian, in the Pico Neighborhood.
In the five districts that surround the Pico Neighborhood’s precinct, Brock and de la Torre finished 5th and 6th in every district.
In fact, de la Torre only finished in the top four in two of the city’s eighteen precincts. Both of those districts were in the “North of Montana” neighborhood. In both of these precincts, one of which is the smallest in the city with only 58 ballots cast, all four members of de la Torre’s slate finished in the top four with Brock winning both precincts.
In fact, the only candidate that lost election last month that would have benefitted from district-based voting was Phil Brock. Brock, who finished in fifth place overall, placed in the top four in five of the six districts in the North of Montana and Wilmont Neighborhoods, winning four of them outright. It is doubtful that when the CVRA lawsuit was filed, the plaintiffs were hoping it would increase political representation for older, caucasian landlords on the City Council.
** – Mastbaum’s work at Next given for identification only. He did not make the map as part of Next and him identifying the “Safer Santa Monica” slate with a different moniker is a reflection of his personal politics.
