The following is a submission from Santa Monica Forward.
Santa Monica Forward is proud to endorse Caroline Torosis, Eli Gill, and Brett Morrow for Santa Monica City Council in November 2026, three leaders with the record, urgency, and expertise to make this city affordable, vibrant, and safe for everyone who calls it home.
Santa Monica stands at a crossroads. Persistently high housing costs continue to push out the teachers, nurses, service workers, and young families who give this city its character. Shuttered storefronts on the Promenade and beyond drain the vitality of our neighborhoods. Chronic homelessness reflects our region’s failure to provide the housing and services people need, while affecting our public spaces, residents, and visitors. The city’s finances require leaders who make hard decisions rather than delay them. Too many people are still injured or killed from car crashes. These problems are solvable — but only with the right leadership, and this election will decide whether City Hall has it.
Santa Monica Forward is a community organization dedicated to improving the affordability, vibrancy, safety and sustainability of our city. We believe that building new homes, defending tenant rights, supporting a vibrant local economy, and making our streets safer for people on foot and bike will create a Santa Monica where more residents can afford to live, work, and raise families. After carefully evaluating the growing field of candidates, we are confident that Caroline, Eli, and Brett are the leaders best positioned to advance that vision.
The Candidates:
Since her election in 2022, Torosis has delivered on the issues that matter most to our community: economic recovery, housing costs, and safer streets. As mayor, she brought on a highly effective city manager and launched the city’s Realignment Plan, making it easier to open a business in Santa Monica and drawing major event activations around the World Cup, Music Festival, and more. On council, she has consistently supported new homes, protected bike infrastructure, and proactive public safety approaches that make our streets safer and more inviting for everyone. Her leadership has been a turning point for this city, and clearly earned four more years to finish the job.
Eli Gill brings the perspective of a long-time renter and parent who has experienced first-hand what it means for families to be squeezed by the cost of housing and raising children, and who brings private-sector operational discipline to a city government that too often moves at a leisurely pace. On housing, Eli is direct: Santa Monica needs to bring down what it costs to rent or buy a home, welcome more neighbors and act with urgency. He’d focus on the fundamentals when it comes to our local businesses – following through to make sure they can get open quickly and stay open. Like many in the Santa Monica Forward community, you’ll often find Eli on his bike, whether going to work in DTSM or taking his kids to school. We’re confident he will be a strong leader on making our streets safer from that perspective. That combination of understanding and professionalism make Eli an excellent choice to help make our complex city government work for residents.
Brett Morrow knows how to make government deliver. As Chief Communications Officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, he has spent two decades inside one of the nation’s largest public agencies — leading it through emergencies, cutting through bureaucracy, and earning residents’ trust when it mattered most. That understanding of why government fails people, and how to fix it, is expertise that will significantly benefit Santa Monica’s council. As a renter and dad, Brett prioritizes making Santa Monica family friendly and improving stability through stronger renter protections so families can put down roots without fear of being priced out. On homelessness, he approaches public safety the way he approaches public health: with both compassion and accountability, insisting that our parks, sidewalks, and streets be safe and welcoming for everyone. Brett Morrow offers Santa Monica something rare: a proven public servant who knows how to make government work for the people it serves.
Why These Three
Torosis, Gill, and Morrow bring different vantage points to the same fight: a mayor with a proven record of delivery, a parent and operator who will bring urgency and discipline to City Hall, and a public servant who knows how to make government work from the inside. What unites them is a shared conviction that Santa Monica’s best days are ahead — if we build the homes, support the businesses, and create the safe streets that let everyone share in them.
We urge Santa Monica voters to join us in electing Caroline Torosis, Eli Gill, and Brett Morrow to City Council.
Sam Shapiro-Kline & Brad Ewing
Co-Chairs, Santa Monica Forward
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