UNITE HERE Local 11 released its candidate endorsements yesterday in a way that is sure to stand out. The local hospitality union endorsed four candidates for three city council seats and also chose to dis-endorse two candidates. The text of the announcement can be found at the bottom of this article.
UniteHere!’s endorsement means a lot in elections. Unlike a lot of other groups that endorse and put money into flyers and media, UniteHere! has the membership to canvas and go door-to-door to spread their message. How exactly that will work with this unique approach to endorsements remains to be seen.
In 2024, UniteHere! endorsed all four candidates who were elected to the Council: Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Barry Snell, and Natalya Zernitskaya.
Vote for These Four!
The union announced endorsements for Mayor Caroline Torosis, Rent Control Board Chair Danny Ivanov, Brett Morrow and Doug Trussler, while urging voters to reject incumbent Councilmembers Lana Negrete and Phil Brock.
Local 11 did not rank its four endorsed candidates or otherwise explain how it expects supporters to choose among them. Santa Monica voters can cast votes for up to three candidates in the November 3 election, with the three candidates receiving the most votes winning four-year terms.
Torosis, who was first elected to the Council in 2022 and is currently serving as mayor, is seeking another term. Local 11 cited her record on workers’ and renters’ issues, including her work to ensure that workers at restaurants on the Santa Monica Pier can retain their jobs when businesses change hands.
Ivanov, who chairs the city’s Rent Control Board, earned the union’s support for his role enforcing Santa Monica’s renter protections. Torosis, Ivanov and Morrow have also been endorsed by Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights, the city’s longtime renter advocacy organization.
Morrow previously worked for Keith Ellison, the former Minnesota congressmember and current Minnesota attorney general, whom Local 11 described as a labor champion.
The fourth endorsement went to Trussler. Local 11 acknowledged that it does not agree with Trussler on every issue but said he has a “pro-union vision in which business and labor can succeed together.”
Don’t Vote for These Two
The union is taking a considerably different approach to Negrete and Brock, both of whom are seeking reelection. Local 11 is urging voters to vote against the two incumbents, calling them “anti-union, anti-renter, and anti-environment.”
The union’s criticism includes the Council’s 2021 approval of an expansion of the Shore Hotel. Local 11 argues that Negrete and Brock supported the project despite objections from environmentalists and labor leaders.
The Shore has a particularly contentious history in Santa Monica. In 2019, the California Coastal Commission imposed a $15 million penalty related to the illegal demolition of two motels with low-cost guest rooms and their replacement with the Shore Hotel.
Local 11 also points to subsequent legal problems involving Steve Farzam, the hotel’s former COO. Farzam pleaded no contest to multiple charges, including impersonating law enforcement, and prosecutors accused him in 2025 of using the Shore Hotel as a “base of operation” for fraudulent activities.
The union says Negrete and Brock’s support for the hotel’s expansion, as well as their actions during a 2022 fight over Santa Monica’s rent control law, demonstrate poor judgment.
There are 13 candidates qualified or seeking qualification for the three City Council seats in this election: Ryan Blomberg, Phillip L. Brock, Lindsay Davis, Eli Gill, Daniel Ivanov, Wade Kelley, Ericka Lesley, Brett Morrow, Lana Negrete (incumbent), Ashley Oelsen, Caroline Torosis (incumbent), Derrick Townsend, and Douglas Byron Trussler
UniteHere! Endorsement Statement
Ahead of the November elections, the hospitality workers union UNITE HERE Local 11 urges support for Mayor Caroline Torosis, Rent Control Board Member Danny Ivanov, Brett Morrow, and Doug Trussler for Santa Monica City Council. Additionally, the union made a negative – “VOTE NO” – Lana Negrete and Phil Brock as anti-union, anti-renter, and anti-environment.
Mayor Caroline Torosis has served on City Council since 2022 and has championed the interests of workers and renters. Mayor Torosis helped ensure workers on Santa Monica’s iconic pier can keep their jobs when restaurants change hands. Control Board Chair Danny Ivanov’s role in enforcing Santa Monica’s powerful renter protection laws earned the union’s support. Brett Morrow was a staff person for labor champion and then- Congressmember (now MN Attorney General) Keith Ellison. Torosis, Ivanov, and Morrow also received the support of Santa Monicans for Renters Rights (SMRR).
Local 11 also endorsed Doug Trussler, recognizing that while Local 11 and Trussler might not agree on every issue, he has a pro-union vision where business and labor succeed together.
Finally, the Union plans to remind voters that Lana Negrete and Phil Brock voted for landlords and hotel developers, and against renters and environmentalists. In 2022, Brock and Negrete threatened Santa Monica’s historic rent control law. The union highlights Negrete and Brock’s vote in favor of law-breaking hotel developers in their bid to expand the Shore Hotel in 2021, disregarding the objections of environmentalists and labor leaders. In 2019, the California Coastal Commission levied a historic $15 million penalty against the Shore Hotel for illegally demolishing two motels with low-cost guest rooms and replacing them with the high-end Shore Hotel. Steve Farzam, the former COO of the Shore pled “no contest” to multiple charges, including impersonating law enforcement in 2003, 2014, and 2019. Then in 2025, after the vote, prosecutors accused Steve Farzam of using the Shore Hotel as a “base of operation” for “fraudulent activities.” Voting to expand the Shore Hotel reflects the poor judgment of Negrete and Brock.
