(Next can’t endorse candidates as part of a federally recognized 501c(3) public charity, but we can ballot measures. Vote Yes on ES! And if you haven’t voted yet, the city provides information on where to find drop boxes and voting locations. At this point, I’d skip dropping your ballot in the mail. Find a dropbox.)
To be honest, it’s been a somewhat quiet election season in Santa Monica. After the a unity slate backed by Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, Unite Here! Local 11, Santa Monica Forward, and other progressive groups swept the 2024 election, securing at least a 4-3 majority for left-wing of the party, this year’s election just didn’t have the same heat.
It didn’t help that unity slates never developed on either the right or left of the Santa Monica political scene. On the left, Eli Gill and Danny Ivanov split endorsements from SMRR/the Union (Ivanov) and Forward (Gill) as Caroline Torosis and Brett Morrow snared both endorsements. On the right, Lana Negrete was endorsed by the more conservative democratic groups and public safety unions, but any thoughts of a slate with Doug Trussler and Ashley Oelson evaporated when Oelson wrote a scathing email to supporters declaring that her and Trussler were just too different.
Then there were the strange endorsements. Unite Here! actually endorsed four candidates for three seats, including Trussler, but then barely mentioned him in their campaign literature. Former mayor, and favorite of many community group leaders, Phil Brock found himself without local endorsements, but the affable Brock brings that Roy Kent energy in that he’s seemingly everywhere (here, there, every “f’n where”) and even many of his critics will confide that they like the guy. Similarly, Ericka Lesley, a former Rent Control Board Chair who has twice won city-wide elections, finds herself without many local endorsements.
Next’s coverage also shifted this election. Instead of harder-hitting pieces that defined our 2024 coverage, we focused our efforts on launching Next 3.0 through our journalism program with the Police Activities League. Two middle school students wrote questionnaires for the candidates (and follow up ones for the winners). Seven answered. You can find all of them easily here. Our thanks to Ericka Lesley, Caroline Torosis, Eli Gill, Doug Trussler, Brett Morrow, Ashley Oelson, and Lindsay Davis for being good sports.
Our congratulations to all the candidates in every election, not just City Council, for making it to the finish line. You can’t win if you don’t enter the ring. We’ll be back tomorrow with results and analysis.
