Santa Monica City Council Election 2020: 4 Seats Open

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica residents will choose Tuesday which candidates they want to represent them on the Santa Monica City Council.

Many voters have already cast their ballot via early voting or mail-in voting due to the pandemic and voting centers are open in the city, where people can also drop off their ballots.

Voters will decide which of the 21 candidates running for Santa Monica City Council will fill the four open seats for a four-year term.

There are also eight candidates for Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District - Board of Education. Three seats are open for a four-year term. All eight of those candidates live in Santa Monica.

There are 21 city council candidates on the ballot:

• Phil Brock - Businessman/City Commissioner
• Andrew Browning - IT Manager
• Merv Andika - Father/Analyst/Broker
• Dominic Gomez - Senior Technology Advisor
• Christine Parra - Emergency Preparedness Professional
• Terry O'Day - Mayor Pro Tempore
• Marcus Owens - Community Volunteer
• Anne-Marie Slack- Executive Director for the Motion Picture Sound Editors
• Jon Mann - Retired Parole Agent
• Chip Martin - Businessman
• Todd Mentch - Digital Media
• Zoë Muntaner - Communications Professional
• Gleam Olivia Davis- Santa Monica City Councilmember
• Oscar De La Torre - Santa Monica Unified School District Board Member
• Mario Fonda-Bonardi - Architect/Planning Commissioner
• Tom Ciszek - Information Professional/Analyst
• Andrew Kamm - Teacher
• Ted Winterer- City Councilmember
• Ana Maria Jara - Appointed Incumbent
• John Patrick Jewell III - Actor/Businessman/Composer
• Nathaniel Jones - Actor/Author

Browning and Gomez are on the ballot but have decided not to campaign in the election.

"After much thought, the two of us have decided to withdraw from the race for Santa Monica City Council," they said in a letter to the editor.

"We withdrew because it became clear that the best way to affect change in Santa Monica was to consolidate the number of candidates challenging the incumbents, incumbents who have overseen the rapid decline of our city."

They instead endorsed the “Change” slate with Phil Brock, Oscar de la Torre, Christine Parra and Mario Fonda-Bonardi.

If de la Torre is elected, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will potentially appoint another person to fill his seat, Malibu Times reports.

Check back with Patch on Election Day for more updates: CA Elections 2020