Santa Monica-Malibu School Board Election 2020: 3 Seats Open

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica residents will choose Tuesday which candidates they want to represent them on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education.

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

There are 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, which is significant as Malibu could make a move to leave the district.

On Oct. 12, Malibu City Council made an unanimous decision to halt separation negotiations and instead resend a 2017 petition for an independent school district to the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

RELATED: Drati 'Deeply Skeptical' Of Malibu School Separation Plan

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

Two candidates in that race have stopped campaigning but will appear on the ballot. Andrew Browning and Dominic Gomez have decided not to campaign in the city council 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 published on Surf Santa Monica.

"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.

There are eight board of education candidates on the ballot:

• Keith Coleman - Educator/Parent/Economist
• Jason Feldman - Civil Rights Attorney
• Esther Hickman- Parent
• Steven Johnson - Marketing Technology Consultant
• Jon Kean - School Board President
• Maria Leon-Vasquez - Boardmember/College Administrator
• Dhun May - Teacher
• Jennifer Smith - Parent/Community Volunteer

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