Santa Monica Voter Guide: City Council, SMMUSD School Board

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica voters will decide Tuesday who represents them in Congress, on the city council, SMMUSD school board and Santa Monica College Board Trustees.

Many voters have already cast their ballots 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.

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In the 33rd District race, Democratic incumbent Ted Lieu will face off with Republican challenger James P. Bradley to represent LA's Westside and South Bay in Congress. Both candidates advanced from the primary election in March.

Twenty-one candidates are running for Santa Monica City Council to fill 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.

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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.

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 a 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.

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These are the 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

These are the four candidates on the ballot for the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees:

• Susan Aminoff- Santa Monica College Trustee/Professor
• Brian O'Neil- Professor
• Margaret Quinones-Perez - Santa Monica College Trustee/Professor/Counselor
• Rob Greenstein Rader - Santa Monica College Trustee/Professor

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