By Jorge Casuso

August 12, 2010 – The four local November races promise to be real sleepers after every incumbent qualified for the ballot and the races for College Board and Rent Board will be uncontested.

In fact, the biggest surprise was that Jon Mann, an internet crusader who has made a record nine bids for a council seat, will not be on the ballot for the first time in nearly two decades.

All five City Council incumbents qualified in the race for three four-year and two two-year seats on the seven-member council by submitting the valid signatures of at least 100 Santa Monica voters by 5 p.m. Friday.

Santa Monicans for Renters’ Right (SMRR) candidates Pam O’Connor and Kevin McKeown will be seeking a fifth and fourth four-year term respectively, while SMRR opponent Bob Holbrook will be seeking a sixth four-year term.

Together the three incumbents have served a combined total of 48 years on the council, with Holbrook poised to break the record held by the late mayor Ken Genser, who died in January in his 22nd year in office.

Also qualifying was Planning Commissioner Ted Winterer, who won the SMRR endorsement, and SMRR foe Jean McNeil Wyner, the Physician and Community Liaison at Santa Monica-UCLA Health Center, who has previously flirted with a council bid and should have the backing of the business community.

Activist Jerry Rubin and Linda Armstrong, a data entry operator, also qualified to mount their fourth council runs, while Terrence Later, an entertainment consultant who ran in 2008, will try again. Newcomer Daniel Cody, a strategic alliance professional, also qualified for the ballot.

Qualifying in the race for the two-year seats were incumbents Gleam Davis, who was appointed by the council to replace Herb Katz after he died in office last year, and Terry O’Day, who replaced Genser. Both have SMRR’s backing.

Challenger Robert Kronovet, the first Rent Board candidate ever to win without SMRR’s endorsement, also qualified, as did Susan Hartley, a tenant attorney who finished sixth behind Winterer in the 2008 race for four council seats. David Ganezer, the publisher of the Santa Monica Observer, also qualified.

Qualifying in the race for four School Board seats were incumbents Barry Snell, Ralph Mechur and Oscar de la Torre, all of whom are backed by SMRR. Incumbent Kelly Pye will not seek a second term.

Also qualifying was SMRR-backed challenger Laurie Lieberman and Chris Bley, a teacher who fell little more than 1,000 votes from pulling a major upset in the School Board race two years ago.

Also qualifying were Nimish Patel, a Santa Monica small business owner, and Patrick Cady, a retired teacher and coach from Malibu.

The race for four seats on the College Board will be uncontested, with only the SMRR incumbents qualifying – David Finkel, Nancy Greenstein, Louise Jaffe and Andrew Walzer.

The race for three four-year seats on the Rent Board will also be uncontested, with incumbent Marilyn Korade qualifying, as did challengers Todd Flora, a corporate responsibility manager who sits on the bayside District Board, and Bill Winslow, a trust lawyer. All are backed by SMRR.

Incumbent Chris Braun, who was appointed to replace for board member Joel Koury, is the only candidate who qualified in the race for a two-year seat.