By Jorge Casuso

August 14, 2024 -- Eight candidates have secured a spot on the ballot in the hotly contested race for four City Council seats, ten have dropped out and three are waiting to qualify.

Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. deadline for candidates to submit nominating petitions saw two rival slates emerge after five candidates failed to file, three withdrew and two were disqualified.

Janet McLaughlin, a journalist who started Santa Monicans against Crime (SMaC), did not file by the deadline, while Recreation and Parks Commissioner John Cyrus Smith, who ran for Council in 2012, withdrew.

That leaves four staunch pro-law enforcement candidates -- including Mayor Phil Brock and Councilmember Oscar de la Torre -- to face off against the four pro-justice reform candidates backed by Santa Monica's political establishment.

The other two law-and-order candidates, Dr. Vivian A. Roknian and John Putnam, who qualified for the ballot on Monday, are backed by Santa Monicans United (SMU), a newly formed group focused on public safety.

The group, which is spearheaded by local business owners, is expected to build a large campaign warchest to fend off a challenge from the four candidates backed by the political establishment, which includes Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR) and the local Democratic Club.

The slate composed of College Trustee Barry Snell, Planning Commissioner Ellis Raskin, Natalya Zernitskaya and Pier Corporation Board Chair Dan Hall all qualified for the ballot last week.

The establishment candidates must pick up two seats on November 5 to regain control of the Council. Their chances increased after Councilmember Christine Parra announced on Friday she would not file nomination papers for a second four-year term, citing family reasons ("Parra Pulls Out of Council Race," August 9, 2024).

Efforts to field a united pro-law enforcement slate that can hold on to a 4 to 3 Council majority received a boost this week after McLaughlin, Smith and Manju Raman, a member of the City's Public Safety Reform Oversight Commission, all dropped out of the race.

The narrowed field averts the prospect of splitting the backing of voters focused on public safety when they cast ballots in the November 5 General Election.

Fielding a united front was also the goal of the city's political establishment, which in 2022 saw SMRR and the Democratic Club agree on only two of the four candidates seeking their endorsement.

As a result, the two remaining candidates split the vote, and the Council's pro-law enforcement majority retained control.

As of Wednesday, Rent Board Chair Erika Lesley, who entered the race after failing to win the backing of SMRR and the Democratic Club, had not yet qualified for the ballot.

In addition to Lesley, two candidates -- Whitney Bain, who is running on a public safety platform, and Wade Kelly -- are waiting for the City Clerk to determine if the nominating petitions they filed have the 100 valid signatures needed to make the ballot.

Jonathan Mann, who pulled papers to run for Council for a record 17th time, did not file papers by Wednesday's deadline.

In the race for two open Rent Control Board seats, only two candidates, Kay Ambriz, who was appointed to the Board in June, and Phillis Dudick have pulled papers. Ambriz has qualified, while Dudick submitted her petitions Tuesday.

If both qualify, the election will be canceled and the two candidates will assume the open seats. If Dudick fails to qualify, the Rent Board will make an appointment to fill the open seat.

Three candidates have qualified in the race for three open seats on the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees -- incumbents Margaret Quinones-Perez and Rob Greenstein Rader, and Rent Board Commissioner Anastasia Foster. Challenger Zoe Muntaner returned her nominating petitions Tuesday.

Four candidates qualified in the race for three open School Board seats -- incumbents Jon Kean, Maria Leon-Vazquez, Jennifer Smith and challenger Christine Falaguerra.

The LA County Registrar will begin mailing Vote by Mail ballots to voters on October 7. The last day to register to vote is October 21. Election Day is November 5.