As the incumbent Mayor, Caroline Torosis champions a "Renaissance" vision for Santa Monica, seeking to transition the city from post-pandemic recovery into a period of sustainable, equitable growth. Her platform combines legal expertise with a deep focus on economic justice and housing stability.
Position summaries:
Homelessness: Torosis advocates for an in-house system of care that prioritizes the "Santa Monica priority population" for local beds and services. She believes the city must control the entire throughput of the system to effectively move individuals from streets into permanent supportive housing.
Crime & Public Safety: She supports utilizing mental health responders for non-violent crises. Torosis notes that violent crime has decreased by 12.5% recently, but she remains committed to full police staffing.
Housing Construction: Her strategy involves leveraging city-owned land at Fourth and Fifth Streets and Bergamot Station to build a diverse pipeline of affordable units. She is dedicated to protecting rent-controlled units and exploring community land trusts to foster generational wealth for working families.
Economic Recovery: She focuses on activating the Third Street Promenade through major global events like the FIFA World Cup and utilizing voter approved funds for tenant improvements. Torosis aims to repurpose large commercial storefronts to meet modern consumer demands and drive sustainable foot traffic.
Governmental Philosophy: Her philosophy is grounded in progressive governance that seeks to protect the most vulnerable members of the community. She believes in fostering innovative partnerships with higher education and think tanks to keep Santa Monica at the cutting edge of policy.
Qualifications & Narrative
Torosis is a public interest attorney with a distinguished background in labor and economic justice, having worked for Supervisor Holly Mitchell. Her academic credentials include a fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where she studied the indicators of community success and wealth building. During her tenure on the Rent Control Board and as Mayor, she has focused on "righting the ship" by stabilizing the city's budget while expanding the social safety net. Torosis focuses on the city's realignment plan that was announced during her time on council and helped implement a predictive analytic pilot with the UCLA California Policy Lab to prevent homelessness before it begins. She frames her vision as creating a city that is "clean, safe, affordable, and fun," emphasizing that Santa Monica must move past its "exceptionalism" and proactively innovate to compete in the regional market.