The Santa Monica Democratic Club declined to endorse any candidate in the City Council race after two rounds of voting, with the top vote-getter falling short of the required 55% threshold and club rules barring further balloting.
In the final round of voting, 324 individuals cast ballots for Council endorsements and no candidate received the 179 votes necessary to secure a nomination. Under club rules, when no candidate qualifies during any given round, candidates who receive less than 20% of the vote are eliminated and a new round of voting is held. However, when all candidates fall below 55% but above 20%, the vote process is considered a stalemate and ends with no endorsement.
"There are no endorsements in the city council race because nobody can drop off from this list," said Club President John Katz.
While the number of votes changed across two rounds of voting, the top three candidates remained Lana Negrete, Caroline Torosis and Doug Trussler. Ashley Oelsen was consistently fourth. Negrete and Torosis are the only two incumbents running but the full field has yet to be set as candidates have until mid August to fill out their official nomination paperwork.
The outcome prompted criticism from some club members who based their argument on “bullet votes” or ballots that only voted for one candidate. As voters could vote for up to three candidates club vice president Sean Kolodji argued that voters who only backed one of three possible candidates may have been confused about the impact of their vote. He also implied single-candidate voting undermined the Club’s impact in the election and that some additional voting should occur.
“I do think that because of this electoral defect we should take another bite at the apple and try to figure out how to have, come to, some resolution where our club can have its voice heard in this council election vote,” he said.
Other members weighed in on both sides. Some suggested bullet voters likely acted intentionally. Others urged the board to prioritize the integrity of the process and consider another vote with proper notice. One member raised a separate question, asking whether the board might consider a fresh vote on the City Council race later, once the candidate filing deadline had passed and the full field was se
Katz said he had explained the voting mechanics to candidates beforehand and that the process was clear to everyone involved. After the meeting, he reiterated the integrity of the process and said there will be no further rounds of voting nor will the Clubs board make its own endorsements.
“More broadly, I think the outcome reflects what the Santa Monica Democratic Club has become. This was the largest endorsement vote we've held in at least the past 16 years that I've been involved, with a much larger and more diverse membership than we've had historically. Members brought a wide range of perspectives and were deeply engaged in evaluating an exceptionally strong field of candidates. While no City Council candidate reached our 55% threshold for endorsement, I view that as a reflection of the breadth of viewpoints within our Club and the seriousness with which our members approached the responsibility of making an endorsement,” he said.
While the council race produced no endorsement, the club backed candidates in several other local races. Heather Thomasson won a Rent Control Board endorsement as did Sue Himmelrich and Kurt Ganska.
For the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education, Alicia Mignano, Stacy Rouse and Robbie Stainberg were endorsed.
In the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees race, Luis Barrera Castanon, Kira Blade Snell, Tom Peters and Sion Roy all won endorsements.
The club also voted to support Better Neighbors LA's push to enforce Santa Monica's short-term rental ordinance in the coastal zone, and endorsed Assembly Bill 2465, which would cut off tax breaks for companies that contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.