> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Newcomers Win Three Santa Monica-Malibu School Board Seats - URL: https://www.smdp.com/see-veritas-page-7-new-blood-poised-to-take-helm-on-school-board-but-incumbent-julia-brownley-is-top-vote-getter/ - Published: 2002-11-06T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T00:52:00.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import *Lawsuit may ensue over de la Torre’s board seat* Three newcomers and an incumbent were elected to the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Board of Education on Tuesday. Incumbent Julia Brownley was the top vote-getter with 15,582 votes, or 21.6 percent. Newcomers Emily Bloomfield, Shane McLoud and Oscar de la Torre filled out the rest of the vacant school board seats, finishing in that order. “I feel great,” said McLoud, a third-grade teacher in South Central Los Angeles. “I’m in third place without SMRR and I’m a newcomer.” Brownley, Bloomfield and de la Torre all were endorsed by Santa Monicans For Renter’s Rights, also known as SMRR, is arguably the most powerful political group in the city. Bloomfield brought in 15,561 votes, or 21.6 percent, while McLoud took in 12,929, with 17.9 percent. De la Torre took fourth with 12,303, or 17 percent. Incumbent Brenda Gottfried, who has served on the board since 1990, came in fifth with 10,566 votes, or 14.6 percent. Seats for Gottfried, Brownley and board members Tom Pratt and Pam Brady were up for election. Candidate Ann Cochran came in last with 5,233, or 7.3 percent. A legal fight could ensue by either Cochran or Gottfried to take de la Torre’s seat away from him because his candidacy has been challenged by the city clerk’s office. De la Torre’s candidacy was the center of controversy in September after city officials charged that he was not a registered voter when he filed papers to run for the school board on July 17. But by the time City Clerk Maria Stewart raised the issue of de la Torre’s candidacy, the November ballot for the county had already been sent to be printed. State election code requires candidates to be able to vote for the office they intend to become a candidate for, and officials with the Los Angeles County Registrar said de la Torre first registered as a Santa Monica voter on Aug. 5, more than two weeks after he publicly decided to run. De la Torre submitted at the end of September a photocopy of an overseas voter registration form dated July 16\. The form was filled out during a “Rock the Vote” registration drive, he said. The Los Angeles County Registrar did not have a copy of the form on file in mid October. City officials did rule that de la Torre was allowed to run for a school board but a judge may have to decide if he was ever actually a candidate. De la Torre maintains that there is nothing in Santa Monica’s charter that would make him ineligible. His attorney has said any challenge to de la Torre’s candidacy would be defeated. As of last month, campaign disclosures showed that Bloomfield had raised the most money of the six school board candidates running. On Oct. 29, her campaign had raised $2,425, bringing her total for the year to $14,315. Brownley raised $2,100 during the same period, raising her total to $6,193, October statements say. De la Torre added $1,015 in donations, bringing his total to $7,951 for the year, according to October statements. McLoud said he raised $15,000\. Gottfried, who mostly financed her own campaign with a $10,000 self-loan, raised $350\. Gottfried said she asked her supporters to give their donations to the group campaigning for the parcel tax increase. Cochran spent less than $1,000 on her campaign, obviating the need for campaign disclosures. De La Torre, 30, is the youngest of the school board candidates. He is the director of the Pico Youth and Family Center, which he founded in 2002\. De la Torre is the only candidate who graduated from Santa Monica High School, where he was student body president in 1989-90. While finishing his bachelor’s degree, de la Torre counseled middle and high school students. De la Torre serves as co-chair for the district’s task force on race and discipline and the district’s committee on equity and equality in education. Bloomfield, 42, is an administrator and parent of two children in public school and another in pre-school. She was an organizer on the school district’s strategic plan-ning team that maps out the priorities and future of the district. She was vice chair for the committee supporting the parcel tax increase and a host of other school-related boards and volunteer programs. Bloomfield ran on the platform to increase resources to keep and attract high quality teachers, preserve smaller class sizes and protect the arts, as well as other programs threatened by state budget cuts. She also said she would work hard to closing the performance gap and raising academic achievement for students. Brownley, 49, is a 19-year Santa Monica resident and parent of children enrolled in the public schools. She has served on the board since 1994 and was most recently the president of the board. She said she is deeply committed to making the Santa Monica-Malibu School District a model for other districts by closing the achievement gap, among other things. She was endorsed by SMRR, along with Bloomfield and de la Torre. McLoud, 34 will be the board’s only active K-12 teacher. His campaign platform centered on reducing class size and specialized instruction for students. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 6, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/110602.pdf?ref=smdp.com)