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# Trussler outspends council field as Negrete, Oelsen pull ahead in local money race
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/trussler-outspends-council-field-as-negrete-oelsen-pull-ahead-in-local-money-race/
- Published: 2026-10-29T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-29T15:59:59.000Z
- Author: Matthew Hall
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica

The final campaign finance reports before the Nov. 3 election show Doug Trussler spending far more than any other City Council candidate, largely on his own money. Lana Negrete and Ashley Oelsen have pulled ahead of the rest of the field in donations and local support, and Mayor Caroline Torosis has burned through most of her cash in the final stretch.

In the City Council race, Trussler leads all candidates with $225,230 raised, $150,000 of it from loans he made to his own campaign. Without the loans, Negrete leads the field with $118,036 and the largest base of local donors of any candidate on the ballot. Oelsen and Torosis follow close behind. In the down-ballot races, Robbie Staenberg has widened his lead for School Board with help from labor and an Assembly member's campaign committee, and Oscar de la Torre has moved ahead in the Santa Monica College Board race. Sue Himmelrich is still funding her Rent Control Board campaign entirely herself. The figures come from Form 460 reports covering Jan. 1 through Oct. 17, plus contributions of $1,000 or more reported on 24-hour Form 497s since then.

**City Council**

Ten of the 12 council candidates on the ballot have filed detailed financial disclosures for the three open seats. Trussler's $225,230 tops the field, including $150,000 in self-loans made in March, July and September. Oelsen followed with $125,173, including $25,700 she lent her own campaign, and Negrete raised $118,736\. Torosis raised $106,469, and Brett Morrow raised $62,656\. Daniel Ivanov, Eli Gill and Derrick Townsend posted totals between roughly $27,000 and $39,500\. Ericka Lesley reported $10,795 through Sept. 19, and Phil Brock reported $9,912\. Lindsay Davis filed a statement that she expects to raise and spend less than $2,000, and Wade Kelley has no campaign finance filings on record.

The race tightens once loans are set aside. Excluding loans, Negrete leads with $118,036, followed by Oelsen at $99,473, Torosis at $97,369 and Trussler at $75,230\. Most of Torosis' $9,100 in reported loans are balances left over from loans she made in 2022 and 2025\. She lent her campaign $2,200 this year, including $1,200 in late September.

Trussler has spent $179,734, more than double any other candidate's total. That leaves him with $43,096 on hand as of Oct. 17 and $150,000 owed on his loans. Negrete now holds the most cash, with $76,806, followed by Oelsen with $73,997 and Morrow with $47,687\. Torosis, who had spent only about $8,600 through mid-September, spent more than $60,000 in the following four weeks. That brought her total spending to $69,257 and left her with $32,645 on hand. Oelsen reported $37,943 in outstanding debts, including her loans. Townsend has the thinnest reserves among candidates who reported through Oct. 17, with $5,469 remaining. Brock's $14,617 in cash on hand includes money carried over from an earlier committee.

Donor geography varied widely. Negrete reported the strongest local network, with 195 of her 258 itemized donors, or 76%, giving from Santa Monica addresses, accounting for 65% of her money. Oelsen was close behind, with 73% of donors and 66% of dollars coming from local residents. Brock's small donor pool was the most local in the race, at 24 of 27 donors. Gill and Townsend each drew a majority of their donors from the city. Torosis draws 42% of her donors and 40% of her dollars from Santa Monica, with much of the rest from elsewhere in California. Trussler and Morrow drew heavily from outside the city. Fewer than four in 10 of Trussler's donors and about a quarter of Morrow's live in Santa Monica, and each raised 30% of his outside contributions locally. Trussler's donors include contributors in New York and Minnesota. Counting his self-loans, which list a Santa Monica address, local money rises to 77% of his total. About a third of Ivanov's donors live in Santa Monica, and Illinois accounts for more than $14,000 of his contributions, including about $3,900 from Ivanov himself under an Illinois address. That is more than any other state, including California.

Late contributions since the Oct. 17 cutoff include $1,200 to Trussler from the California Real Estate PAC, $1,200 to Torosis from Building A Stronger California and $1,200 to Morrow from AFSCME Local 36's management team association.

Independent groups are also spending heavily in the council race with a focus on a handful of candidates. Committees have reported about $330,000 in spending supporting Trussler and $252,000 supporting Negrete, along with $8,000 opposing her. Torosis had drawn about $72,000 in outside support. Ivanov and Oelsen have also received over $10,000.

**Santa Monica College Board**

De la Torre leads the College Board race with $25,469, including a $3,000 personal loan. Twenty-one of his 45 itemized donors are from Santa Monica, but they account for 74% of his money. His largest donors are John Alle Co., which gave $4,000, and Santa Monica residents John Putnam, Seta Kardashian and Haig Matosian, who gave $2,500 each. His committee ended the period with $14,385 cash on hand and $13,723 in outstanding debt, the most of any candidate in the four races.

Kera Blades-Snell reported $16,506, including a $1,295.65 personal loan, from 64 contributors, 33 of them from Santa Monica. She ended the period with $11,314 cash on hand. Appointed trustee Luis Barrera Castanon reported $13,946, including a $4,000 personal loan, with 10 of his 53 donors from Santa Monica. Board Chair Sion Roy reported $9,328, much of it from political committees: $2,500 from the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, $1,000 from a Los Angeles County Medical Association committee and, since the Oct. 17 cutoff, $2,500 from Becerra for Governor 2026\. Three of his 16 donors are from Santa Monica. Tom Peters reported $6,189, including $2,000 in personal loans, with 12 of 22 donors from the city.

**School Board**

Staenberg dominates fundraising among the five candidates for four open School Board seats, reporting $83,573 in total contributions, including a $1,000 personal loan. His largest backer is Re-Elect Rick Chavez Zbur, the Assembly member's campaign committee. It gave $5,000 through Oct. 17 and another $10,523.15 since, part of $18,023.15 in late contributions that also includes $5,000 from SEIU Local 99\. Forty-five of his 91 donors are from Santa Monica, but they account for just 21% of his money. Staenberg has spent $48,186, leaving him with $17,364 cash on hand.

Vice President Laurie Lieberman reported $29,929 and still has the most concentrated local donor base, with 57 of her 70 donors, or 81%, based in Santa Monica. President Alicia Mignano reported $28,556, with 29 of 40 donors from the city. Her committee carries $2,000 in debt from personal loans made in prior election cycles. SEIU Local 99 also gave $5,000 each to Lieberman and Mignano after the Oct. 17 cutoff. Stacy Rouse reported $8,620, including a $1,900 personal loan. Harry Leshner reported $6,491, including a $1,500 personal loan, and has $873 cash on hand.

**Rent Control Board**

Himmelrich has raised $20,000 for one of three open Rent Control Board seats, all of it in two $10,000 loans she made to her campaign in June and October. She has spent $12,819 and had $7,181 cash on hand as of Oct. 17.

Heather Thomason reported $19,065, including $4,000 in loans she made to her own campaign. Twenty-nine of her 41 donors are from Santa Monica, accounting for 81% of her donations. She ended the period with $8,003 cash on hand. Soledad Marcial reported $2,805, including a $700 loan from Santa Monica resident Ann Marie Hernandez, and all six of her itemized donors are from the city. Kurt Gonska filed a statement that he expects to raise and spend less than $2,000, and Zoë Muntaner has no 2026 campaign finance filings on record.

**How the numbers were calculated**

Totals combine each campaign's 2026 Form 460 filings, which run through Oct. 17 for all candidates except Lesley, whose latest report runs through Sept. 19\. They also include Form 497 late contribution reports filed through Oct. 26\. Cash on hand, spending and debts reflect each campaign's latest Form 460\. Donor counts include only itemized contributors, meaning those who gave $100 or more; contributions under $100 are reported as a lump sum with no address. A donor is counted as a Santa Monica resident if their reported address is in Santa Monica. Disclosure: Trussler's campaign paid the Santa Monica Daily Press $33,660, which it reported as information technology expenses. Data was compiled from City of Santa Monica e-filing records.