Santa Monica politicians are hoping to play a game of musical chairs this year with two former members of the City Council filing paperwork to run for other local offices.
As of this week, Former mayor Sue Himmelrich has filed paperwork to run for Rent Control Board and former Councilmember Oscar de la Torre opened a campaign committee to run for the Santa Monica College Board of directors.
As of Tuesday, Himmelrich is the only individual to file election paperwork establishing a campaign finance infrastructure for the RCB election and De la Torre is one of four individuals hoping to join the SMC board as it faces sustained criticism over its leadership and financial decisions.
Himmelrich, a Harvard- and Columbia-educated attorney, is Special Counsel at the Western Center on Law & Poverty. She served on the Santa Monica City Council from 2014 to 2022, including as mayor from 2020 to 2022. A resident since 1992, she won office with backing from Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR), Santa Monica Democratic Club (SMDC), and affordable housing allies, championing affordable housing, tenant protections, fiscal transparency, term limits and a code of ethics. She sponsored the 2018 "term limits" Measure TL and the 2022 Measure GS "wealth tax" funding schools, homelessness prevention and affordable housing, later defending it in court. Himmelrich, whose husband, Michael Soloff, co-chairs SMRR, declined re-election in 2022.
As mayor during the COVID pandemic she dealt with anti-mask / anti-vaxx protests at her home during remote council meetings and was part of the council that failed to submit a valid housing element causing a temporary removal of local control over new construction.
The Rent Control Board is rarely a hotly contested election in Santa Monica and has been canceled in years past when too few candidates have filed to contest the election.
De la Torre, a native Santa Monican and founder of the Pico Youth & Family Center, served 18 years on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board (2002–2020), advancing restorative justice, ethnic studies and racial equity in student discipline. In 2020 he won a City Council seat on the insurgent "Change Slate" with Phil Brock and Christine Parra, breaking SMRR's four-decade dominance. He immediately created controversy by challenging the process for appointing his replacement to the School Board and eventually lost his council seat after being accused of anti-semitism by fellow board members.
He is a longtime Pico Neighborhood Association leader whose wife, Maria Loya, is a named plaintiff in the ongoing voting-rights suit against the city.
SMC is currently under heavy fiscal pressure and the board has faced significant criticism over its ability to meet the current needs of the school.
The board voted recently to approve roughly 70 layoffs after a projected $16.7 million deficit threatened to empty reserves by next year, with fund balance dropping from $43.9 million in 2021-22 to a projected $13.1 million. Critics have blasted the board for years of mismanagement, citing a 2023 7% management salary raise—worth about $27,000 annually to the superintendent president and $21,000 to vice presidents—approved even as structural deficits mounted, while classified staff earning $50,000-55,000 saw comparable increases worth only $290-320 monthly.
While individuals with serious campaigns have filed financial paperwork to prepare for the election, no one is actually a candidate for any office until they qualify via the official nomination process.
The nomination period for three seats on the Santa Monica City Council, three seats on the Rent Control Board, four seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu School District Board and four seats on the Santa Monica College District Board officially opens on Monday, July 13.
Interested candidates are encouraged to attend the Candidate Workshop on July 13 at 10 a.m. in City Hall Council Chambers to learn about the nomination process and pick up forms. Candidates unable to attend the workshop must make appointments to pick up nomination packets after the workshop. For available appointment dates/times, visit the city’s election webpage.
Completed forms must be filed by Friday, Aug. 7 at 5 p.m. The filing period will be extended to Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 5:30 p.m. if an incumbent does not file nomination papers.
So far 10 individuals have filed campaign finance paperwork for City Council including Eli Gill, Daniel Ivanov, Ericka Lesley, Brett Morrow, Lana Negrete, Ashley Oelsen, Angel Scott, Caroline Torosis, Derrick Townsend and Doug Trussler.
Luis Barrera Castanon, Kera Blades-Snell, Oscar de la Torre and Thomas Peters have opened committees to run for SMC Board.
So far, four individuals have filed financial statements for School Board including Harry Leshner, Laurie Lieberman, Alicia Mignano and Robbie Staenberg
Visit santamonica.gov/elections/2026-11-03 for appointment times, general resources on how to run for office and other election information.