Ten candidates are competing for four seats on the Santa Monica City Council, but eight of them have neatly divided themselves into two teams, each claiming to have the city’s best interests at heart.

The “United Democrats Slate” includes Natalya Zernitskaya, Barry Snell, Dan Hall, and Ellis Raskin. The group is endorsed by the L.A. County Democratic Party, The Santa Monica Democratic Club, Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR), Santa Monica Forward, the L.A. Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), and the Sierra Club. The local hospitality union, Unite Here Local 11, has donated $275,000 to their campaign.

On the other side is the “Safer Santa Monica Slate”—rebranded from the previous “Change Slate”— which includes incumbents Phil Brock and Oscar de la Torre as well as newcomers Vivian Roknian and John Putnam. They are endorsed by Hospitality Santa Monica and Santa Monicans United as well as Santa Monicans for a Real Positive Future—with a pair of $100,000 donations from Douglas Emmett Properties and restaurant owner, Jerry A. Greenberg.

Douglas Emmett Properties recently made waves when they lost a lawsuit after seeking a large-scale eviction of residents from rent-controlled units at Barrington Plaza. The company’s support of the Safer Santa Monica Slate ignited a firestorm of controversy. A statement co-authored by council members Gleam Davis, Caroline Torosis, and Jesse Zwick (and submitted by Barry Snell’s campaign) warned voters that landlords and corporations are trying to buy the Santa Monica City Council. They decried the “sellout slate [Safer Santa Monica Slate], bankrolled by landlords and corporations, who will end rent control, increase homelessness, and waste taxpayer dollars.”

Mayor Phil Brock promptly responded with his own sternly worded statement: “[As] fellow establishment council members and their sycophants know, candidates have no legal method to influence donations to an IE or PAC. City Council candidates have NO prior knowledge of the donation that might arrive or why the donation was made, and not one cent of the donation goes to candidates.”

Though Brock did not respond to requests for comments, his campaign website highlights his platform regarding public safety, slow growth, and reduced traffic.

“We must continue to work together to reduce crime and find viable homelessness solutions,” he writes. “Between the cacophony of major crime, burglaries, random assaults, and robberies, Santa Monica’s dream is in danger of being lost. I am a council member with a backbone, firmly committed to restoring the soul and safety of our city.”

While the Safer Santa Monica Slate candidates continue to position themselves as leaders who prioritize public safety, the candidates on the United Democrats Slate position themselves as staunch defenders of rent control and affordable housing.

“We [the United Democrats] are the slate that is running to be pro-renter, pro-environment, pro-ethics, and pro-accountability,” Ellis Raskin said. “The accusation that our slate is not safety-focused is not just wrong, but very wrong. Except for Dan Hall, who fought on the front lines in Iraq, I believe that I’m the only candidate who worked for a law enforcement agency.”

“Santa Monica needs bold leadership to address the challenges in the years ahead,” he continued. “My experience as a Planning Commissioner, environmental attorney, and community activist will let me hit the ground running on day one.”

His colleague Dan Hall draws upon his experience as a businessperson and Army veteran, claiming that he will “apply real-world, combat zone leadership experience to solve the pressing issues of safety, housing affordability, and ethical government. As Chair of the Santa Monica Pier Board, I’ve already put these skills to use for our economic recovery, and I hope to champion young families, workers, seniors, renters, and local businesses as a city council member.”

Having fled the Soviet Union as a refugee, Natalya Zernitskaya was grateful for the safety net provided by rent control when she first arrived in the United States, and she admires Santa Monica’s longstanding commitment to it.

“Housing has been a really big issue for me in my advocacy work since I moved to Santa Monica because I really appreciate the stability that rent control allows people to have,” she said. “My background [as a financial analyst] also helps me to be able to understand the city budget and how all of the different parts of it are connected.”

As a Certified Public Accountant and a Trustee on the Santa Monica Community College Board as well as the California Community College Board, Barry Snell also prioritizes rent control and the development of affordable housing, including dormitories for community college students.

“I believe that that we have not built enough affordable housing, and I believe that one of the ways to do it is by utilizing our city’s public land,” he said. “I’m also a major supporter of rent control, of keeping seniors in their home, and keeping rent reasonable for tenants.”

As a representative of the Safer Santa Monica Slate and the Founder of the Pico Youth & Family Center, incumbent Oscar de la Torre critiques the opposition when he says he is proud of the fact that he is “not endorsed by the special interest groups that have controlled Santa Monica City Hall for more than four decades… Since 2020, I have worked with like-minded colleagues on the Santa Monica City Council to bring needed change. I am a proven leader that has delivered positive results for the residents of my city by prioritizing public safety, accountable solutions to homelessness, and supporting our local businesses.”

De La Torre was once a regularly SMRR-endorsed candidate for the school board. Lately, concerns have arisen about an anti-Semitic comment he made in previous years. His former school board colleague Jon Kean wrote about it in a recent letter to the Santa Monica Daily Press. The comment, “The biggest problem with the school board is that it’s run by the Jews,” was, Kean says, corroborated by four people and admitted by the candidate when confronted.

Though Vivian Roknian and John Putnam did not respond to requests for comments, their websites foreground an ongoing concern with criminal activity.

“Santa Monica’s safety has declined,” writes Putnam, a business owner who specializes in fashion accessories. “Many friends avoid walking alone even during the day, and those who do often encounter individuals struggling with drug addiction or mental illness. … Change is possible, but it requires community effort.”

Putnam, who has re-registered as a Democrat, donated to both Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign and Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign in 2007. On September 27, 2012 alone, Putnam gave $12,500 to two Romney presidential committees and $7,500 to the Republican National Committee according to financial reports obtained by Santa Monica NEXT.

Roknian draws upon her experience in healthcare as a general dentist, also noting that she “envisions a revitalized Santa Monica with a diverse, multi-generational, and thriving population benefiting from renewed safety, inclusivity, and economic opportunity.”

In a complex turn of events for public safety issues, Santa Monica’s Police and Firefighter unions support an alternative group of candidates: Ericka Lesley, Oscar de la Torre, Phil Brock, and Vivian Roknian, leaving Putnam out.  Lesley, who serves as Chair of the Santa Monica Rent Control Board, was not endorsed by SMRR or the Democratic Party and did not align with either slate.

“That’s a question you can pose for the readership … What’s going on?” she said. “I’m a low-income renter. I’m a single parent of three kids. I was formerly homeless as well. I’m a domestic violence survivor.”

Having experienced homelessness firsthand, she brings a nuanced understanding to a complicated issue that she wants to tackle on her first day in office.

“There are so many different layers to homelessness that people are not even recognizing,” she said. “I think the whole intake structure needs to be revamped. The way that we’re doing it is not in a way that could produce great outcomes for those that are unhoused.”

Wade Kelley, who only identifies himself as a “Guitar Guy,” is also running for City Council, though he did not submit a candidate statement or respond to requests for comments.

For information on the candidates’ campaign finance disclosures as well as independent expenditures, please visit these two sites:

https://public.netfile.com/pub2/Default.aspx?aid=CSM

https://public.netfile.com/pub2/AllFilingsByIndependentExpenditures.aspx?id=208047619

Photo purchased from iStockphoto.com