Review note: Ericka Lesley's own campaign website (erickalesleyforcitycouncil.com) may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

santamonica.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Santa Monica — General Election 2026 page (November 3, 2026: lists all qualified City Council, Santa Monica College Board, Rent Control Board, and School Board candidates with ballot designations, five ballot measures, and the full election calendar including the write-in nomination window)
netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of Santa Monica — Public Portal (NetFile), Campaign Finance Elections page, showing the 11/03/2026 General Election's Candidate Seats (City Council, Santa Monica College Board of Trustees) and hundreds of registered candidate and committee filers
smdp.com (opens in a new tab)Santa Monica Daily Press, by Matthew Hall — Santa Monica 2026 Ballot Takes Shape With Contested Races (Aug. 13, 2026: confirms three four-year City Council seats contested; names 7 qualified candidates plus 5 then-pending verification; two withdrawals, Nathaniel I. Jones and Angela D. Scott)
surfsantamonica.com (opens in a new tab)Santa Monica Lookout, by Jorge Casuso — 11 Candidates Qualify to Run for Council (Aug. 17, 2026: field narrowed from 20 who pulled nomination papers; SMRR endorsed Torosis and Ivanov, later added Morrow; Negrete running with Oelsen and Trussler; Brock, Lesley, Gill, Kelley, and Townsend running independent of a slate; Jesse Zwick did not run after accepting a position directing statewide housing-advocacy work)
smdp.com (opens in a new tab)Santa Monica Daily Press — Rent Control Board Chair Ericka Lesley announces run for City Council (May 10, 2024: identifies Lesley as a Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. board member and Chair of the city's Rent Control Board)
erickalesleyforcitycouncil.com (opens in a new tab)Ericka Lesley's own campaign website (erickalesleyforcitycouncil.com) — stated platform of equity, inclusion, and justice
en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — Santa Monica City Council (roster as of Dec. 2025: Caroline Torosis, Jesse Zwick, Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Barry Snell, Natalya Zernitskaya, Lana Negrete; cites the city's own Dec. 10, 2025 press release for Torosis's mayoral installation and Zwick's move to mayor pro tem)

Last updated August 31, 2026.

City of Santa Monica

Santa Monica City Council

This person holds one of three at-large seats on Santa Monica's seven-member City Council. Terms are four years and staggered. Members vote on the city budget, land use, and city laws. They also confirm top appointments, including the city manager and police chief. Each year, the council picks one member as Mayor. It also picks another as Mayor Pro Tem.

Twelve candidates are running for three of Santa Monica's seven City Council seats. Two incumbents, Mayor Caroline Torosis and Councilmember Lana Negrete, are seeking new terms. The three candidates with the most votes win, with no primary.

Each winner serves a 4-year term as one of seven votes on the council that sets Santa Monica's budget, land use, and municipal ordinances, and confirms top city appointments including the city manager and police chief. The council selects one of its own members to serve as Mayor and another as Mayor Pro Tem each year — neither title is separately elected — while day-to-day operations run through the appointed city manager.

Two informal slates have emerged: SMRR, the city's dominant renters'-rights political organization, endorsed Torosis and Ivanov and later added Morrow; Negrete is running alongside Oelsen and Trussler without a formal group endorsement. The other five candidates — Brock, Lesley, Gill, Kelley, and Townsend — are running independent of either slate. Twenty candidates originally pulled nomination papers; weigh each candidate's own record and platform rather than treating a slate label as a substitute for one.

Caroline Torosis

Caroline Torosis is the sitting Mayor and a first-term councilmember. They are an attorney who served on the Rent Control Board before their 2022 election. They are seeking a second term, focused on the city's fiscal recovery.

Lana Negrete

Lana Negrete is a councilmember who owns the Santa Monica Music Center. They were appointed to the council in 2021 and elected outright in 2022. They served as Mayor from December 2024 to December 2025.

Phil Brock

Phil Brock is a former councilmember and one-time Mayor of Santa Monica. They lost their council seat in the November 2024 election and are running to return. They are running independent of either informal slate in this race.

Daniel Ivanov

Daniel Ivanov, also known as Danny, chairs Santa Monica's Rent Control Board. They are an attorney running for their first City Council term. Ivanov is one of three candidates endorsed by SMRR, along with Torosis and Morrow.

Brett Morrow

Brett Morrow is a Los Angeles County health official and Santa Monica commissioner. He is running for his first City Council term. He was added to the SMRR-endorsed slate, alongside Torosis and Ivanov.

Ericka Lesley

Ericka Lesley chairs the Rent Control Board and sits on Downtown Santa Monica Inc.'s board. She ran for City Council in 2024 and lost. She is campaigning on equity, inclusion, and justice.

Eli Gill

Eli Gill is a business operations manager and housing advocate. They are running for their first City Council term. Gill is one of five candidates running independent of either informal slate.

Wade Kelley

Wade Kelley is a musician and community volunteer. Their platform centers on human rights, which they call their reason for running. They are a former SAG-AFTRA actor and speak often at Measure GS oversight meetings.

Derrick Townsend

Derrick Townsend is an occupational therapist at Kaiser Permanente. They are running for their first City Council term. Townsend is one of five candidates running independent of either informal slate.

Ashley Oelsen

Ashley Oelsen is a scientist and city commissioner. Oelsen is running for their first council term, aligned with Lana Negrete and Doug Trussler. The Santa Monica Lookout describes them as an environmentalist.

Doug Trussler

Doug Trussler is a businessman running for their first City Council term. Trussler is informally aligned with Lana Negrete and Ashley Oelsen. Their campaign has recorded at least one payment of $675.75.

Lindsay Davis

Lindsay Davis is a yoga instructor who markets themselves online as "Daisy the Venice Healer." They are running for their first City Council term. They qualified for the ballot later than most of the field.

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