By David Ganezer
It has been said that SMRR could run monkeys, and people would pull the levers. That’s usually true, but it was not true in 2020.
In an historic repudiation of Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, Phil Brock and Christine Parra appear to have won seats on the Santa Monica City Council. More incumbent city councilmembers (three) were voted out of office this week than in the past thirty years.
The 4 members slate (Brock, Parra, de la Torre and Mario Fonda-Bonardi) had promised to slow the growth that has chewed up every parking lot in Santa Monica to build high density housing.
SMvote.org showed Phil Brock with 16,035 votes, Gleam Davis second with 15,787 votes. Christine Parra finished third with 15,029 votes. Oscar de la Torre finished 4th with 14,483 votes.
City council member Terry O'Day was also an also ran, finishing 5th with 14,251. Ted Winterer finished 6th and Ana Maria Jara finished 7th.
Gleam Davis, who has been called (by me, mostly) the most pro-growth City Council member ever to sit on the Santa Monica City Council, is the only incumbent to win reelection.
These are preliminary results. Many people voted by mail in this historic, coronavirus influenced election. Mail in ballots postmarked yesterday, will still count and may not be counted for a week.
Kristin McCowan, who was running unopposed for her appointed seat, won it with 26,335 votes.
Jon Kean, Maria Leon Vasquez and Jen Smith won seats on the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District. Kean had 19,455 votes. He is largely responsible for the SMMUSD's hardcore left ethnic studies program. Leon Vasquez got 18,392 votes and Smith finished third with 17,554 votes.
32 Santa Monica precincts have reported. Jason K Feldman, who did not win a seat, finished 4th with 11,124 votes in the crowded field.
Susan Aminoff, Margaret Quinones-Perez and Rob Greenstein Rader won seats on the SMC College Board.
Caroline M. Torosis and Anastasia Foster won seats on the Santa Monica rent control Board.
Local Measures AB and SM were passed. SM received 72% of the vote, as Measure AB passed with 61% of the vote.
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