There will definitely be at least one new council member on the dais at the final Santa Monica City Council meeting of 2014. A few days following Council member Bob Holbrook’s announcement he would not seek seventh term on the dais, the list of candidates seeking to be elected to one of Santa Monica’s highest public offices became clearer.
In total, 18 potential candidates pulled papers for City Council. As of 9 am today, only 10 qualified for the ballot. However, five other candidates have filed their paperwork, but the certification process is still being complete.
The 10 qualified candidates are (in alphabetical order): Nick Boles, Phil Brock, Michael Feinstein, Frank Gruber, Sue Himmelrich, Jennifer Kennedy, Kevin McKeown, Richard McKinnon, Pam O’Connor, and Jerry Rubin.
The five other potential candidates that are likely to qualify for the November ballot are Whitney Scott Bain, Jon Mann, Terrence Later, Zoe Muntaner, and Denise Neal.
One thing is for certain: the dais will look dramatically different than it did prior to the 2012 election. Not only would at least three new faces be on the council within that two-year timeframe, but Santa Monica will also have a new City Manager for the first time since January 2010.
Accordingly, some of the most familiar faces on the dais during the past five to 10 years will no longer sit on the dais.
In 2012, Richard Bloom retired from the Santa Monica City Council after 13 years of service, moving on to serve the City and surrounding communities in Sacramento as a member of the State Assembly.
Also in 2012, Bobby Shriver ended his council service at eight years. Less than two years later, Shriver threw his hat in the ring in the race to replace Zev Yaroslavsky on the County Board of Supervisors and will face off against Sheila Kuehl for that seat on Nov. 4.
Last week, Council member Bob Holbrook announced he would not run for re-election this year, ending a 24-year run on the dais.
According to the election calendar, Aug. 13 was the deadline to file nomination papers. The Secretary of State’s office was scheduled to determine the name order on the ballot on Aug. 14.
Meanwhile, the Santa Monica Rent Control Board election race is over before it begins with only three candidates filing to run for the three seats.
In the race for the four seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD), the following seven candidates have officially qualified: Patricia Finer, Craig Foster, Laurie Lieberman (incumbent), Dhun May, Ralph Mechur (incumbent), Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, and Oscar de la Torre (incumbent).
Nimish Patel will not be returning to the SMMUSD board.
The final candidate list in the race for the four seats on the Santa Monica College Board are Dennis Frisch, Nancy Greenstein (incumbent), Louise Jaffe (incumbent), Barry Snell (incumbent), Andrew Walzer (incumbent), and Maria L. Loya.
For all the latest election updates, visit smvote.org.
