A 16-year School Board incumbent lost the Santa Monica Democratic Club's backing, a former councilmember was rejected for College Board, and former Mayor Sue Himmelrich needed a second round of voting to secure a Rent Control Board endorsement at the Club's convention on Thursday, July 16.

The results, reported by the Santa Monica Lookout, signal a shift inside the Club, whose membership has doubled to more than 500 over the past decade, according to Club President Jon Katz. The same convention failed to endorse any City Council candidates, a first for the group, according to the Lookout.

School Board: Lieberman left out

Four seats are on the November 3 ballot. The Club endorsed three candidates: incumbent Alicia Mignano (207 votes), challenger Robbie Staenberg (192 votes), and incumbent Stacy Rouse (179 votes). All cleared the Club's 55 percent threshold.

Incumbent Laurie Lieberman, who has served on the board since 2010, did not. Neither did challenger Harry Leshner. Both failed in two rounds of voting.

The Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS) board endorsed Lieberman on Monday, July 14, alongside the same three candidates the Club picked.

College Board: de la Torre falls short

All four open College Board seats drew endorsements. Incumbents Sion Roy (219 votes), Luis Castanon (203 votes), and Tom Peters (194 votes) cleared the bar in the first round, as did Kera Blades-Snell, who is running for the seat held by Nancy Greenstein, who is not seeking reelection.

Former City Council and School Board member Oscar de la Torre received just 76 votes, well below the threshold.

Rent Control Board: Himmelrich needs a second round

Three Rent Control Board seats are up in November. Challenger Heather Thomason was the only candidate endorsed in the first round, winning 59.4 percent of the vote. Former Mayor Himmelrich drew 48.4 percent in round one, and incumbent Kurt Gonska got 46.2 percent. Both won endorsement in the second round.

Soledad Marcial finished behind Himmelrich and Gonska and was not endorsed.

Three seats on the board carry direct policy weight: the 2026 general adjustment of 2.6 percent takes effect September 1, capped at $70 for units with maximum allowable rents of $2,674 or more, according to city records.

What's next

"It's a really broad coalition now," Katz said of the Club's expanded membership after the convention. "What we saw is non-consensus."

Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR) will hold its own endorsement convention on Sunday, August 9, at the Grant Elementary School Auditorium. Members must have joined and paid dues before May 12 to vote.