Alicia Mignano, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education, is seeking re-election on Nov. 3, 2026. Mignano was first elected in November 2022.
The nonpartisan race has four seats to fill. Voters may choose up to four candidates. Harry Leshner, Laurie Lieberman, Robbie Staenberg and Stacy Rouse are also running, according to BallotReady election data.
Candidate information
- Residence: Pico neighborhood, Santa Monica. Lives with her husband Jim and their son.
- Education background: Mignano said she was a student learning English while attending public schools in South Central Los Angeles before moving to Portland, Oregon.
- Business background: Mignano said she co-owned and operated a family restaurant business in Portland. The family started a food truck selling traditional Mexican licuados, and over 16 years it grew into a chain with five brick-and-mortar locations, according to her campaign website. Her management work included contract negotiations, payroll, vendor oversight and conflict resolution, she said.
Experience and public service
Mignano's board term runs through December 2026, according to the SMMUSD board member page. She serves as board president.
Before winning her seat, Mignano said she held several volunteer roles in the district. She served as secretary of the District English Learners Advisory Committee in 2020 and as a member of the Local Control and Accountability Plan Parent Advisory Committee that same year. She also served as vice president of health and safety for the SMMPTA Council of PTA and as an executive board member of the Edison Language Academy PTA, she said.
On the issues
Multilingual learners: Mignano said she has focused on improving outcomes for multilingual learners during her board tenure and plans to continue that work.
School facilities and deferred maintenance: Mignano said she has invested in long-overdue deferred maintenance for district facilities and supported upgraded air filtration in classrooms across the district.
Education funding and teacher retention: Mignano said she has worked to protect early reading intervention teachers from budget cuts.
Education equity and student mental health: In her 2022 candidate statement filed with the City of Santa Monica, Mignano listed priorities including supporting the district's Excellence through Equity Plan, strengthening student mental health support, promoting fiscal and environmental sustainability, and restoring Muir and SMASH as community schools.
Endorsements
Mignano's campaign website lists endorsements from the Santa Monica Democratic Club, Community for Excellent Public Schools, National Women's Political Caucus Los Angeles Westside, UNITE HERE Local 11, state Sen. Ben Allen of District 26, Santa Monicans for Renters Rights and the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council.
Candidate information is drawn from Mignano's campaign website, her 2022 candidate statement and SMMUSD board records. Policy positions reflect the candidate's own statements.
