Former Santa Monica mayor Phil Brock entered the Nov. 3 City Council race Monday, Aug. 24, running as an independent in an 11-candidate field competing for three seats.

Brock, who lost his council seat in 2024, announced his bid in a Patch community post built around two issues: rising crime and what he called massive concrete developments that would "erase our skyline."

"From the quiet residential blocks to our bustling business districts, every inch of Santa Monica matters," Brock wrote. "Whether you live in a trailer park, apartment, or a single-family home, we're all neighbors."

He is running unaffiliated with either of the two rival slates that dominate the field. One slate is headed by Mayor Caroline Torosis, joined by Brett Morrow and Danny Ivanov; the other by Councilmember Lana Negrete, with Ashley Oelson and Doug Trussler. The remaining independent candidates include Rent Board member Ericka Lesley, abundant housing advocate Eli Gill, street performer Wade Kelley and occupational therapist Derrick Townsend, according to the Lookout.

Brock's anti-density stance is not new. In an Aug. 7 op-ed in the Santa Monica Mirror published under the SMa.r.t. column, he urged the community to oppose further housing density ahead of Sacramento's next Regional Housing Needs Allocation cycle in 2028–2029.

The crime issue he highlights tracks recent data. Santa Monica police made 2,656 arrests through July 4, a nearly 70 percent increase over the same period in 2025, according to department figures cited in a New York Post report on a late-July homicide at a Pico Boulevard care facility. The city recorded its fifth homicide of 2026 by that date, already surpassing the four murders in all of 2025.

Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights endorsed Torosis and Ivanov at its Aug. 9 convention; its Steering Committee added Morrow three days later. The local Democratic Club made no endorsements after its July 16 convention deadlocked.

Brock describes himself on his campaign Instagram as "pro-resident, pro-business, pro-safety, and always pro-Santa Monica." His campaign website is BrockTheVote.org.

The write-in nomination period opens Sept. 7. The next regular City Council meeting is Sept. 8; the scheduled Aug. 25 meeting was cancelled for summer recess.