Phil Brock, a former Santa Monica City Council member and mayor, is seeking one of three council seats in the Nov. 3 general election. Eleven other candidates are also running in the nonpartisan race.

Asked why he is running, Brock said in our candidate questionnaire: "I am a lifelong Santa Monican who has never left this wonderful city, but the reasons my grandparents arrived here in 1926 are disappearing." He added, "We still have an understaffed police department, no new homelessness solutions have been brought forward for residents' approval, and our financial status has decreased."

Candidate information

Born: Santa Monica, Dec. 25, 1953

Education: Brock said in our questionnaire: "BA UCLA, M.Ed LMU, Santa Monica Public Schools graduate."

Family: Brock said: "Significant other - Kathryn (met in 1981 in Santa Monica). Mother - Beverly (native Santa Monican) 98 yrs young."

Party affiliation: Brock described himself as a "Lifelong moderate Democrat."

Endorsements: Santa Monica Police Officers Association for a Better Community and Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, according to his campaign website.

Experience and public service

Brock said he served as mayor from December 2023 to December 2024. He said he served on the Santa Monica Recreation and Parks Commission from 2003 to 2016 and on the Santa Monica Arts Commission from 2016 to 2020.

He said he chairs the Los Angeles District Attorney Homelessness Advisory Committee and serves as president of the Santa Monica High School Alumni Association.

Asked about his work history, Brock said in our questionnaire: "My work life began the day after my 16th birthday at the Boys Club of Santa Monica. I worked there and in Santa Monica Schools as a Recreation aide and athletic coach through much of college."

He added, "I taught in a classroom for both the Archdiocese of LA and the Los Angeles Unified School District for several years … I also served as the Athletic Director at a LAUSD High School." He said he has "for the past 30 years … owned an entertainment industry firm concentrating on placing artists in Film, Television, Theatre, commercials, and the Literary fields."

On the issues

Public safety and homelessness: Asked about his top three issues, Brock said in our questionnaire: "Public Safety. Studies have shown we are still not adequately staffed for a city our size. We must recognize our deficiencies and work quickly to budget for the police department we need to make our city safe for residents and visitors."

On homelessness, he said: "The constant refrain we hear from Sacramento and LA County has been 'housing first'. That's not accurate. It's 'treatment first' and we have to drastically revise our city's policies." He said the city should "Close SamoShel and the homeless service center and do not place any new supportive housing facilities in our neighborhoods."

His third priority: "No new taxes or fees. Restore our financial integrity by using our existing funds to restore our reserves."

Housing and development: Asked about a policy he would change, Brock said "the decision not to challenge the state's proposed housing mandates in 2017-2020 was disastrous for our city." He said, "There is a case to be made for the state leveling the playing field rather than continuing to pile on to Santa Monica just because we embraced transportation hubs."

Parks and youth: Brock said Santa Monica suffers from a green space deficit and that every child in the city should have access to free swim lessons, according to his campaign issues page.

Responses were collected through a Surround Sound News candidate questionnaire. Answers have been excerpted for length and are presented in the candidate's own words.