Tom Peters is running for re-election to the Santa Monica Community College Board of Trustees in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The nonpartisan race has three seats on the ballot. The other candidates are Kera Blades-Snell, Luis Barrera Castanon, Oscar De La Torre and Sion Roy.

Peters, first elected in 2022, explained in our questionnaire why he is seeking a second term. "The board has made difficult resolutions to decrease college's fiscal structural deficit and I want to continue on the board to make sure closing the gap and setting the college on firm financial footing will not impose further hardships on faculty, staff and students," Peters said. He added, "The college is changing leadership and I want my experience and love of this institution to be present through this critical transition."

Candidate information

Party affiliation: "Democrat for 55 years," Peters said in our questionnaire.

Education: Doctorate in business administration, California Pacific University. Peters listed his additional degrees in our questionnaire: "Science of Administration (Master's degree) Central Michigan University-Mt. Pleasant … General Studies (Bachelor's degree) Wayne State University-Detroit." He also noted a "California Teaching Certification" and a "Google Generative AI Leadership Certification."

Family: Peters said in our questionnaire, "I'm the oldest of ten children, raised in the Detroit, MI area." He added, "married JoAn Elizabeth Joseph in 2004 and we have a daughter, Elisabeth Susan Peters, who is attending North Carolina A&T as a junior in the Bio-Medical engineering program."

Experience and public service

Peters described his career in our questionnaire: "After 30 years as a hot metal crane operator and union activist, I retired from a steel mill in Detroit to use my two college degrees to do administrator leadership work." He said he then "retired again to become a faculty member at Santa Monica College and again union activist. I taught assistive technologies in the High Tech Center lab for the Center for Students with Disabilities fro 14 years."

According to his SMC directory profile, Peters is a combat Vietnam War veteran and a former shop steward with United Steelworkers of America Local 1299. He has also served on the Santa Monica Disabilities Commission and as vice president of membership at the Santa Monica Democratic Club.

Peters is the board's current vice chair. He said in our questionnaire that he also serves as a board representative for the Los Angeles County School Trustees Association and the board's audit committee.

On the issues

Fiscal challenges: Asked about accomplishments that show he can handle the job, Peters described a February 2026 vote as his most difficult. "The college was facing $17M structral deficit after years of decreasing enrollment and funding challenges from the state," he said in our questionnaire. "It was necessary to make cuts to staff and administrators. I voted for the cuts to lower the structural deficit to a little over $4M … As I mentioned earlier, I worked at the college...I knew these staff and administrators being laid-off. Emotionally it hurt. However, ethically it was necessary for the well-being of the college."

Top three challenges: Peters outlined three priorities in our questionnaire. First, "recovering from a structural deficit and growing into a healthy fund balance," which he said "would require the board and new leadership (myself included if re-elected) to stay hyper-focused in our fiscal responsibilities." Second, "drastically improving employee morale" … "Move the new, incoming president to an office on campus and inceasing accessibilitiy to campus leaders." Third, "funding formula reform from state legislators to not only increase funding, but stabilizing the funding our college receives from year to year."

Differences from other candidates: Peters said in our questionnaire, "I'm the only candidate who has actually worked as a faculty member at Santa Monica College, active on many important committees and leadership roles."

According to his candidate statement filed with the city, Peters said his goals include upgrading the SMC Veterans Success Center, guiding implementation of affordable student housing from Measure SMC and supporting the upcoming cloud computing bachelor's program.

Candidate responses were collected through a Surround Sound News questionnaire. Answers are presented in the candidate's own words.