Santa Monica's first batch of election results put incumbent council members Lana Negrete and Mayor Caroline M. Torosis at the front of a crowded field, with early numbers also showing solid support for new renter protection measures and hotel tax rates. The LA County Registrar/Recorder released these preliminary figures soon after polls closed, based on vote-by-mail ballots processed before Election Day. On November 3, 2026, voters weighed five local measures alongside City Council and board races. Early returns from Los Angeles County and later updates pointed to broad support for four housing or hotel-tax proposals, but resistance to the school parcel tax, as reported by NBC Los Angeles and Westside Current.
In the City Council race, Negrete led with 10,515 votes, with Torosis following at 9,950. Ashley Oelsen, new to city politics, took third place with 9,031 votes. Other candidates included Doug Trussler, Daniel Ivanov, and Brett Morrow, each drawing between 7,278 and 7,944 votes. Former council member Phil Brock was seventh with 4,576 votes. Thousands of ballots remain uncounted, so these standings could change as counting continues.
Voters favor tenant protections and hotel tax
Santa Monica voters gave strong early backing to several local ballot measures focused on tenant rights and city revenue. Measure GG, which updates the city charter to affirm just-cause eviction standards and adjust Rent Control Board commissioner terms, received 13,725 "yes" votes against 9,471 "no" votes. According to Patch, Measure GG would also let commissioners serve up to three terms, including appointed service, and allow the annual cap on registration fees for rent-controlled units to rise with inflation starting in 2028, with a 5% annual limit. The measure would set a $288 initial ceiling for the annual registration fee and tie that ceiling to the Consumer Price Index beginning in 2028. It also clarifies the board's authority over deadlines for rent-adjustment petitions and authorizes certain evictions from deed-restricted affordable housing when tenants are ineligible or fail to prove eligibility, provided notice and compliance requirements are met. Renters United-Santa Monica, a grassroots group of deed-restricted and rent-control renters, opposed Measure GG, arguing it would raise costs for rent-control tenants and create more eviction paths for low-income renters.
Measure RR, restricting evictions for minor overdue rent, saw even stronger support with 16,776 "yes" votes and 6,971 "no" votes. Measure RR would block eviction for nonpayment when the tenant owes less than one month of the average HUD fair-market rent for Santa Monica ZIP codes. The threshold is tied to federal housing data and uses HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents, averaged across five ZIP codes wholly or partly within Santa Monica, with figures updated annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Landlords seeking a nonpayment eviction would face a threshold that can shift as HUD updates its annual market-rent figures, and termination notices would need to state the bedroom count and applicable fair-market-rent threshold.
Measure TT, maintaining hotel transient occupancy tax rates, led with 16,350 "yes" votes to 6,064 "no" votes. Early and later reported results showed Measure TT with the strongest support among the five Santa Monica measures, with NBC Los Angeles reporting 15,280 "yes" votes and 73.17% support in its cited tally, while Westside Current reported 73.20% with just over 20,000 votes counted. The measure keeps existing hotel transient-occupancy-tax rates and lets the City Council set "Major Event Periods" or similar special rules for certain long corporate stays during designated events, giving the city a way to address unusual lodging demand or extended corporate accommodations tied to major events.
Measure VV, extending eviction protections to tenants in single-family homes and condominiums, also led by a wide margin. The measure would extend existing eviction protections to tenants in single-unit dwellings and condominiums, categories described as outside the usual apartment-focused rent-control structure. For owner-occupancy evictions from non-rent-controlled units, the owner or qualifying relative would have to intend in good faith to move in within 60 days after the tenant leaves and use the property as a primary residence for at least two years, unless extenuating circumstances apply. Early approval for Measure VV was about 61.35% to 61.36%.
By contrast, Measure ES-a proposed $495 annual parcel tax to fund local public schools-trailed, with 10,959 "yes" votes and 12,378 "no" votes. Measure ES aimed to raise about $12 million a year for Santa Monica public schools, with the tax amount adjusted for inflation. NBC Los Angeles later reported 11,489 "no" votes, or 26.49% in the cited tally, though the displayed percentage and vote count did not match the broader results reported by other outlets. Westside Current reported initial support of 47.02% "yes" and 52.98% "no" for Measure ES. These early results show voters are prioritizing renter protections and city revenue measures over new school funding at this stage.
Rent Control Board and education board races
Sue Himmelrich led the Rent Control Board race with 14,625 votes, followed by incumbent Kurt Gonska and Heather Thomason. For the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education, Alicia Mignano, Robbie Staenberg, Laurie Lieberman, and Stacy Rouse opened with the highest vote counts for four available seats. On the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees, incumbents Sion Roy, Tom Peters, and Luis Barrera Castanon held the leading positions, with Kera Blades-Snell also in the running for one of four open spots.
Santa Monica's rent-control system covers units with certificates of occupancy issued before April 10, 1979. For the September 1, 2026-August 31, 2027 rent year, the allowable increase for covered units was reported as 2.6%, or $70 per month for units with a maximum allowable rent of at least $2,674, showing the difference between existing rent-setting rules and the ballot measures' separate changes to eviction standards, registration-fee caps, and protections for units outside traditional rent control.
These results come as Santa Monica continues to expand its support for renters, as reported earlier. The final outcome of these races and measures will depend on the thousands of outstanding ballots yet to be counted across Los Angeles County. The practical effects of the measures will depend on final canvass results, formal enactment of the charter amendments, and any implementation rules adopted by the City Council or Rent Control Board. For Measure RR, future enforcement would require applying updated HUD fair-market-rent figures to the relevant unit size and Santa Monica ZIP-code calculation. For Measure VV, implementation would turn on owner-occupancy documentation and compliance with the 60-day move-in and two-year primary-residence requirements.
