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Elections Simplified

Santa Monica Community College District Governing Board Member

Unofficial result: Won — Sion Roy (Nonpartisan), Tom Peters (Nonpartisan), Luis Barrera Castanon (Nonpartisan), Kera Blades-Snell (Nonpartisan)

Source: results.lavote.gov

Santa Monica Community College District

What does this office do?

  • Setting the college's property tax rate and yearly budget
  • Approving tuition, programs, and new campuses
  • Hiring and overseeing the college president

Affects: Government Efficiency, Government Spending Reduction, Public Education Quality

Candidates:

Kera Blades-Snell

Won

Nonpartisan

Kera Blades-Snell is executive director of the Santa Monica Black Empowerment Association and founded the Empower Her Entrepreneurial Program. She returned to college as an adult and wants every student to have a path to succeed.

Luis Barrera Castanon

Won

Nonpartisan · Incumbent

Luis Barrera Castanon is a Santa Monica College trustee, appointed in February 2025, and an SMC alumnus who earned a doctorate after arriving as an undocumented teenager. He focuses on transfer and career pathways and publishes trustees' board votes online.

Records: Government Spending Reduction 3 for, 2 against, Government Efficiency 1 for, Public Education Quality 1 for

Oscar de la Torre

Lost

Nonpartisan

Oscar de la Torre founded and directs a Santa Monica youth center and served 18 years on the Santa Monica-Malibu school board. He wants to address Santa Monica College's budget and enrollment problems and raise retention and graduation rates.

Records: Public Education Quality 1 for

Sion Roy

Won

Nonpartisan · Incumbent

Sion Roy is a physician and chair of the Santa Monica College board, now finishing his second term. He created the college's Allied Health Taskforce, which added nursing assistant and home health aide certificate programs.

Records: Government Spending Reduction 3 for, 4 against, Public Education Quality 1 for

Tom Peters

Won

Nonpartisan · Incumbent

Tom Peters is vice chair of the Santa Monica College board, on which he has served since 2022, and a former tenured SMC faculty member in its Center for Students with Disabilities. He holds a doctorate in business administration and focuses on accessibility for students.

Records: Government Spending Reduction 3 for, 3 against, Public Education Quality 1 for

Source: content.lavote.gov