By Jorge Casuso

September 9, 2026 -- The city's largest and most influential slow-growth group has endorsed Councilmember Lana Negrete and environmental activist Ashley Oelsen but notably made no endorsement for the third open Council seat.

The decision by the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (SMCLC) not to endorse Doug Trussler, a member of the slate headed by Negrete, comes after he won the backing of YIMBY Los Angeles, a pro housing activist group.

In announcing its endorsements, SMCLC cited Negrete's opposition to a transit-oriented development bill signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom that allows large-scale development in residential neighborhoods with no public input.

Negrete "has been fighting for residents, not monied interests, her entire public life" and "wants to protect communities from private equity companies buying and demolishing homes to build high-density apartment buildings," the Coalition wrote.

Oelsen, the Coalition noted, has "led the successful fight against our City Council’s attempt to carve out Santa Monica from Coastal Commission jurisdiction without any public input or hearings.

"Ashley sounded the alarm and was instrumental in stopping this deeply undemocratic, anti-environmental legislation," the group said. "Smart, accessible, knowledgeable about our city government, and community-focused, Ashley will make an important resident-forward addition to the Council."

In its endorsement of Trussler, who owns a Santa Monica-based private equity firm, YIMBY Los Angeles cited his pro-housing stance and said he shares their "thinking about incentives."

"Doug presented to us a clear understanding that Santa Monica’s housing affordability crisis is embedded in supply, excessive regulation and approval processes are the primary hindrance to that supply, and that Santa Monica is a high-demand city with a heavy status quo bias from both homeowners and many renters," the group wrote.

"He also believes Santa Monica has to be proactive in approving and building thousands of units of new housing. We think he will add an analytical, no frills, no spin approach to building the future of Santa Monica if elected to the city council. It is with these observations that we recommend his election."

YIMBY LA also endorsed Mayor Caroline Torosis, noting her efforts to implement transit-oriented development and championing tenants, and Eli Gill, a business operations manager and renter, saying that his "support for a vibrant, growing Santa Monica with more residents could not be clearer."

"If the question is if Mayor Torosis’s continued service on the Santa Monica City Council will lead to more housing built than many of her competitors, we believe the answer to be a clear yes," the group wrote.

Both the Blue Wave Democratic Club and Northeast neighbors endorsed Negrete, Oelsen and Trussler, although the neighborhood group, which is a vocal opponent of multi-unit housing in single-family areas, did so before he won YIMBY's backing.

The Blue Wave Democratic Club -- which was officially chartered in March 2023 -- says it supports "pragmatic candidates who uphold the balance between individual rights and societal well-being," according to the group's website.

The group, none of whose endorsed candidates was elected two years ago, could carry more weight this year after the Santa Monica Democratic Club made no endorsements in the November 3 Council race.

The latest endorsements come after Santa Monica's Police and Fire unions have backed only Negrete, saying more endorsement will follow in the coming weeks ("Police Fire Unions Make Single Council Endorsement, More to Come," August 31, 2026) .

The endorsements also come as the six groups that make up Santa Monica's political establishment have failed to agree on a unified slate, as they did when the four candidates they all backed were swept into office two years ago ("Political Establishment Lacks Unified Front in Council Race," August 27, 2026).