2026 Election

2026 Election: Incumbents look strong in initial returns

All four incumbents in races for Culver City public office will hold on to their positions based on results from early vote returns.

Results from the Los Angeles County Election Page shows incumbents Freddy Puza and Stephanie Loredo as the early leading vote-getters in the 2026 races for seats on the Culver City City Council and Culver City Unified School District Board of Education respectively.

Initial returns from the 2026 Election in Culver City show incumbents in the city council and school board races holding a strong early position.

Mayor and sole City Council incumbent Freddy Puza opened early returns with a notable lead on his challengers, garnering nearly 30% of the vote as of Tuesday, November 3, at 10:04 p.m. Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin, who lost to Bubba Fish by 430 votes, or just under 0.8%, for a council seat in 2024, is currently in line to get over the hump in 2026 with around 24.5% of the vote.

Challengers Kimberley "Kim" Griffin and Thomas Aujero Small follow Wisnosky Stehlin, with Griffin seeing 21.1% of the vote and Small receiving 20.6% in initial returns. Franklin Carvajal fills out the council candidate group with just under 4% of votes received.

In the Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) Board of Education race, all three incumbents — Stephanie Loredo, Brian Guerrero, and Triston Ezidore — lead challenger Darrel Menthe by at least 8 points in early returns. Loredo has received the most votes in initial returns, with nearly 29.5% of the vote, while Guerrero trails with nearly 27% and Ezidore just behind at 26%. Menthe has received around 17.6% of the vote as of 10:04 p.m. on November 3.

Two of the three ballot measures in Culver City have given supporters good reason to believe in their chances for success.

Measure AA, a parcel tax that will help fund CCUSD schools, is currently below the usual 66% threshold for the passage of a special tax in California. However, the 62% approval in early returns far surpasses the simple majority of 50% + one voter to pass a special tax placed on the ballot through a citizens' initiative process, as Measure AA has been.

Measure T, which will increase the tax paid by guests of hotels and short-term homestays like Airbnb, is also in a strong position to pass, having received nearly 3 in every 4 votes by Culver City residents in early returns.

On the other hand, Measure YV is trending toward rejection by Culver City voters, with more than 55.5% of early votes opposing its passage. The ballot measure allowing 16- and 17-year-old residents of Culver City to vote lost by just 16 votes, or 0.1%, in 2022.