Culver City Candidates react to 2026 Election Results

As the number of uncounted votes in the 2026 General Election continues to dwindle down, the results of the 2026 General Election in Culver City have been all but finalized.

All four incumbents — Mayor Freddy Puza for Culver City Council and Triston Ezidore, Brian Guerrero, and Stephanie Loredo for Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) Board of Education — succeeded in their reelection campaigns to their respective positions.

Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin will be the only new face in Culver City public office, and her election will mark the first time that two women have served together on the City Council in Culver City. She shared her excitement in a statement posted to social media Tuesday afternoon, celebrating that 75% of the contributions to her campaign came from sources in Culver City.

"That’s who our campaign answered to, and that’s who I will answer to on the council," her statement reads.

The victorious candidates each issued statements expressing their appreciation for Culver City voters. Loredo, who received the most votes of any single Culver City candidate in 2026 argued the results demonstrate the community's trust in her.

"Stephanie ran a people-powered campaign building coalitions with local community members and leaders across the region and country who were instrumental in helping her connect with voters throughout the campaign cycle," Loredo's statement reads.

Mayor Freddy Puza received the most votes in the 2026 Culver City Council race, and pointed to the tangible efforts made to get to that point. He highlighted the more than 6,000 doors his campaign knocked on and the more than $100,000 he raised as key contributors to his success.

"Now I’m getting right back to it," Puza's statement on Instagram reads. "More housing our neighbors can afford. Smart, responsive city services. A Culver City that leads, not follows."

Guerrero and Ezidore each received a similar number of votes, and Guerrero called the result "a referendum on the work [he and his colleagues] have done."

"As someone put it," Guerrero's statement reads, "the question was 'would Culver City demand change, or would voters be confident about the path set by the Board and see the progress we’ve made as a preview of what we can and will accomplish together?'"

Ezidore reflected on the tangible results during the 2026 Election Season as Puza did, celebrating the campaign having knocked 10,000 doors and made nearly 15,000 phone calls, which earned Ezidore's reelection effort support from more than 300 grassroots donors.

"Those conversations brought Ezidore’s record directly to voters and helped build the coalition behind his re-election," his press release reads.

Candidates who fell short of securing a seat also shared their appreciation for supporters. City Council Candidate Kimberley Griffin shared her appreciation and congratulated the winners in a social media post, but promised that this election would not be the last time she would be involved in the community.

"This isn’t goodbye," a post from her campaign's Facebook page reads. "I love Culver City, and I’ll stay engaged and keep showing up for our residents, our neighborhoods, and our local businesses."

The citizen's initiative parcel tax effort spearheaded by Darrel Menthe ended in success, but Menthe did not succeed in his individual campaign for a seat on the CCUSD Board of Education.

He called on a famous American poem Casey at the Bat to express his feelings after the race, explaining that he felt the love and support within a local community that the poem eloquently shows.

"That poem isn’t about Casey, of whom we learn very little, [and] it’s not really about baseball, either," Menthe's statement reads. It’s about the town of Mudville and their huge hearts...this fall, you were my Mudville."

Vice Mayor Bubba Fish also made a statement once election results became clear, commenting on both the candidates and the three local ballot measures placed before Culver City voters this year. Measure T's Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) increase and Measure AA's parcel tax passed comfortably, but the attempt to allow 16-and-17 year olds to vote in Culver City fell short once again.

Fish recognized some of the student leaders behind Vote 16, arguing that, despite the loss, their efforts making calls, knocking on doors, and publicly advocating for Measure YV is another important step towards the normalization of the idea.

"To the Vote16 organizers, the movement is stronger because of you," Fish's post reads.

Thomas Small and Franklin Carvajal have not released statements as of the publication of this article.