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Doug Trussler Newsletter — July 26, 2026
📋 The Game Plan with Doug Trussler
📅 July 27, 2026
Hello, Santa Monica,
Welcome to the first issue of The Game Plan. I am Doug Trussler, and this November I am asking for your vote for City Council. For 25 years I have built my business at the foot of the Third Street Promenade, raised two boys with my wife Blythe, and spent most of my free weekends on an AYSO field coaching, refereeing, or fixing nets. I have spent my career reading numbers before making decisions, and I believe our city government should do the same. So here is my promise for this newsletter, every week between now and November: I will give you the real numbers, tell you honestly what is working and what is not, and always pair the hard truths with a plan. No spin, no jargon, and no wasted minutes of your Monday. This week has plenty of both kinds of news, so let's dig in.
🙋 Why I'm Running
🔹 The truth is, I never planned to run for office: I was focused on building my business, raising my family, and giving back through coaching and volunteering. But over the years, I found myself in more and more conversations with residents, parents, business owners, and neighbors who all shared the same thing: they love Santa Monica and want to see it thrive. Those conversations changed something for me. The best ideas do not come from campaign slogans. They come from listening to the people who live, work, and raise their families here every day. That is why I am running: to listen, to solve problems, and to help build a Santa Monica that works for everyone.
→ 💬 What you should know about me: My journey started in Tanzania, ran through Canada, and brought me to America as an immigrant in 1993 with a job, a work visa, and almost no one I knew. I came to Santa Monica in 2001 as a renter and built Bison Capital here from nothing, learning firsthand what separates organizations that endure from those that do not. And here is my pledge to you: no developer money, no special interests, no conflicts. I own no Santa Monica real estate beyond our family home. My only interest is a city that works.
🚨 Public Safety & Homelessness
🔹 Real progress on homelessness, so let's build on it: Friday's 2026 Point-in-Time Count delivered genuinely good news: 718 of our neighbors counted as experiencing homelessness, an 11.6 percent decline from 812 a year ago, with the unsheltered population down nearly 19 percent while most of the LA region moved in the opposite direction. Our Police Department and City Council deserve real credit here. I think this proves it is not too late for Santa Monica, and that our challenges are surmountable when we focus and are honest with ourselves.
→ 💬 My take: Now let's set clear annual targets for reducing the unhoused population and keep hitting them, year after year. In business, what gets measured gets done. This is not about politics. It is about progress.
👉 Read the city's count announcement
🔹 A major decision comes to Council tomorrow night: On Tuesday, Council takes up the Housing Focused System of Care, a plan to decommission SaMoShel, the 60-bed congregate shelter that has served this city for over three decades, and replace it with a network the city itself controls: stabilization beds at the Palm Motel, referral beds funded at the Salvation Army Bell Shelter, plus a search for additional sites, with the city running intake, placements, and good-neighbor policies at every location. With the county restructuring its homeless response and regional funding being cut, I support the principle of local accountability. If we are going to run our own system, we need measurable targets, honest reporting, and results residents can see on the street. That is the test I will be applying, and you should too.
👉 Review the agenda and staff report (11.B)
💼 Economic Development
🔹 The Pier numbers deserve a closer look: City Hall spent this summer celebrating World Cup crowds, and the celebrations were fun. But attendance at the Pier and Pacific Park was down 8 percent this June compared to June 2024, and that was with the World Cup, Fan Zones, and city programming all pulling people in. My question is simple: what happens next summer when the World Cup is gone? Santa Monica has everything it needs to win. The first step is being honest about the challenge instead of celebrating prematurely.
🔹 Foot traffic does not pay for parks, police, and libraries. Overnight guests do: The Daily Press published a sharp analysis of our visitor economy, and the numbers back up the concern. Hotel tax revenue, one of the city's largest General Fund sources, fell 13.2 percent in 2025 to $54.4 million. Hotel guest volume dropped 21 percent, and 88 percent of our visitors are now day-trippers who spend about $78 a day, compared to $445 for an overnight guest. My office sits at the foot of the Promenade, so I watch the crowds every day, and a busy boardwalk is not the same as a healthy economy. We need a real strategy to convert day visitors into overnight guests, and I will keep pushing for one.
👉 Read the Daily Press tourism analysis
🌳 Environment & Open Space
🔹 San Vicente's coral trees are coming down, and what happens next is on us: After one of the beloved 75-year-old coral trees in the San Vicente median collapsed on July 4, an independent arborist found 9 of the 13 largest trees at high risk of failure and nearly all of them in poor condition, weakened by drought stress and banana moth. The city now plans to remove them in the coming weeks, with a community meeting set for Thursday, August 6. Our urban forest is infrastructure, the same as our streets and pipes, and losing an iconic boulevard's canopy without a clear, funded replanting plan is not a strategy. I want to see every removal paired with a commitment to restore what makes San Vicente one of the most beautiful streets in the city.
👉 Read the coral tree report coverage
⚽ Youth Sports & Field Space
🔹 Our kids need more places to play: I spend a lot of time at the field at John Adams Middle School, coaching, refereeing, fixing nets, and seeing firsthand how important youth sports are for our kids. In a generation where children are spending more time than ever on phones and screens, sports give them the chance to stay active, build confidence, learn teamwork, and connect with their community. But Santa Monica simply does not have enough field space to meet the needs of our youth. It is time to prioritize field space for the next generation, and the airport-to-park conversion, which secured a $10 million state climate bond grant last month toward transforming roughly 192 acres into open space, is exactly where that conversation should start. Clear milestones, honest budgets, and delivery: hold that project, and me, to the same standard.
👉 Read my parks and fields plan
📅 Mark Your Calendar
🔹 Tuesday, July 28, 5:30 PM: City Council meeting at City Hall, 1685 Main Street. The homelessness system overhaul above is on the agenda. If you have a view on how this city should manage its services, this is the week to share it.
🔹 Tuesday, August 4, 5 to 8 PM: National Night Out, SMPD's annual community evening at City Hall. A great chance to thank the officers who helped deliver Friday's numbers.
👉 See the National Night Out details
🔹 Thursday, August 6, 7 PM: Community meeting on the San Vicente coral trees, held via Zoom with the city's Urban Forestry and Public Landscape teams.
🔹 Sunday, September 13: The 20th running of the Santa Monica Classic, with a 10K, 5K, and Kids Run along the coast. Free eight-week training plans from the LA Road Runners are out now, with five levels for every experience level. Seven weeks out is a perfect time to start. Maybe I will see you on the course.
👉 Read about the free training plans
🔹 Tuesday, November 3: Election Day.
🤝 Join the Campaign
This is a grassroots campaign for families, community, and responsible leadership, and it runs on people, not machines. If the straight-numbers approach in this newsletter is the kind of leadership you want at City Hall, there is a spot for you on this team: canvass with us, put up a lawn sign, host an event, or chip in what you can. Every contribution and every conversation moves us closer.
⚽ The Final Whistle
Every coach knows the first game of the season sets the tone, and this newsletter is mine: numbers first, honesty always, and optimism earned by results. I have seen this city at its best, with neighborhoods full of life, local businesses thriving, and families putting down roots, and the challenges we face today do not define Santa Monica. They challenge us to do better. So hit reply and tell me the one thing you think our city should get right first. I read what you send, and it shapes what I dig into next week. Now let's get to work.
