SD-24 Senate Race: Who’s Funding It and Where They Stand on Public Safety

By now, most everyone reading this knows, two people were shot in targeted attacks in West Hollywood in recent weeks. The June 2 primary is less than 40 days out. It seemed as good a time as any to check in on the local senate race, SD-24, and see where the money is coming from and where the candidates stand on public safety.

With polling thin, money is one of the clearest ways to measure the strength of support behind each candidate, and to get a sense of whose interests, aside from yours, they may be expected to represent once they get to Sacramento.

Ten candidates have declared. Of those, three — Brian Goldsmith,  Sion Roy, and John Erickson — are leading in cash.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ All figures reflect the most recent campaign filings available through the California Secretary of State as of April 18, 2026.

Goldsmith is a Beverly Hills-based journalist, lawyer, and Democratic consultant running for office for the first time. Roy is a cardiologist and Santa Monica College trustee who lost his home in the Palisades fire. Erickson is a sitting West Hollywood City Councilmember seeking to move up to Sacramento before finishing his current term.

Follow the money

Goldsmith leads with about $1 million dollars on hand in his personal campaign account. A separate IE committee — Progressive Leadership for Us — has deployed roughly $740,000 on digital and television ads on his behalf. An independent expenditure committee, or IE, is a separate political organization that can raise unlimited funds to support a candidate but is legally prohibited from coordinating directly with the campaign.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Donors to Goldsmith’s IE committee include Russell Goldsmith, the longtime CEO of City National Bank, who contributed $400,000. Martha Karsh of Beverly Hills gave $100,000. Biotech billionaire Arie Belldegrun and his wife Rebecka gave a combined $75,000 through their firm Bellco Capital. Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, gave $6,500.

Roy has $477,552 cash on hand. A separate IE committee backed by the California Medical Association has spent roughly $357,000 on mailers, digital ads, and research on his behalf.

Erickson has $398,365 cash on hand. An IE committee called Progressives for John Erickson for Senate 2026 has raised about $355,000. More than $200,000 of that total is tied to teachers unions. Another $50,000 comes from United Domestic Workers. The committee has already begun spending, deploying roughly $150,000 on mailers in mid-to-late April. A second IE committee backed by Unite Here Local 11 has also been running field and voter outreach operations on his behalf. Unite Here Local 11 is the hotel workers union whose prolonged strike and push for a minimum wage hike for hotel workers divided West Hollywood’s business community and split the City Council in 2023.

One of the largest single contributions — $100,000 from the Smart Justice California Action Fund — is also the most interesting, particularly at a moment when crime and public safety are on the minds of nearly every West Hollywood voter.

Smart Justice California Action Fund backs efforts to reduce incarceration, cut sentencing enhancements, and move money away from traditional policing. They backed George Gascón for Los Angeles County District Attorney. His time in office placed him in the middle of a national debate over how aggressively crimes should be prosecuted. He was beaten by Nathan Hochman in 2024. Voters had grown frustrated with Gascón’s policies limiting the use of sentencing enhancements and his resistance to prosecuting some crimes as seriously as his predecessor. Crime and public safety had become defining issues across LA County, and Hochman ran explicitly on reversing course.

Where They Stand on Public Safety 

Goldsmith has been explicit. His platform calls for fully funding Proposition 36 — the 2024 ballot measure that increased penalties for drug and theft crimes and passed by a landslide. He says that prioritizing public safety, crime deterrence, and ensuring adequate staffing and funding for law enforcement are important. He’s also picked up endorsements from Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Pete Buttigieg, Lauren Meister, and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who beat George Gascón in a race that turned largely on how aggressively crimes should be prosecuted.

Roy has kept his public safety positioning broad. His endorsers tell a different story — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Congressmember Maxine Waters among them — suggesting a coalition that spans institutional law enforcement credibility and progressive politics without a local voting record to define him further.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Sion Roy’s positions on public safety have been mostly focused on fire and emergency planning as a result of losing his home in the Palisades fire.

Erickson’s record on policing isn’t exactly a straight line. In June 2022, he voted against a budget that cut four sheriff’s deputies, siding with Mayor Lauren Meister in a 3-2 loss. In September, the full council voted unanimously to delay the cuts. But in December 2022, Erickson reversed course. Despite rising crime and a request from then-Captain Moulder to restore deputies to the Entertainment Police Team, Erickson joined Councilmembers Shyne and Byers in a 3-2 vote to cut staffing.  More recently, Erickson voted against moving forward with West Hollywood’s Flock Safety camera program in both February and March, placing him in the minority as a 3-2 council majority chose to continue the rollout.

West Hollywood’s Public Safety Commission meets tonight for the first time since the two shootings and since Public Safety Commissioner Tod Hallman alleged last month that Erickson warned him his seat could be at risk if he supported a candidate for West Hollywood City Council Erickson didn’t approve of. Hallman described the exchange as a “clear and direct threat.”

Bottom line

As the June primary inches closer, voters will be looking at more than just cookie-cutter campaign mailers and talking points. They will also be looking at who’s funding and who’s endorsing the campaigns, what those contributors stand for, and how those philosophical alignments might influence the candidates’ decisions on the issues, including public safety, policing, and criminal justice.  WeHo voters have the advantage of knowing at least one of the candidates well. When all else fails, follow the money.