Tag archives: local politics
Bobbi McGinnis is the current Chair of the Santa Barbara County GOP committee, a position she has had since 2019, after being its secretary and committee member since 2013. She is a first-generation U.S. born citizen. Her parents moved to the U.S. from England in 1949, choosing Santa Barbara as their new home, with her […]
The last time I sat face-to-face with Congressman Salud Carbajal was in September of 2020, when we were all optimistic that the pandemic’s end was in sight. That was three years into his stint in Congress. And as honored as he was to be representing this district in the People’s House, he nonetheless seemed burdened […]
Thanks to redistricting, Santa Barbara will be getting a new State Assembly seat and of course a new assemblyperson to go along with it. At the Courthouse Sunken Gardens in Santa Barbara on January 11, throwing his hat in the ring was 33 year old Gabe Escobedo, most recently chairman of the Santa Barbara Planning […]
Nearly 200 Santa Barbara and Montecito residents gathered downtown Tuesday to celebrate the swearing-in of new Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse. The outdoor ceremony, which would normally take place within City Hall, also touched on the work of outgoing Mayor Cathy Murillo, and served to also swear in council members Kristen Sneddon – who represents, […]
As a community, we sit days away from the certification of our recent mayoral and city council election and I wanted to take a few minutes to address my city: It was an honor and a privilege to serve as a catalyst for change and to truly hold to my campaign motto: “A New Day. […]
Bravery takes on many forms, some literal and some a bit more theoretical. But nuance aside, there is bravery in challenging the status quo, the “machine.” And believe you me, our local Democratic Central Committee (DCC) is a machine. Allow me to explain: Local party endorsements spring from the DCC, yet, because Santa Barbara is […]
“People are sick of party politics,” says Mayor-Elect Randy Rowse. And Santa Barbara’s District 4 is a prime example of it. A glance at the details of 2021 Election results for both mayor and city council make one thing quite clear — Santa Barbara’s District 4, portions of which lie in Montecito, is a definite […]
On Rinaldo Brutoco’s essay this week on the idea of red states and blue states: I like how he analyzed the question. The only problem with whole states going red or blue: every state has a ratio of each. Would such a divide then require that all “blue” persons living in a “red” state move […]
A familiar face will likely be returning to City Hall, as former Santa Barbara City Council member Randy Rowse has unofficially won the six-candidate mayoral race, with final and confirmed results expected late Thursday. Rowse would be the city’s first male mayor in almost 30 years, while also taking office as a no-party candidate, moving […]
MIT’s earth, atmospheric sciences department just cancelled a lecturer on climate because the speaker, at another venue and on a different subject, expressed an opinion arguing that universities are too obsessed with “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or DEI “which threatens to derail their primary mission: the production and dissemination of knowledge.” That cancellation actually proved […]
“Let the Chips Fall Where They May Say” More and more I hear people say: “I hate politics.” But is it really politics we hate, or is what we hate the subversion of democracy by small groups of people who work hard to amass and hold on to power so they can determine who we […]
I found myself truly saddened by the article in the Montecito Journal regarding the Montecito Motor Classic — which is an emotional response that I’m sure few, if any, also experienced. And I have a question for the owners of these cars, to which I honestly and sincerely crave an answer. What is the professed […]
It’s become a useful axiom in national politics to ask voters: Are you better off than you were four years ago? Applied to the City of Santa Barbara, I don’t know anyone who would answer that question in the affirmative. I don’t even believe the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party (known to insiders as the […]
With more than a decade served on Santa Barbara’s Planning Commission, Deborah Schwartz has navigated plenty of tough decisions, aiding in projects such as affordable housing and local economy relief. It’s all been good practice for her latest venture: running for mayor. It’s here that she will be faced with not only affordable housing and […]
The makeup of the race for Santa Barbara City Council’s District 6 seat took on a dramatically different feel late in the filing period, with three candidates jumping into the fray to take on incumbent Meagan Harmon. Jason Carlton, a well-known local business owner, is one of those that chose to challenge the seat; he […]
The race for the District 6 seat on Santa Barbara City Council has turned into a four-person race, with City Hall insider Nina Johnson creating plenty of buzz in choosing to “pull her papers” at the very end of the filing period to take on incumbent Meagan Harmon. Johnson isn’t just taking on Harmon, but […]
While the other city of Santa Barbara races feature a plethora of candidates, the battle for District 4 is a two-person showdown, with incumbent Kristen Sneddon taking on Barrett Reed. Sneddon, a professor at Santa Barbara City College, has been on council as the pandemic forced both State Street and Coast Village Road into plenty […]
The race for the District 6 seat on Santa Barbara City Council is a four-person race, with incumbent Meagan Harmon being challenged by Jason Carlton, Nina Johnson, and Zachary Pike. Harmon, also a representative on the California Coastal Commission, is facing her first election, as she was appointed to council in 2019. Each of the […]
With Coast Village Road’s well-being at the heart of the race for the District 4 seat on the Santa Barbara City Council, the two candidates have shown polar opposite tactics in portraying their vision for the corridor. Challenger Barrett Reed has been outspoken about the leadership style stemming from City Council, including that of his […]
A native of Iowa, Mark Whitehurst has made his impact on the Santa Barbara community through the use of his VOICE – the newspaper publication, that is. Whitehurst is a man of the world, having taught in Australia, while also working in Oregon at his brother’s newspaper before relocating to Santa Barbara some 27 years […]
