What’s one problem you want Santa Barbara’s next mayor to solve?
In one month, voters in the city of Santa Barbara will choose the city’s next mayor. The mayor runs council meetings, votes alongside the council on major decisions and has…
By Kathryn Barnes • • 2 min readIn one month, voters in the city of Santa Barbara will choose the city’s next mayor.
The mayor runs council meetings, votes alongside the council on major decisions and has a large say in what items ever see the light of deliberation. Most significantly, the mayor is the face Santa Barbara chooses to present to the outside world.
Five candidates are vying for the spot. It’s the only position on the City Council to be elected at-large, by all voters.
We asked five people: what’s one problem you want to see the next mayor to solve?
VANESSA GARCIA – High rents
“My name is Vanessa Garcia. I’ve been a resident here for 18 years. Been living with family the whole time. My fiancé and I have been searching for a home for about four months now. It’s just been a real struggle trying to find even a studio or anything reasonable within our budget. Between the both of us, we can afford $1,300, which seems decent but when you’re really looking, it’s not. It’s sad. It affects you every day, struggling, worrying about being homeless. I was actually looking into homeless shelters for my family. Right before we entered one, this gentleman opened up and offered us a room in Goleta. We have access to the kitchen and bathroom, but it’s just basically us in this little room. And it’s me, my fiancé, my 4-month-old baby and my dog. I actually know a lot of families who live in single rooms, which makes it really hard. We don’t want to leave, but we might be forced to.”
BRENT FRANKLIN – Displaced artists
“My name is Brent Franklin. I live in Summerland, but I’m a lifelong Santa Barbara resident. I guess my main concern would be the Santa Barbara corridor and its effect on the community. It used to be a very local community and now it’s dedicated to tourists. It’s displaced our local artists and all the artistry and music and places to play. We don’t have any cool shops anymore. Look at Main Street, Ventura. There’s still thrift shops and real music stores, not just vinyl stores that charge you 40 bucks for something I have at home all scratched up.”
EMMA GARCIA-OCAMPO – Drugs on the street
BEN OSBORNE – Congestion
“My name is Ben Osborne. Coming down from Goleta, parking is an issue. It just seems like there’s never any parking here. The traffic coming in from Santa Barbara to Goleta, there’s just a lot more congestion, even from like three years ago. From what I can see, it’s the development. Being out in Goleta, seeing all these things getting built up and more and more people moving into these apartment complexes. Everyone wants to live here and it’s understandable why, but it’s making it overgrown. Even the Trader Joes had to expand and the other grocery stores are having to expand because there’s an influx of people.”