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Endorsements at a Glance
I
n this interim-year election for mayor and City Council — which takes place Tuesday, November 5 — voters cast their ballots by mail or walk them in. If you live in the City of Santa Barbara and haven’t yet received a ballot, call the City Clerk at 564-5309. Voters can deposit their ballots at City Hall ( Anacapa St.) during the week before the election, and City Hall will stay open on Saturday, November 2, to receive drop-off ballots 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. On Election Day, ballots can be dropped off 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. at City Hall, Calvary Baptist Church ( W. Islay St.), Franklin Neighborhood Center ( E. Montecito St.), and Grace Lutheran Church ( State St.). Postmarks are not accepted. Details at sbcityvote.org. Bottom line: Cast your ballot!
MAYOR
Helene Schneider
Under Mayor Helene Schneider’s guidance, Santa Barbara’s City Council has worked as a highly functioning body, even with its members’ strong personal and political differences. In this time of political shutdown, it is a gift that Santa Barbara has a government that works — and that is in no small part due to Mayor Helene Schneider.
CITY COUNCIL
Harwood “Bendy” White
We are happy to endorse Bendy White — who seems built into the very DNA of City Hall, given his length of service on numerous boards and commissions. In the pursuit of new housing that’s affordable to people other than millionaires, he has already played a quiet leadership role in striking compromises. It’s an exceedingly delicate balancing act — one that Bendy White clearly gets.
Gregg Hart
Gregg Hart, a spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, will bring to the council an obvious intelligence and sunny congeniality — and he knows traffic and transportation issues. With the caveat that Hart should recuse himself from council votes regarding the freeway, given his City Council tenure 10 years ago and his time on the Planning Commission before that, we know Gregg Hart’s qualified.
David Landecker
David Landecker has more than redeemed himself since resigning from City Council after being caught shoplifting 22 years ago. An effective and inventive executive director for Neighborhood Clinics and the Environmental Defense Center, he brings a lifetime of experience with nonprofits and private business alike. If he can keep his bull-in-the-chinashop proclivities on a short leash, we’re confident David Landecker can make a valuable contribution.
PAU L WELLM AN F I LE PHOTOS
The Independent Endorses