Randy Rowse: This election, put Santa Barbara’s financial health first

Elections still matter, maybe today more than ever. The default reasoning for not participating ranges from how we feel “unheard” or “dismissed” to “not represented”. It’s hard to blame one for that attitude, but in fact it’s only true if we allow it to be so.

These days, national politics are so divisive and distracting that we minimize the importance of local elections, the choice of representation that can really affect our day-to-day lives. Sensing that we are not heard or have been dismissed by our representatives leads to extraordinary measures such as the referendum process.

Santa Barbara City Council seats are, by definition, non-partisan. The intention of this structure is to provide the most basic, direct and hopefully effective governance possible. Mayor and Council are not career jobs, but term-limited opportunities to serve the community. Serving as an elected representative in your city is just that — service — and the fact one is elected is an honor.

Candidates for local offices should not be chosen on the basis of party affiliations or ideologies but service to the entire city constituency. If an office holder is serving a party or social belief instead of putting the needs of the community first, then we’ve chosen poorly. Candidate or office holder statements that are aspirational and address issues outside of the purview or jurisdiction of the city should be scrutinized. Your representatives have to be 100% focused on what they can affect on your behalf, and there’s plenty of material to keep your local officials occupied.

To steal a line from James Carville: “It’s the economy, stupid!”. At present we have painted ourselves into a financial corner and the ability to employ fiscal discipline and tough decision-making is essential.

Current issues like the State Street Master Plan, the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, and quest for a permanent source of revenue for the Local Housing Trust Fund, are all interesting as ideas, but as we ricochet between these extraneous priorities, we find ourselves trying to commit singular resources multiple times.

During a recent final budget cycle, three of us — Friedman, Jordan and I — cast the rare vote of “no”, as it involved spending down contingency reserves on items that were not part of the normal General Fund scope. Some of those who voted “yes” later expressed “surprise” that they were spending down reserves, an attempted deflection of responsibility. No matter your personal priorities, keeping faith with voter intent and re-stocking our contingency reserves have got to be realized before extraneous projects. We are currently over-promised and over-committed without the fiscal bandwidth to sustain a cogent decision-making direction.

Voters are still the de facto government. We shouldn’t cede that privilege to anyone. It’s ours, but that right must be exercised at the ballot box. Please choose those candidates who represent service, fiscal discipline and sustainable priorities. If we don’t move forward with financial health in mind, we will soon see the diminishment or disappearance of many of the services we take for granted and rely on.

Please Vote!

Election day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

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