The movement to cleave Santa Barbara County in two took a blow
this week when county supervisors roundly criticized the proposal
and voted to draft an official ballot argument against the split.
The motion nominating 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone to
author the specific ballot language, however, divided the board
along north/south lines, and Firestone narrowly got the nod with a
3-2 vote. Opposing the motion were South County supes Susan Rose
and Salud Carbajal, who pushed for a more unified stance than a
single author. Seeking to remedy the narrow margin, boardmembers
voted unanimously that Carbajal would co-author the ballot language
with Firestone. The supervisors are expected to approve a final
draft of the anti-split argument early next month.
