Charles Newman for Montecito Water Board

Montecito has been blessed over the decades with individuals who have been tireless and selfless in their efforts to make the Montecito and Santa Barbara community one of the most beautiful, cultural, and compassionate places in the world. That is why so many people have come here to live, work, raise and educate their children, and retire.

Yet, our stunning environment and the very viability of our community itself is threatened by one of the worst droughts in California history. That makes the upcoming election for the Montecito Water Board particularly critical. Fortunately, we have in our community Charles Newman, a visionary and deeply committed citizen in the best traditions of Montecito and Santa Barbara volunteerism.

Since his appointment to a vacancy on the water board in 2015, he has spent hundreds of hours building a collegial relationship with residents, other community agencies, and government bodies in order to research, explore, and cooperate on short and long-range water solutions. For example, he has taken the lead on the Montecito Board to develop an outreach program to inform and engage customers on key issues and to explore adding recycled water to our water supply.

Charles Newman is a bright, ethical, well-informed, and energetic leader, a person we can trust to act in the best interests of our community in the true tradition of our time-honored volunteers and leaders. He will implement wise and carefully researched water solutions. He will serve us well. We support him and believe that he deserves your vote.