Goleta’s City Council Race Is off to an Early Start

The race is on for open seats on Goleta’s City Council, with Mayor Paula Perotte announcing that she will be back on the ballot this November. She is challenged by Rich Foster, who supported her mayoral bid four years ago and often speaks at city meetings in favor of trees and in opposition to development. Also on the ballot will be candidates for districts 3 and 4, which form the western half of the city.

Perotte’s announcement is a bit early, as office-seekers file July 15 and runs through August 9. That’s when candidates they submit supporters’ signatures that are verified by the county elections office, said Goleta’s city clerk, Deborah Lopez. Once the signatures are vetted, candidate status becomes official.

The Race for Mayor

Perotte announced her run for a second four-year term as mayor on Monday, stating she intended to continue her advocacy for open space and agriculture, and to continue the city’s improvements to Old Town and rein in housing development. First elected to the council in 2010, Perotte was the sole slow-growth voice on a business-oriented council for many years. “When a new majority was formed in 2016, we agreed to downsize two projects that, despite my ‘no’ vote had been previously approved. The only new major project we have approved is Heritage Ridge, a development featuring 100 permanently affordable units for seniors,” Perotte wrote in her announcement.

An initiative she proposed recently was to renew Measure G2012, which put Bishop Ranch, among other ag parcels, off-limits to development for 20 years, absent state demands. “We need to preserve our agricultural lands,” Perotte said on Tuesday. “It gives such a sense of mental rest to be going on a two-lane road going by this incredibly beautiful ag property,” she said. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone. I’m afraid that with more new people moving here, they may not understand how much we value our agricultural lands.”

A candidate statement for mayor was also filed by Rich Foster, a retired general contractor who is a vocal presence at city meetings as well as the author of 13 novels. “Our roads are a disaster and getting worse,” he said, arguing that grants are “draining rather than helping our city’s resources.” Foster takes issue with the city’s stance that giving a grant back would tend to make them lose the next round.

“We need better choices on spending our revenue,” he said, giving the train station and San Jose Creek bike paths as questionable necessities. “On the other side of the 217, Ward Drive reaches the Obern bike path,” he commented, “Striping that as a bike path could replace the millions being spent on a tunnel under the 217 at San Jose Creek path.”

As for the train station that is already in motion, he argued that many cities have well-used train platforms that look exactly like Goleta’s current concrete and awning structure. “We do not need a $25 million train station,” he said.

Two Candidates for District 3

District 3, the city’s northwest corner, currently has two candidates: Jennifer Smith, a city planning commissioner, and Ethan Woodill, a resident since birth. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis School of Law, where she was named the Outstanding Woman Law Graduate of her class, Smith is a practicing attorney and leads the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County. She was appointed to the Goleta Planning Commission in 2017.

In a conversation on Tuesday, Woodill said he was born and raised in Goleta and attended area schools, including Dos Pueblos High School. He’s attended City Council meetings for several months, and feels that his district is neglected, best seen in the potholed condition of Cathedral Oaks Road west of Glen Annie, as well as storm drain issues in his neighborhood.

“I want to see my district represented,” Woodill said. “I don’t want to see the infrastructure fail. I’m for parking reform, and I believe housing needs to get some attention. I’m not against housing, but it needs to be on a level that fits with the neighborhood.” In that respect, he feels the Kenwood Village project at around 180 units doesn’t fit the size or scope of the neighborhood.

A jack of many trades, including plumbing, construction, and the restaurant industry, Woodill said he’d recently helped a neighbor paint over graffiti on her fence that he’d seen after coming home from umpiring a Little League game. He wondered if spending $24 million on a new train station or creating a San Jose Creek bike path was the best use of the city’s limited funds. “I support multimodal transportation,” he added. “I think Goleta needs to reassess its priorities.”

All Quiet in District 4

No candidates are listed for District 4 yet, which is where Councilmember Stuart Kasdin lives. Elected in 2016 and 2020, he is an at-large councilmember, as the first district elections took place in 2022. Kasdin teaches political science at Santa Barbara City College, having previously taught at George Washington University in D.C., where he was also in the White House Budget Office. Kasdin said he knew the filing period ran in August, adding that he hasn’t filed yet, “but that isn’t because I have chosen not to run.”