Goleta Welcomes New Councilmembers Richards and Kasdin

Goleta city councilmembers Tony Vallejo and Jim Farr received kind regards from community members before stepping down from their posts on Tuesday. Longtime Goleta advocate Farr, who suffered a stroke last year, is retiring. Vallejo, an accountant active with the Goleta Chamber of Commerce, lost his bid for reelection. Taking their places will be Kyle Richards, a policy analyst at UCSB, and Stuart Kasdin, a public management consultant. Both campaigned vigorously against growth, and their success can be seen as a rejection of the previous council’s approval of new projects via changes to Goleta’s General Plan. Meanwhile, the effort to elect a mayor for Goleta for four years — instead of a vote among the council — won two to one.