Third District Supervisor Race Begins

In county politics, there is one rule: You must be able to count to three. And at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, you can’t get anywhere close to three ​— ​votes that is ​— ​without the 3rd supervisorial district on your side.

The 3rd District seat ​— ​representing the Santa Ynez Valley, Guadalupe, the Gaviota Coast, and Isla Vista ​— ​is up for grabs this year because the environment-minded Supervisor Doreen Farr is retiring after eight years in office. Historically, district voters have been divided along geographical lines, with the South Coast tending to be liberal and the rural north more conservative.

For the last 25 years, the 3rd District has been the board’s political teeter-totter ​— ​determining, in vote after vote, which direction the county goes on the hot-button issues, including oil projects, Gaviota Coast development, winery regulations, the Chumash casino, the coastal garbage dump, and the character of the Santa Ynez Valley. Occasionally less polarizing, but equally important, have been board decisions regarding the North County jail, funding for the mentally ill, civil servant pensions, road maintenance, sheriff and fire departments, the homeless, and climate change.