Candidates Meet Up with Women Business Owners

Justin Fareed and Salud Carbajal, in a heated race for the 24th Congressional District, participated in a National Association of Women Business Owners forum at Santa Barbara City College on October 13, 2016. The topic was change, and how to bring to the community.

Salud Carbajal, currently a Santa Barbara County supervisor, opened by saying he supports women’s economic ventures and getting these enterprises off the ground. He expressed pride in having worked on these issues. He expressed the surprising fact that “97 percent of business support programs go to male-owned businesses.” Carbajal discussed how the Community Development Block Grant helps businesses, and how the Affordable Care Act brought extraordinary opportunities for businesses. But he thought Congress needed to bring reform to insurance companies and that more competitive health care would reduce costs.

Justin Fareed, a VP in his parents’ medical-device business, talked about his respect for women business owners and how he’s looked up to his mother as a businesswoman his whole life. His mother and father created a business that was originally in the family’s garage. He thought the health-care system needed to be replaced as a whole. He also said, “Congress needs to move away from legislating, and get back to representative democracy.” Fareed stated that he’s passionate about all business owners, and that as a congressmember, he’d make sure business owners would have access to capital.

State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson was also present and talked about bringing the north-south focus of the county together. In order to create change for the community, she said, “We need to connect the dots in this district” from Santa Barbara to Santa Maria.