Downtown developer and city planning commissioner Barrett Reed formally announced that he is running for a seat on the Santa Barbara City Council this November and will be challenging incumbent Kristen Sneddon, who currently represents District 4, which encompasses much of the Riviera and Mission Canyon.
Rather than hold a traditional press conference, Reed released a campaign video showing the telegenic 36-year-old and lifelong city resident posed with his wife and child in front of iconic Santa Barbara landmarks. A former Republican and now a decline to state, Reed lamented, “Santa Barbara is not what it once was nor is it what it should be.” To that end, he pledged to infuse the council with new leadership and vision and help “the truly homeless” while cracking down on what he termed “the lawless element.”
Reed — who described himself as a small-business person — developed the Waterline property in the Funk Zone, a shared-space property on the 400 block of State called Kim’s Service Dept. (home to Cubaneo), and Los Arcos, a new mixed-use property across from the former Paradise restaurant.
Reed is the first challenger to emerge in any of the three council seats up for grabs this November.
His opponent, Sneddon, is completing her first term in office and has been endorsed by the Democratic Party. On housing densities and intensities, Sneddon has provided a steady voice of caution, arguing in favor of tougher affordability requirements.
To date, no opponents have yet emerged to challenge the two other incumbents facing re-election—District 6’s Meagan Harmon and District 5’s Eric Friedman.
The mayor’s race has drawn the most intense action so far, with incumbent Cathy Murillo facing a field of three challengers: City Planning Commissioner Deborah Schwartz, former councilmember Randy Rowse, and James Joyce III of Coffee with a Black Guy fame and former administrative assistant to former state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson.
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