A Childcare Partner

As a member of the Goleta City Council, I cannot vote in Santa Barbara’s upcoming election. However, I want to share my experience, because regional cooperation is critical to addressing major issues that cross city boundaries.

I have focused for decades on the need to address the lack of affordable, high quality childcare in our community. When I looked for a partner on the Santa Barbara City Council to create a regional strategy for more affordable childcare spaces, Councilmember Meagan Harmon emerged as the clear choice.

Meagan is a working mom and a renter who understands these issues in both real world and policy terms. With the average cost of licensed care now exceeding $1,600 per child per month, she understands working families face a double whammy of unaffordable housing and childcare.

Meagan jumped right in and helped secure funding through the city’s budget process for our Child Care Opportunities Assessment and Planning Project. We are working to identify models that have real potential to create new and affordable quality childcare. Everything from zoning changes to make it easier to establish childcare facilities, to employer subsidies for childcare, to better tracking of funding sources is being considered.

Meagan brings energy, intelligence and creativity to push for solutions for working families who are trying to hold it all together in challenging times.

I believe Santa Barbara residents would be well served by having Meagan Harmon continue her service on the City Council.