Support for Re-election of Mayor Paula Perotte
Long before cityhood and ever since, the history of Goleta has always involved the forces of change in our community. There has always been a race between the fruits of progress and the erosion of values and heritage unique to Goleta.
With the leadership support and vote by Mayor Paula Perotte, Goleta’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) was formed in 2022, specifically to “…preserve and protect resources that, once lost, cannot be replaced or replicated.” As a local historian with over 30 years of experience in architectural and historical work, like many Goletans, I have volunteered in various ways to celebrate and share Goleta’s history, such as conducting historical walking tours of Old Town Goleta, and lately a proud member HPC, serving as its first-year chair and now vice-chair.
Mayor Paula Perotte made sure that when the city commemorated its 20th anniversary, our Preservation Ordinance protects both historic buildings and Cultural and Tribal Resources. We take special pride that elders and members of the Goleta-Santa Barbara Barbareno Chumash authored the context statement for the archaeological, cultural, and tribal resources. Goleta may be the only city in the SB County who has a Barbareno Chumash serving its Preservation Commission.
Our City Council did not limit our commission’s responsibility. They knew that we needed a much broader charter, including identifying and protecting Goleta from future development that threatens cultural, tribal, and historical resources, including less prominent sites and artifacts. We are committed to balancing proposals with protection.
I am humbly asking voters to support the Re-Election of Mayor Paula Perotte. Her leadership in establishing Goleta’s Preservation Commission and its broad charter is just one example of her commitment to protecting our priceless history and heritage.
As we know, preservation of resources is often under threat from competing forces in the community, from natural disasters, climate change, state mandates, housing crisis, and we need leaders, like Mayor Paula Perotte, who understand that history matters when it comes to effectively balancing and finding solutions to these ongoing challenges facing Goleta.