With Santa Barbara city elections 11 months away, there appears to be a four-way race for mayor brewing. Incumbent mayor Randy Rowse is running for reelection, though some of his stauncher supporters fear he’s not running hard enough. Accordingly, they paid for a private poll in hopes the results would light a fire under Rowse’s mayoral tuchus; the results, it turns out, were more mixed than expected, showing Rowse to be stronger than feared but also more challenged than hoped.
Facing off against Rowse — a business-minded moderate with no party affiliation — is Councilmember Kristen Sneddon, a staunch supporter of rent control, who has one foot in the progressive camp and another in the more old-school historic preservation universe.
Also joining the fray is councilmember Eric Friedman — a wonky moderate among the Democratic party faithful — who has been existentially enlivened by his near-death heart attack last summer.
Former S.B. Unified school boardmember Wendy Sims-Moten — with strong progressive credentials — has indicated a strong interest in running as well.
With the election not until November, the second story of City Hall could get both awkward and frisky in the intervening months, as councilmembers struggle to come to terms with such high-octane issues as rent stabilization, the housing development proposed for Paseo Nuevo, and the future of State Street and whether cars should be allowed back.
