I am writing to express my strong support for Devon Wardlow as the next member of the Santa Barbara City Council representing the Fourth District.
With 10 years on the Planning Commission and almost seven on the City Council, I’ve developed a clear sense of what it takes to be an effective leader for our community: doing the work, engaging people, and moving the needle. Devon checks all those boxes.
We speak often of bridging the divide, of moving beyond the “us versus them” dynamic. I believe Devon is the kind of leader who can help us do that — someone who listens, works across differences, and is focused on finding solutions.
It isn’t just her 15 years of professional experience managing complex projects and initiatives between the private sector and local governments, or her five years on our Planning Commission shepherding a wide variety of projects, prioritizing our downtown redevelopment, holding developers to high standards, and addressing the city’s dire housing shortage for those who work and live here.
Devon is a problem solver with a pragmatic, get-it-done approach. She’s skilled at building relationships across the aisle and committed to working with all community members. That has been her professional specialty, and it is sorely needed right now.
Devon and I don’t agree on every issue. But I’m impressed by her intelligence, her deep knowledge of local issues, her commitment to the city she loves, and her willingness to work with everyone to find the best solutions for Santa Barbara.
