In the upcoming election, we of the City of Santa Barbara have the opportunity to choose a candidate of exceptional intellect, dedication, and moral fiber as our next mayor, Kristen Sneddon. Sneddon has no serious competition in these qualities, all of which are essential for good and effective leadership. Yet the Independent has chosen, instead, to endorse Eric Friedman. I have to wonder why; your endorsement essay really isn’t sufficiently explanatory.
Friedman may well be a nice guy, but he has a minimal record of achievement. Listen again to the debate your paper sponsored on September 30. I do not detect leadership qualities in his rote responses. Your endorsement basically acknowledges this. Friedman, you write, is a “moderate’s moderate.” Is this a good thing? Or is it another way of saying he lacks underlying principles and can be easily swayed? Then, you end your editorial wishing Friedman could “articulate a more passionate response to … challenges … as Sneddon can.” Well, yes, that would be helpful. I call this praise with faint damnation.
Sneddon, on the other hand, soft-spoken but firm and sometimes feisty, is clear in her commitment to her vision of a 21st-century city with a thriving center, a clean and healthy environment, affordable housing for families, the elderly, the middle class, and preservation of Santa Barbara’s aesthetic and cultural qualities. You acknowledge that she has “done much for the city.” Well, yes, she has. In fact, her achievements as a councilmember have been legion. A very partial list includes:
- Leading the establishment of and funding for the Local Housing Trust Fund, which her opponent, although vocalizing concern for affordable housing, voted against funding;
- Leading the creation of the Coast Village Business Improvement District, which became the model for the creation of the State Street Business Improvement District;
- Refusing to accept a “take it or leave it” development proposal for Paseo Nuevo, leading to a superior revitalization agreement with Yardi Systems;
- Along with Mayor Rowse, leading the way for Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s successful Film Center project in the heart of downtown;
- Leading the protection of our homes in High and Extreme High Fire areas through restricting short-term rentals, obtaining vegetation-clearing funding, and serving on the county’s Fire Safe Council;
- Working hand-in-hand with humanitarian organizations in the quest for social justice and the protection of local immigrants;
- Fighting for greater transparency in the city’s budgets, which are often internally contradictory, and which Friedman, as chair of the Budget Committee, cannot explain without becoming defensive.
What appears to be your primary beef with Sneddon involves the rent stabilization ordinance that council recently passed by a one-vote margin. Sneddon voted for it; Friedman voted against it. It is a matter of public record that much of Friedman’s support comes from the real estate community, the same group that rejects any form of rent stabilization. Sneddon, on the other hand, is beholden only to the principle of equity. Ask her. She understands there are problems with the ordinance as it stands, but your editorial ignores the complex reasons for the measure coming up to vote, and why any councilmember would have favored its passage if it is flawed.
Among the facts that your editorial fails to make known are the looming deadline for passage of such an ordinance, the mutability of an ordinance versus a ballot measure, and the need to prevent the impending homelessness of our more vulnerable populations. Sneddon, unlike Friedman, is uncomfortable leaving tenants in a void. She fully expects the new council to have to make modifications in the ordinance as needed.
In your analysis, Sneddon should have shown better leadership in mentoring the newer members of the council about the measure. Was not Friedman also an experienced councilmember? Why would the job of mentoring not fall equally to him? If he disliked the proposed ordinance, why did he not lead the effort to pass a better one when he knew about the deadline?
Sneddon, contrary to your editorial, is not only a big picture candidate, she is a detail-oriented policy maker. Accomplishing big picture goals requires attention to the fine print. Sneddon reads every word of every document of every matter that comes up, or that she brings up. It’s why it took no more than a few minutes for the Democratic Party of Santa Barbara to endorse her over Friedman. She knew the platform. She knows the vision. She is the superior candidate.
