In what will go down as one of the most foundational power shifts in American political history — with Democrats winning back sizable majorities in both the House and the Senate — voters throughout the nation went to the polls in droves to repudiate the administration of Donald J. Trump and the escalating gas prices triggered by his war on Iran that have lifted oil company profits by a record $130 billion during its first six months.
In Santa Barbara County — like much of the country — the Democratic tide appeared to lift pretty much all candidates with the letter “D” next to their name. With still many more votes left to count, the three Santa Barbara City Council candidates backed by the Democratic Party — Devon Wardlow (ahead with 51 percent), Ian Baucke (62 percent), and Gabe Escobedo (69 percent) — all seem to have amassed strong leads that will prove statistically challenging for the split fields of their multiple challengers to make up. Combined, the three candidates represent a strong generational shift that will tilt the council in a younger and more politically progressive direction.
Less clear-cut is the likely outcome of the hard-fought race for mayor pitting two-term councilmembers Kristen Sneddon and Eric Friedman against each other. Both are Democrats. Although Sneddon won the endorsement of the party, Friedman—backed strongly by his former boss Congressmember Salud Carbajal — raised more campaign money thanks to sizable donations from downtown business and real estate investors, landlords, and one national real estate PAC.
With 35 percent of the votes counted, Friedman was ahead by about 500 votes — 2.5 percentage points. Given the tightness of this margin and the number of votes still to be counted, the final outcome of the race might not be certain until at least Wednesday.
Also running for mayor was former school board member Wendy Sims-Moten, who garnered 5.51 percent of the vote (1,031 votes) and Matt Kilrain, who picked up 443 or 2.37 percent.
Whoever is elected will replace Mayor Randy Rowse, who won the job four years ago against a field of five candidates with 10,000 votes. Rowse, a no-nonsense fiscal conservative with a badly strained sense of humor, frequently found himself the odd man out when it came to plans for the future of State Street, rent stabilization legislation, and how much the council should dip into the city’s strained reserves. Friedman and Sneddon differed over rent stabilization — Sneddon is for it, Friedman against — and the State Street Master Plan — Sneddon favors an eight-block long promenade of State Street while Friedman argues half that is more likely to thrive. Remaining a matter of intense speculation is how well either one would mesh with the soon-to-be new councilmembers—coupled with the three remaining councilmembers — to engender a more collaborative and cohesive working unit.
While the race for the 5th county supervisorial district — centered in the City of Santa Maria — might seem far afield from South Coast political sensibilities, it’s outcome is probably the most consequential of local races. The election pit Ricardo Valencia, a loud and proud political progressive, high school teacher, and Santa Maria school boardmember, against Maribel Aguilera, a declined-to-state middle of the roader strongly backed by Sable Offshore oil company, which donated more than $100,000 to a political action committee dedicated to keeping Valencia out of office. With only 18 percent of the votes counted as of press time, Valencia enjoyed a razor-thin lead over Aguilera, 50.65 percent to 48.85 percent, fewer than 100 votes. While Aguilera enjoyed a considerable fundraising advantage over Valencia, Valencia was endorsed by the Democratic Party. While a majority of Santa Maria voters are registered Republicans, Santa Maria is typically marked by an exceptionally low voter turnout. Again, given the tightness of the race, the positions could shift.
Other Democratic Party stalwarts, Congressmember Salud Carbajal and State Assemblymember Gregg Hart both easily won reelection by early margins exceeding 67 percent. Likewise—and predictably—Santa Barbara voters overwhelmingly supported Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Beccera over the Trump endorsed Republican, Steve Hilton.
For the latest results in these races and others, see our live election results page.
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