The Home Builders Association of the Central Coast on Monday announced its endorsements in the June 3 Santa Barbara County supervisorial election, backing incumbent Joni Gray in the 4th District and former Planning Commissioner David Smyser to succeed Supervisor Brooks Firestone in the 3rd.
The association, which represents 250 businesses with 34,500 employees working on the Central Coast, has worked with both Gray and Smyser throughout their public careers.
“We have seen their consistent ability to reconcile diverse opinions in order to find and support the greatest common good,” said Urban McLellan, chairman of the association’s Political Action Committee and its Santa Barbara County Government Affairs Committee.
Maury Froman, the association’s 2008 president, emphasized a similar point.
“They have proven records of being fair-minded and being willing to listen to all sides, simultaneously protecting both property rights and meeting community needs," Froman said. "They recognize that home builders provide shelter to our citizens, generate revenue to government, and contribute to a healthy economy.”
The association interviewed a majority of the 3rd District candidates and tried to talk with all five before voting to support Smyser, who has also served on the Solvang City Council and as Firestone’s chief of staff. The endorsement of Gray was based on the accumulated experience the association’s members have had working with her to meet the community’s housing and infrastructure needs.
Click here for more information or call 805.546.0418 x22.
Jerry Bunin is governmental affairs director of the Home Builders Association of the Central Coast.
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