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County Budget Concerns Fuel Dan Secord’s Bid for Supervisor
Running on a platform of concern for Santa Barbara County’s budget and proposing measures to align county spending with income immediately, Dr. Dan Secord has officially announced his candidacy for Second District supervisor.
“This campaign is about finally electing a leader who has the experience and courage to help Santa Barbara County face financial reality. It is critical that we create and preserve jobs and deal with the tough money issues,” Secord said. “Instead, our county is spending itself into financial ruin. Each day, county expenses exceed revenue by $100,000.”
Secord has expressed concern for the county’s dire fiscal situation and excessive spending trends for several years now, raising red flags long before current leadership acknowledged the severity of the problem. He is particularly concerned with current proposals to dismiss public safety employees (100 employees from the Sheriff’s Department and 20 employees from the Fire Department) to close the budget gap, and is eager to propose strategic, common-sense solutions that instead focus on aligning spending with income.
Secord is no stranger to government and managing budgets. He served as finance chair for the Santa Barbara City Council and comes into the election with 21 years of experience in city, county and state government.
Secord’s experience includes eight years on the City Council, five years on the Santa Barbara Planning Commission and service on an array of other local, regional and state agencies including the California Coastal Commission, the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District Board, the Santa Barbara City/County Solid Waste Task Group and the County Civil Grand Jury.
“This budget situation is particularly upsetting because it was predicted years ago by a variety of people, myself included, and should have been dealt with then,” Secord said. “We need a leader who has the knowledge to truly understand county finances and who will bring all interested parties to the table to help turn this county around. Now, we have an opportunity to get it right. We cannot keep spending money we don’t have.”
Secord has already earned the support of many elected officials and community leaders, including Brooks Firestone, former Third District supervisor.
“Dan Secord is a budget expert and will use his more than two decades of experience to tighten spending and get the budget back on track,” Firestone said. “Unemployment is at a historic high, and we need the experience and leadership that Dan Secord can provide to bring security and prosperity back to the Central Coast.”
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