For much of the past 30 years, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal has been immersed in public service.
He spent eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and served during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Since 2004, he has represented Santa Barbara County, serving three four-year terms as a member of the Board of Supervisors.
In 2016, he was elected to Congress, representing Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. And he wants to stay there.
On Nov. 6, he will face off against challenger Justin Fareed for the 24th Congressional District seat. It’s a repeat of the election in 2016, and if it were a prize fight, the well-funded Carbajal would be the betting favorite.
“It’s been a privilege to represent the Central Coast in Congress,” Carbajal told Noozhawk. “I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve been afforded by this great country, and I’ve spent my entire professional life in service to our community and our nation — from serving in the Marine Corps Reserve, local Santa Barbara County government and now in Congress.”
There are 383,696 registered voters in the district. Of those, 149,169 are registered as Democrat, and 115,893 are registered as Republican. Another 98,401 are registered with no party preference, and 20,233 people are registered as other, according to Political Data Inc.
The vote turnout so far, through absentee ballots, is about even: 22,129 Republicans have voted, and 22,121 Democrats have cast ballots. Traditionally, conservatives vote early, and Democrats get out the vote on Election Day.
Carbajal is endorsed by the Democratic Party of Santa Barbara County, and Fareed is endorsed by the Santa Barbara County Republican Party.
Carbajal has raised about $2.5 million for his re-election campaign, a hefty amount that is a testament to his long-standing relationships and deep ties in the community and to the Democratic Party. Fareed has raised about $1.2 million, according to statements filed Sept. 30.
Carbajal exudes a homespun humble quality that can be linked back to his upbringing. He grew up in Arizona and Oxnard. His dad worked in the mines and farm fields, while his mother was a homemaker who took care of Carbajal and his seven siblings.
Perhaps more so than other politicians on the South Coast, Carbajal was nurtured closely into his role as county supervisor. He worked for years as the chief of staff to his mentor, the late Naomi Schwartz.
Political leaders saw him as a rising political star dating back to the late 1990s. Under the wing of Schwartz, he was a hard worker and loyal employee, but he also learned the importance of political nuance and compromise, traits that have helped him succeed.
Democratic Party leaders tapped him a decade ago to succeed outgoing Rep. Lois Capps in Congress, whenever she decided to retire.
He was pushed so hard by the Democratic Party that he trounced another once-popular Democrat, Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider, in the 2016 primary. In fact, Carbajal was such the annointed one that the fact that Schneider challenged him for the congressional seat was akin to political suicide for the former mayor.
Carbajal represented Montecito for 12 years as a county supervisor and cultivated a wide base of support, from well-heeled wealthy residents who saw him not just as a Democratic Party puppet but as a man who would listen to their concerns.
When people complained about the number of helicopters, vehicles, noise and road closures in Montecito after Kim Kardashian’s wedding to Kris Humphries, Carbajal called for a swift investigation into why special event policies were ignored.
When Montecito residents objected to a Caltrans proposal to close the left-sided, fast-lane off-ramps on Highway 101, Carbajal sprung into action to call for a delay in a decision so that his constituents could weigh in.
He also pushed heavily to fund a Safe Routes to School project on San Ysidro Road to help kids get to Laguna Blanca and Montecito Union schools, while keeping the rural look to the sidewalks.
“I’ve seen Salud take care of his constituents,” Santa Barbara Mayor Cathy Murillo said. “As county supervisor, his office worked with the city to organize an annual health fair for our low-income families.”
Carbajal has taken that constituent-service approach to Congress, Murillo said.
“As a member of Congress, when the federal government was targeting undocumented immigrants, he convened several meetings with individuals and organizations to offer information and help on the ground,” Murillo said. “Some people were terrified, and it meant a lot to have his support. In the disasters earlier this year, Salud was solid, bringing disaster relief and resources to his district and especially Montecito.”
After the Jan. 9 debris flows in Montecito, Carbajal worked with the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide disaster loans and individual federal disaster assistance loans to help residents recover.
If re-elected, Carbajal said, his top three priorities would be to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters and the drought, address rising health-care costs and create more affordable housing opportunities.
“Over the last five years, the cost of renting a home on the Central Coast has skyrocketed, forcing some of the most vulnerable members of our community to move away from the place they call home, or risk falling into poverty and homelessness,” Carbajal said.
Carbajal earlier this year supported a $4.7 billion bill that will result in 400 new Section 8 housing vouchers in Santa Barbara County, which could result in the opening of the county housing voucher wait list for the first time in nearly a decade.
“It’s not just our moral imperative to help our neighbors in need, it is also an economic one,” Carbajal said. “Nearly 50,000 Central Coast households spend more than half their income on rent. This is a crippling barrier to economic growth that hurts residents and business owners alike.”
Carbajal said he prides himself on his bipartisan approach. Even though he has wide political support from Democrats, he said the parties must work together to get things done on the national level, including on the issue of climate change.
“With climate change exacerbating current drought conditions on the Central Coast, we need to prepare for the next disaster,” Carbajal said. “I will continue to work across the aisle in Congress to ensure that we fully fund our firefighting agencies.”
True to his style of leadership, Carbajal has refrained from attacking or strongly criticizing Fareed in the campaign. Fareed has run a number of negative television commercials questioning Carbajal’s character, specifically pointing out that he took money from a political action committee chaired by 29th Congressional District Rep. Tony Cardenas, who is accused of sexual assault on a 17-year-old girl.
Carbajal accepted $20,000 from the PAC, and Fareed has asked that he return it.
“The allegation against Mr. Cardenas is incredibly concerning and demands a thorough investigation,” Carbajal said. “Victims of sexual assault are too often ignored or silenced, and I believe that this case and every accusation must be taken seriously. If it is determined by ongoing investigations that he is guilty of sexual assault, he should resign immediately.”
Carbajal said the political organization that donated to his campaign works to promote progressive values and minority representation in Congress.
“The group is not under the control of any one individual, and a collective board makes all decisions,” Carbajal said. “The chairmanship is a rotating position. At a time when the Latino community is being demeaned and demonized by the president, I believe it is more important than ever that we include Latino voices in office.”
Carbajal said the #MeToo movement is shining a long overdue light on the issue of sexual harassment in all workplaces, and Congress is no exception.
“Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing was a painful reminder for women and men in this country that victims of sexual assault are still not being listened to or believed,” Carbajal said.
Laura Capps, daughter of the retired congresswoman, supports Carbajal, and said he is the kind of leader Washington needs.
“Salud has proven to be the kind of steady and optimistic representative for us in Congress as he was for us in the county, a hard worker who knows the community well and shares our values,” Capps said. “In these painfully divisive times, I’m grateful he’s in the epicenter of D.C. — and hopeful he’ll soon be in the majority.”
Carbajal said he is looking forward to another term and getting away from the politics of a campaign.
“I’m focused on my campaign and serving as an effective representative for the Central Coast to meet the challenges facing our community,” Carbajal said. “I’m working to expand job opportunities, mitigate the impacts of climate change and fix our badly broken immigration system. “
Coming Tuesday: Justin Fareed Trying Again to Pull Off Political Upset in Congressional Race
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
