The annual Santa Barbara County Democratic Party Labor Day Picnic took on a heightened importance this year amid a rare push from conservatives to win key spots in several local races.
The Democratic Party endorsed 36 candidates for countywide races, the most it has done in its history.
“There’s a wide array of Trumpian Republicans and Fair Education conservatives running, and for every education seat, there are folks who don’t want sex education taught, or voted against a resolution in support of racial justice, or believe every school should be opened because the pandemic is not of real consequence,” said Gail Teton-Landis, chair of the county party.
“We have a lot of races we must win, and we need to be unified.”
However, already out of the gate there is intrigue.
The county Democratic Party has endorsed the three incumbents on the Santa Barbara School Unified School District board — Laura Capps, Wendy Sims-Moten, and Jacqueline Reid — but a fourth Democrat, Virginia Alvarez, has emerged as a formidable candidate, chipping away at Reid.
So far, Alvarez has snagged three big endorsements from Reid — the Santa Barbara County Democratic Women, and the Montecito and Santa Barbara teachers unions. Alvarez did not interview for the endorsement with the Democratic Party.
The rift among the Democrats could pave the way for a conservative running for the school board.
Party officials on Monday cited Fair Education Santa Barbara, a group that has opposed the school district’s contract with Just Communities Central Coast, which provides cultural proficiency and implicit bias training to teachers, students, staff and parents. Fair Education Santa Barbara is a 501(c3) nonprofit organization that does not endorse candidates.
Brian Campbell, a conservative Republican who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the City Council a year ago, is now seeking a seat on the school board, and some political insiders believe that four popular Democrats vying for three seats could open a door to Campbell.
Capps, Reid and Sims-Moten all spoke at Monday’s virtual event.
“During this pandemic, the health and safety of our students is our first priority,” Reid said. “Teaching and learning, whether remote, hybrid or face-to-face, must be rigorous and focused on improving students’ academic literacy skills across the district, in a fiscally responsible way.”
Teton-Landis at the outset of the meeting recognized Tony Skinner, president of the Tri-Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, who died unexpectedly at the age of 66 in late August. She also credited the labor movement for its role in shaping the American workforce, citing the five-day workweek, and paid medical and family leave.
In addition to the Republican challenges for school board seats in Santa Barbara and Goleta, conservatives are also trying to win seats on the Santa Barbara County Office of Education board, races that are typically uncontested.
Joe Howell has served on the board of education for 21 years, and this is the first time in more than two decades that he has faced an opponent.
“It’s going to be a long ballot,” Howell said. “People have said be sure to tell your friends to read the entire ballot. Many of us running for school board are going to be in the lower part of the ballot, so I tell them vote Joe at the top, vote Joe on the bottom.”
David Atkins, vice chair of the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, introduced the education candidates, saying that they are “putting up a fight against the right-wing onslaught trying to take over our school boards.”
Steve Bennett, a Ventura County supervisor who is vying for the 37th District Assembly seat, said he is concerned about threats to our democracy, such as “the narrowing window for us to effectively deal with climate change, the need for meaningful reform in the culture of law enforcement agencies, the negative impact of growing income inequality.”
“People trapped at the bottom need affordable housing,” Bennett said. “They need quality medical care, they need good educational opportunities for themselves and their children.”
The main speaker of the day was Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, who swung hard at President Trump and his opponent in Congress, Republican Andy Caldwell, president of the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business.
“We have an administration that we need to change this November,” Carbajal said. “We have an administration that has called the COVID pandemic a hoax. This administration provided no leadership, no matter what the issue is.
“Whether it is addressing climate change, whether it is improving health care, making it more affordable and accessible, whether it’s civil rights, whether it’s immigration reform. No matter what the issue is, we have an administration that stands against everything Democrats stand for.
Carbajal called the president “an outright dictator and a racist.”
He also tied Caldwell to Trump.
“He is basically a mini-me Trump,” Carbajal said. “He was Trump before Trump when it comes to his views on minorities, the LGBTQ community, women, women’s reproductive rights. His values are so out of line with our district and Santa Barbara County.”
Several labor organizations also spoke at the event, which is usually held at Oak Park in Santa Barbara.
“We must retain Congress, take the Senate and (remove) the current occupant of the White House, and begin the journey back to a greater, stronger Democracy,” Teton-Landis said.
— 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.
