Things are about to get interesting.

UC Santa Barbara union organizer Wendy Santamaria is looking to unseat Alejandra Gutierrez in District 1 on the Santa Barbara City Council.

In the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina, Santamaria charges that Gutierrez’s service on the council has been “disappointing” and that she betrayed her community on the issue of rent stabilization.

“The community is not foolish,” Santamaria said. “They caught on really quickly.”

Santamaria referenced a January City Council meeting where Gutierrez voted against a maximum 10% rent increase that landlords could charge after an eviction. Santamaria said she has felt misled by Gutierrez.

“The conversation involved her never saying she is against rent stabilization and tenant protections, but her vote said otherwise,” Santamaria said.

In this podcast, Santamaria also offers her views on affordable housing, whether the city should allow new hotels, rent control, and the effectiveness of the overall Santa Barbara City Council.

Santamaria is a former community organizer for the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy. She now works labor organizer at AFSCME 3299, at UCSB.

She is originally from the Inland Empire and lives on Santa Barbara Eastside.

Santa Barbara Talks has previously interviewed Jett Black-Maertz, who is also running for City Council in District 1. Councilwoman Alejandra Gutierrez will appear on an upcoming episode.

The City Council election is November.

Joshua Molina is journalist who currently writes for Noozhawk and teaches journalism at Santa Barbara City College. He formerly covered politics and land use for the San Jose Mercury News. Santa Barbara Talks is an independently owned podcast where Molina looks to bring together voices from all perspectives to discuss and provide solutions to the challenges related to housing, education, transportation and other community issues. Subscribe to his podcast here and consider a contribution here.