Northern Santa Barbara County has a reputation for being conservative in its policies and political leadership.

But now meet David Silva.

The vice-mayor of Buellton, Silva is looking to unseat mayor Dave King in the Nov. 5 election.

For Silva, public service is less about partisan politics and more about doing what’s right for a majority of residents.

“I do not view this as pitting against two people,” Silva said, in the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina. ” I view politics as less of a basketball game and more of a marathon. I am really just trying to run the best time that I can. If that gets me there first, that’s great.”

Silva said he’s not running against someone, he’s running against himself.

“I may win. If I lose, I still want to be able to work with the person,” Silva said. “I want the community to feel like we have a unified front at the end of this election.”

He said his opponent deserves respect.

“My opponent is a person just trying to do the best job they can, living life for the first time they have ever gotten to live life and there should be grace attached to that,” Silva said.

Silva breaks down his candidacy in the podcast and talks about his plans for Buellton if elected. He also shares how his husband Jason’s battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma helped inspire him to get involved in the community, organize and seek ways to volunteer.

He applied for the city’s planning commission, but said that one of the members of the council at the time told him he was too new to Buellton and that his “lifestyle” could be a problem.

“I always call that my ‘Pretty Woman’ moment, like ‘big mistake, huge,’ so I decided to run for City Council,” Silva said.

His district included about 1,500 people; he knocked on every door twice.

He also knocked off the incumbent opponent to win the election. Two years later, he’s seeking the mayor’s seat.

“I got elected and as soon as that happened there was this real moment of recognizing that there’s so many people in this town who always felt disconnected from the community at large,” Silva said. “Buellton has kind of been pegged as this bedroom community.”

He said many people commute to Goleta and Santa Barbara to work and only return home to eat dinner, enjoy family time, and sleep.

“There hasn’t been a strong sense of belonging in the area,” Silva said.

It has been a goal for him to make Buellton feel like a small neighborhood community and not just a place to commute from. He wanted to invite new people to Buellton.

“Let’s open the doors, open the windows and bring new people in,” he said.

Josh Molina is a journalist who creates dynamic conversation and provides media content on the issues of the day, including housing, transportation, education, business and culture. He is also a college journalism instructor. Visit SantaBarbaraTalks to make a contribution and please subscribe on YouTube.