Santa Barbara is getting ready for what’s expected to be a competitive City Council election.

The mayor’s seat and the District 4, District 5 and District 6 council seats are all up for grabs.

With two sitting council members running for mayor, and Councilwoman Meagan Harmon reaching the end of her term, the Nov. 3 election will lead to a major shakeup at City Hall.

The candidate filing period officially starts on Monday, but many candidates have already declared their intent to run and started campaign fundraising.

Four Early Candidates Running for Mayor

Two sitting council members, Kristen Sneddon and Eric Friedman, are already facing off for the mayor’s seat.  

Mayor Randy Rowse originally planned to seek re-election but stepped out of the race in April.

He has endorsed Friedman and the two typically vote together on numerous issues, including plans for State Street and the rent stabilization ordinance.

Friedman has been on the council since 2017 and was re-elected for a five-year term in 2021 for District 5, which includes upper State Street around La Cumbre Plaza and the San Roque and Hidden Valley areas.

He grew up in Santa Barbara County, attending Monte Vista Elementary School and graduating from Lompoc High School. He then graduated from the University of Notre Dame and earned a Masters in Public Administration from Cal State Northridge.

He also serves as the chair of the council’s Finance Committee and works at Trader Joe’s in Santa Barbara.

Sneddon also has been on the council since 2017 and was re-elected in 2021 for District 4, which includes the Riviera, Mission Canyon, San Roque, Eucalyptus Hill, Coast Village Road and parts of downtown State Street.

She graduated from Santa Barbara High School and attended Santa Barbara City College before transferring to UC Los Angeles. She now teaches at SBCC as an environmental geology professor.

Santa Barbara has term limits, meaning council members can serve for only two terms, with another two terms available as mayor.

However, the council colleagues won’t just be facing off with each other for mayor.

Wendy Sims-Moten also has filed to run for the seat. She is the executive director of First 5 Santa Barbara County and served for eight years on the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Trustees. 

She oversaw the school district during the COVID-19 pandemic, a potential teachers strike, along with efforts to improve test scores for underperforming students and improve equity. 

Nicholas Sebastian, a former Santa Barbara Unified School District employee, is also running for mayor, according to preliminary candidate filings.

Having called Santa Barbara home for 50 years, Sebastian has served as a docent at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, the Old Mission Santa Barbara and Casa del Herrero, worked as executive director of Seaside Wellness Gardens and for 30 years as a technology administrator for the school district.

Three Candidates for District 5

With Friedman hitting term limits and running for mayor, three candidates have indicated plans to run for the District 5 seat.  

Born and raised Santa Barbara resident Ian Baucke has already earned an endorsement from the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party. He serves as chair of the Santa Barbara Transportation & Circulation Committee and is a district representative for State Senate pro Tempore Monique Limón, according to his campaign website.

James Zurlinden is a Santa Barbara resident of 13 years studying to become a certified financial planner while working in advertising and marketing. He grew up in Arizona and spent 15 years working as a chef, according to his campaign website.

Margaret Cevin Cathell also indicated an intent to run for the seat, according to city candidate filings, but has yet to publicly announce a campaign.

Four Candidates for District 4

There are some familiar names running for the District 4 seat, which is currently represented by Sneddon, including a former council member and current planning commissioner.

Voters may recognize Jason Dominguez, who served on the council representing District 1 from 2016 to 2019. He lost his bid for re-election against Alejandra Gutierrez and has since relocated to District 4.  

He has taught law at Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law, worked as a criminal prosecutor and Legal Aid attorney, and a legal officer for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal. He also serves as tribal judge of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, according to his campaign website.

Planning Commissioner Devon Wardlow is also vying for the District 4 seat after serving on the commission since 2022. She’s lived in Santa Barbara since she was 13 years old and is a graduate of Santa Barbara High School and UC Santa Barbara. 

Wardlow previously interned in the administration for then-President Barack Obama and has worked at Facebook, Lyft and the U.S. Department of Labor, according to her campaign website.

Genevieve Taft-Vazquez, a member of the city’s Neighborhood Advisory Council, is also seeking the seat. She is the global director of workplace accountability at the Coca-Cola Co.

She’s a Santa Barbara native who moved back to the city six years ago after spending several years on the East Coast, according to her campaign website.

Endorsed by Rowse, retired tech executive Monte Wilson is looking to make his mark on the council after working at Adobe and Oracle. 

He has co-chaired Rally4Kids, the largest fundraiser of the year for the United Boys & Girls Clubs, and co-founded Santa Barbara Cars & Coffee with his wife, Maria, who owns The Painted Cabernet at 1229 State St., according to his campaign website.

One Candidate for District 6

Harmon’s second District 6 term ends in December, making her ineligible to run again. That means that seat representing the District 6 — which includes the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital neighborhood, the Laguna area and the mid-downtown corridor — is also up for grabs. 

She already has endorsed the only person running for the seat so far — Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Trustees member Gabe Escobedo. 

Escobedo has served on the school board since 2022 and previously served on the Santa Barbara Planning Commission. He also works at UCSB as an intramural coordinator, overseeing an 18,000-participant program, according to his campaign website.

There is still time for more candidates to throw their hat in the ring for a City Council seat on the November ballot.

Candidates have until Aug. 7 to file a declaration of candidacy with the Santa Barbara City Clerk’s Office.

Editor’s note: This story was revised to reflect that Rowse has endorsed Friedman and Wilson. The story previously stated that he had yet to endorse a mayoral candidate.