Eric Friedman might seem an unlikely candidate for me to endorse for mayor of Santa Barbara.

My politics sit considerably to his left.

Anyone familiar with my writing about homelessness, inequality and social justice knows I rarely suffer from an excess of political moderation.

Yet I enthusiastically support Friedman. I admire his practical attitude, independence and seriousness about housing and public finances. I believe he has the preparation and temperament to serve our city well.

An endorsement requires judgment about someone’s ability to govern a community with competing needs and limited resources.

I want a mayor who listens, does the homework and moves worthwhile proposals toward completion.

I do not need an ideological twin. One of me is probably enough for any municipal government.

Friedman attended Monte Vista Elementary School before his parents moved the family to Lompoc in the 1980s because of housing costs.

He knows firsthand what it means to leave this community because staying has become unaffordable. Families still confront that painful calculation.

Having experienced homelessness myself, I understand how housing insecurity can overturn a life.

Through outreach, case management and advocacy, I have worked with people separated from neighborhoods, jobs and support networks by costs they could no longer meet.

A family’s relocation differs from losing shelter altogether. Both reveal the limits of belonging where the price of admission keeps rising.

Friedman spent 14 years working for county Supervisors Naomi Schwartz and Salud Carbajal and earned a master’s degree in public administration.

Alongside his council service, he works at Trader Joe’s. I appreciate that combination of government experience and ordinary working life. Grocery aisles offer opportunities to hear from residents who never attend hearings or appear on campaign donor lists.

His survival of a heart attack while paddling offshore last year also moves me. Others helped save his life, and he now describes each day as a “bonus day.”

What resonates is his gratitude, and the reminder that survival can depend on people who recognize a crisis and act together.

Cooperation matters at City Hall. A mayor must work with colleagues, staff and residents whose priorities differ.

Housing must be financed and occupied. Services must remain available after political attention moves elsewhere.

Friedman’s pragmatic approach appeals to me because I want government capable of carrying its commitments into everyday life.

Housing is central to my endorsement. Friedman emphasizes expanding supply, facilitating downtown housing and increasing deed-restricted affordable homes.

In an interview with Santa Barbara City College’s student newspaper, The Channels, he recognized that downtown housing can not all be market rate. Lasting affordability and public investment are essential to reaching people excluded from the private market.

Our disagreement also deserves clarity: I strongly support rent stabilization. Friedman opposed the city’s ordinance, but his position includes a willingness to negotiate.

In correspondence about this essay, he explained that at the April 7 council meeting, he and City Councilman Mike Jordan expressed willingness to work toward an ordinance that brought the sides together, provided the majority reconsidered the provision tying allowable rent increases to 60% of the Consumer Price Index.

He believes an agreement could have been reached.

That willingness matters. Tenants need protection against increases that can uproot their lives. Future construction offers little comfort when next month’s payment is already unaffordable.

His proposed alternatives include landlord incentives, legal assistance and mediation. Those measures may help, but I do not regard them as substitutes for rent stabilization.

I will continue advocating for it and challenging him on this issue.

Friedman supports putting rent control before voters through an advisory ballot measure, although he did not originate that proposal.

I would also expect sustained engagement with tenants and advocates whose experiences challenge his conclusions.

An endorsement carries room for serious disagreement, especially when people’s homes are at stake.

His fiscal conservatism appeals to me. Some progressive friends may raise an eyebrow; mine remain available for raising, too.

Libraries need staff, housing commitments need funding and emergency services need dependable resources. People relying on public programs bear the consequences when promises outrun government’s capacity to deliver.

Former City Councilman Harwood “Bendy” White recently recalled how city reserves preserved essential services during the Great Recession and praised Friedman’s resistance to using them for nonemergency purposes.

Residents with the fewest private resources have particular reason to want strong public institutions.

Fiscal responsibility also requires counting the costs of underinvestment.

Deferred maintenance becomes expensive. Housing instability damages health and disrupts employment.

I want Friedman’s caution joined to a willingness to invest before suffering becomes an emergency.

His support crosses political divisions. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, endorsed Friedman despite the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party’s endorsement of Kristen Sneddon.

Carbajal knows his work firsthand. Independence must also extend to Friedman’s own supporters: residents without money, property or connections deserve an equally attentive hearing.

I will keep pushing from the left for tenant security, affordable housing and people living at the margins.

I see Friedman as a constructive partner. His experience, steadiness and practical judgment earn my enthusiastic endorsement.

I urge Santa Barbara voters to elect Eric Friedman mayor.