A few barbs were exchanged between Roger Aceves and Janet Wolf on Wednesday in a forum sponsored by local Chambers of Commerce for the Santa Barbara County Second District supervisor race.
Wolf, the two-term incumbent, is being challenged by Aceves, a two-term Goleta city councilman, for the Board of Supervisors seat in the June 3 election. Both candidates have been vigorously fundraising.
On Wednesday morning, they talked about some of the election season’s hot topics in a forum hosted by the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of the Santa Barbara Region.
Both candidates received the questions ahead of time and had no rebuttals, so there weren’t any surprises.
One of the testiest issues is the county-city revenue neutrality agreement, which was signed when Goleta incorporated in 2002. The city has to pay half of its property taxes and a portion of sales taxes to the county indefinitely, and current leaders want it to end.
Wolf pointed out that the county forgave a $1.5 million loan to the city, which was part of the RNA, and negotiations were done in good faith but had no agreement. Using the RNA as a “political threat” to influence this race isn’t indicative of that good faith, she said.
Aceves said the fight against the RNA “isn’t political rhetoric — it’s a fact of life.”
The laws allow for the county to be made whole after a city incorporates, but the city has paid more than $80 million in 12 years, which he says is far too much. Aceves said that doesn’t include the normal portion of revenues the county takes from every city or the money the city pays for its Sheriff’s Department contract and fire coverage through a benefit district.
Eliminating the RNA is one of the Goleta City Council’s top priorities, he said: “It has to go.”
Neither candidate signed the voluntary campaign finance limits, and an audience member asked whether they supported mandatory limits.
Wolf spoke first and acknowledged the tens of thousands of dollars she’s received from local labor unions in this and previous elections. She’s honored to receive money from the thousands of local employees who work in this county and they get no windfall from their support, she said, pointing to the $50 million in employee concessions to the county since 2008.
It’s not a new issue, and she had this same debate with Dan Secord — who she pointed out in the audience — four years ago and during the Goleta Union school board race before that when a teachers union supported her, she said.
She said she would rather have that than special interest groups like big industry and oil companies — a dig at Aceves, who has received more than $20,000 in donations from oil companies this election.
“Those corporations do not represent the values of the Second District,” she said.
Aceves said he supports campaign finance reform and suggested a limit on how much one source can donate, adding that some counties limit contributions to $1,000 per person or group.
He pointed out that Wolf received $150,000 from the SEIU labor group in 2010 and $80,000 so far this election, with $20,000 reported just four days before the county voted on an employee labor contract with that group.
Both have participated in at least seven annual budget cycles for a public agency, so moderator Peter Brown asked about their budget priorities and whether they support Measure M, the June maintenance-funding initiative spearheaded by Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam.
Brown, an attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, moderates the Goleta Chamber’s issue and policy roundtable events.
Aceves said he hopes Measure M will send a message of reprioritization to the Board of Supervisors.
Wolf opposes the infrastructure maintenance initiative on June’s ballot, saying it would be a serious threat to the county’s budget. If it passes, the board has to pay $18 million to $22 million more per year for maintenance costs, and it’s “not the time to hijack our budget process,” she said.
Brown also asked if the perceived 3-2 split on the board between South County and North County supervisors is fair, and if anything can be done about the perception. Wolf said 95 percent of votes are unanimous and that all the supervisors work for the betterment of the entire county.
“People can attempt to divide us, but that’s not my style. I won’t go there,” she said.
Aceves said the perception was fair and that Goleta has the same frustrations — and lack of adequate attention — which was one of the reasons for incorporation.
They have common ground in some areas. Both supported an increase in transient occupancy tax from 10 to 12 percent, which the county supervisors may put on the November ballot.
The controversial Goleta Beach 2.0 project looked like it would be a lightning rod in this election, but Wolf and the other supervisors rejected the project and voted to keep the revetment rocks at the county park and ask the California Coastal Commission to permit them indefinitely. Aceves long argued against the county’s proposed project, removing the rocks and putting the park area at risk of erosion, along with community groups like the Friends of Goleta Beach Park.
They’re on the same side now, and both said they would advocate for the no-project alternative to the Coastal Commission, which has the final say.
For closing statements, Aceves said the residents of the Second District want a new vision and new type of leadership.
“It’s time for a change,” he said.
Wolf argued that she is trusted by her constituents after eight years of experience and wants to run again because she cares about the residents and the community. She’s not running “because I have some whimsical idea of being a supervisor,” she said.
The Second District represents about 85,000 residents and encompasses portions of western Santa Barbara, unincorporated areas and a large portion of the Goleta Valley.
The last day to register to vote for the June 3 primary election is May 19, according to the County Elections Office.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.