With a new year comes a new Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, including a new face.
On Tuesday, Santa Barbara County swore in new First District Supervisor Roy Lee of Carpinteria and returning Supervisors Joan Hartmann of the Third District and Bob Nelson of the Fourth District.
The meeting was the first of the year for the board and included speeches, music and appointing a new board chair — Second District Supervisor Laura Capps.
Tuesday’s meeting started with a presentation of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance, which was led by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department Honor Guard. Anthony Rodriguez of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church delivered the invocation.
The introduction of the newly elected officials was handled by County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato. She then swore in Lee, Hartmann and Nelson.
In his first comments to the crowd, Lee thanked his parents and his family for their support. Lee defeated former First District Supervisor Das Williams for the seat in the March election.
“Stepping into this role, I pledge to serve all residents in our county with transparency, dedication, honesty and integrity,” Lee said.
He added that he hopes to focus on the issues of cannabis policy reform, housing for local workers and developing Santa Barbara County’s economy.
Hartmann thanked the public for electing her to a third term and her family for supporting her. She also praised the rest of the board members for creating a culture of understanding and compromise, and she said she was proud to continue serving with them.
“I’m really proud to be part of a team where we’re looking out for each other, and I’m sure with Supervisor Lee that’s going to continue,” said Hartmann, who won re-election by defeating Frank Troise.
Nelson acknowledged that the room looked different than when he was elected in 2020. At that ceremony, his family were some of the only people in the room, and they were asked to socially distance because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He expressed pride in the work that the county has done with homelessness and the county’s financial state. He said the county is in a better financial place than it was five years ago and has made significant gains in public infrastructure.
“As I go into my next four years, (I hope) to continue the good work that we are already doing,” Nelson said.
He won another term in the March election by coming out ahead of challenger Krishna Flores.
The attention on Tuesday then turned to the selection of the board chair.
Nelson nominated Capps for the position, which was unanimously approved by a vote of the board. Nelson was then nominated for the position of vice chair, which also was unanimously approved by the board.
Capps took over the position of chair from Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, who presented her a gavel.
In her comments, Capps expressed her intent to tackle the issue of affordable housing in Santa Barbara County and the impact it has on families. She said her guiding star in passing legislation is how it affects the county’s children.
“Families cannot afford to live where they work, and what that means for kids is that they are disconnected from their family during the day,” Capps said.
She added that the lack of affordable housing has an impact on everything, including schools and local businesses that can’t retain employees because of the high cost of living.
Capps said the lack of housing affects congestion on the freeways because of people traveling from other cities, and that drives up the need for child care.
She also expressed her support for reworking the cannabis ordinance.
Part of Tuesday’s ceremony included poetry recited by student McKenna Heil and a performance from the La Colina Junior High School Jazz Band. One of the students who performed was Capps’ son.