With a shout-out to his grandmother and with a crowd of supporters standing nearby, Bob Nelson launched his campaign to take his boss’ job as the Fourth District representative on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.
Nelson, 39, currently serves as chief of staff for Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam, who has said he will not seek a third term in 2020.
“Running for supervisor is a combination of both desire and obligation,” he said. “I’m thrilled at the opportunity to serve.”
The Fourth District includes Orcutt, Lompoc, a southern segment of Santa Maria and part of the Los Alamos Valley.
It’s also where Nelson grew up, graduating from Righetti High School in 1997. After earning a business degree at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Nelson later taught at Lompoc Valley Middle School, Pioneer Valley High School and Righetti High.
“Being from this community, I believe I share your values,” said Nelson, whose wife, Jamie, and their three children, Avery, Andrew and Zeke, stood nearby while his grandmother watched online from Oklahoma.
Public safety should be a top priority, he said, calling for maintenance of roads and other infrastructure along with protecting people’s property rights.
“I believe in personal responsibility — a help up, not a hand out,” Nelson said.
“I believe we strengthen our business environment by doing less, not more. I believe it’s immoral for us to saddle future generations with debt tomorrow simply because we fail to make the hard decisions today,” he added.
In the past six years, Nelson said the Fourth District office has helped hundreds of constituents deal with “our often overzealous bureaucracy,” and he vowed to continue that work.
“I believe that as a supervisor I will work for you,” he said. “That my salary is paid for by your hard-earned tax dollars, and I’m elected to serve, not to be served.”
More than 100 people attended the campaign kickoff at Orcutt Community Park on Saturday, where weather cooperated by keeping the rain away.
“This is really a job interview,” Nelson said. “It’s between myself and the voters of the Fourth District.”
His current boss endorsed Nelson’s run for office.
“I think he’s going to be fantastic in his next endeavor, which will be Fourth District supervisor,” Adam said.
Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino also endorsed him, noting a large part of the job involves dealing with constituents’ concerns.
“We’re called politicians, but really we’re public servants,” he said. “I know Bob’s going to make an awesome public servant. I’m looking forward to serving with you.”
While it might seem early to be talking campaigns, a date switch for California’s primary election means the 2020 vote will occur in March, not June. If needed, a runoff still would take place in November 2020 with the presidential general election.
On Feb. 16, 2020, a year from Saturday’s kickoff, Fourth District residents will have had vote-by-mail ballots in their hands for two weeks already, Nelson noted.
The 2020 race will mark the first time in 20 years that Fourth District residents have not had an incumbent on the ballot, Nelson said.
“The voters of the Fourth District deserve the time to meet, vet and scrutinize their next supervisor,” Nelson said. “This brings me here today and I humbly ask for your support, your time, your energy , your prayers and, yes, your votes.”
Nelson is one of two candidates who intend to seek the Fourth District job. Joe Armendariz, 52, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association and a former Carpinteria City Council member, also is running and is planning a kickoff in March.
In addition to the Fourth District seat, the four-year terms of First District Supervisor Das Williams, whose area includes the eastern end of Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland, Carpinteria and the Cuyama Valley, and Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann, also are up in 2020.
Hartmann represents UC Santa Barbara, Isla Vista, western Goleta, the Gaviota coast, the Santa Ynez Valley, unincorporated parts of Lompoc, Mission Hills, Vandenberg Village, Casmalia, Tanglewood and the city of Guadalupe.
The county supervisors’ new four-year terms will begin in January 2021.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.