As Buellton debates its future law enforcement provider, the two men seeking to become mayor have differing opinions about the best approach for filling the role. 

That’s one of several issues on which incumbent David Silva and challenger Dave King differ as they again face off for the two-year role of wielding the gavel to lead the City Council.

The small city contracts with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office to serve as Buellton’s police department. As the pact nears renewal, leaders of Solvang and Buellton have discussed contracting instead with the Lompoc Police Department.

Silva explained that the city passed a one-year extension of the county sheriff’s contract to diligently compare the two agreements and ensure that Buellton is getting the best value, as well as being able to get residents’ input.

“It’s so much more than just money when it comes to a law enforcement contract. It’s quality of service. It’s even just your law enforcement style, culture [and] beliefs,” Silva said. 

Silva also wants to focus on the Santa Ynez Valley River Trail project, which would be a dedicated walking and biking path connecting Buellton and Solvang. He said he believes it would remove pedestrian and cyclist traffic accidents from the roads.

King, a retired California Highway Patrol officer, is against shifting away from the county sheriff’s contract. 

Crediting his 25 years in law enforcement, he said he believes a Lompoc contract would raise safety concerns for response times and emergency backup, since Lompoc police would have to drive more than 20 miles from Lompoc, opposed to the sheriff’s deputies coming from three miles away in Solvang.

King also heavily focused on traffic enforcement. He criticized the signal timing on Highway 246 being out of sync, which runs through the city and creates delays for commuters. He discussed working with Caltrans, with which he said he has good connections, to install demand-actuated signals that he believes would make the traffic move smoother.

King also mentioned that he would like to replace the yellow flashing beacons with an overhead HAWK traffic control device, which he said would be less confusing and force drivers to stop. The system would trigger a red light to stop vehicle traffic and allow pedestrians to cross the street.

Economic Development

Both candidates discussed improving Buellton’s economic development, specifically by developing the Avenue of Flags corridor into a more lively downtown area, which has been a goal for the city for more than a decade.

Silva pointed toward the current council’s plans to redevelop the Median 3 into an esplanade downtown for a lively space. To do so, he discussed expanding bike and pedestrian paths to make the avenue more accessible, but he also noted that the redevelopment would take years of attracting businesses and private investment.

“Attracting good quality businesses and investors and developers will be something that is our big inflection point,” Silva said, “but that’s going to be more of a decade-long process.”

King shared similar optimism for the avenue but emphasized that he doesn’t want to strategize against long-term businesses by trying to force them out. He added that he wants businesses to have all their parking on-site to avoid vehicles spilling into residential neighborhoods.

“You can’t just force the business owners, like the motel owners. You can’t just claim eminent domain and push them out. I mean, you have to have them willingly want to sell their business so that other developments can come in,” King said. “That’s not the American way.”

Fiscal Approach

Regarding the city’s financial state, Silva said he wants to put local sales and hotel tax revenues to work via amenity investments.

Silva noted the $1 million in city matching funds toward the Santa Ynez Valley Children’s Museum, which he leveraged to help secure an additional $2 million state budget earmark. Beyond the museum, Silva wants to further expand the library hours, host more theater productions, and invest in nonprofit organizations and the river trail.  

King said he wants to focus on line-by-line budget auditing, and preventing unchecked non-discretionary spending.

He criticized the $1 million allocation to the Children’s Museum, saying the project was presented to him in his last term that it would be self-sustaining through private fundraising. 

“For the council to kind of arbitrarily just say, ‘Hey, we’re going to give you $1 million of taxpayer funds for this project that was supposed to be self-sustaining,’ I have a little bit of an issue with that,” King said.

Opposed to spending large funding on building projects, King said he would rather focus on low-cost outdoor recreation for youth, such as soccer and baseball fields, splash pads, skate parks and disc golf.

Silva, who was elected to the City Council in 2022 and as mayor in 2024, bought a home in Buellton in 2019. He is the senior director of development for Annual Giving Programs at UC Santa Barbara. Additionally, he serves as a member of the California Air Resources Board.

A U.S. Navy veteran, King has lived in Buellton for 22 years and was first elected to the City Council in 2008. Since then, he’s served multiple terms as a council member and then as mayor until he lost to Silva in 2024.

Voters throughout Buellton will choose their next mayor in the Nov. 3 election since it’s an at-large position.

Two candidates, Billy Silvola, a special-education teacher, and Mark Williams, a retired sheriff’s sergeant, are vying to represent District 1. That seat now is filled by Hudson Hornick.

Incumbent Carla Mead will not face a challenger in her bid to continue representing District 4 on the council.

The top vote-getters in each race will begin their terms in December.