Regarding the Feb. 12 article, “Santa Barbara Looks to Build $32.5 Million Bridge Over Highway 101 to Enhance Mobility for Eastside,” why is our City Council trying to find ways to spend our hard-earned tax dollars?
There are perfectly good, newly upgraded and paid-for existing sidewalks along Milpas Street to the beach. All the city needs to do is to keep them free of transients instead of going over the freeway to avoid them.
How about addressing more critical infrastructure the city needs like the sidewalks from the Lower Eastside to Cleveland School that are uprooted and bulging up so that mothers with strollers must veer off onto APS to get around.
Try taking a survey on the Eastside and Westside to see if these residents in their daily lives so desperately need a $32.5 million pedestrian bridge over Highway 101.
This proposed project is foolish and wasteful.
J.W. Burk
Santa Barbara
• • •
That proposed bridge makes sense. More waste of taxpayer money when we’re already in the red. A bunch of morons.
Earl Minnis
Santa Barbara
• • •
I applaud the City of Santa Barbara’s change from ice plant to native plants alongEast Beach. However, according to the posted notice, one of the native plants is silver burr ragweed, which is a severe allergen.
One ragweed plant can produce up to 1 billion pollen grains that can float through the air and either produce seeds or end up in your nose, eyes or mouth, causing great discomfort if you’re allergic to it.
Pollen can also collect on clothes, hair and the skin.
Nearly a third of Americans have seasonal allergies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why plant the worst pollen offender that will make life miserable for a third of the city’s population? The plants are tiny now, so this is the perfect time to replace them with another native species.
I emailed the contact listed on the City of Santa Barbara sign two weeks ago, but never received a reply.
Tama Takahashi
Santa Barbara
• • •
Regarding the Feb. 10 article, “Large Crowd Turns Out For Discussion About Future of Franceschi House,” I was impressed with the openness and encouragement of new ideas and comments.
I’ll admit prior efforts by City of Santa Barbara staff have given the impression that options were severely limited and were going to be driven by “the doable” (translation: “the money”).
There was good attendance at the meeting, good audience participation, and encouragement for all interested to take the online survey about the project before Feb. 29.
Nevertheless, I could not escape two thoughts.
First, if the prior efforts to “reimagine Franceschi Park” (recurring about every 20 years since the 1950s) had been more successful, there would be more to work with and maybe at lower cost today. The visionaries or budgeteers from bygone efforts may have let us down.
Second, the city has long protected its historic resources in the Municipal Code with required standards for maintenance and preservation. Franceschi House was designated a City Structure of Merit in 1981 and is part of the current park reimagining project site.
Santa Barbara Municipal Code 30.300.080 “H” defines Demolition by Neglect as “A situation in which a property owner(s) [ed: in this case, the City of Santa Barbara] through neglect and lack of maintenance allows a historic resource or character defining feature of a historic resource to suffer severe deterioration, potentially beyond the point of repair.”
Municipal Code 30.157.170 outlines methods of enforcement and substantial penalties against owners who allow Demolition by Neglect.
To all attendees at the recent public meeting — and any visitors to Franceschi House — the structure clearly has “suffer(ed) severe deterioration, potentially beyond the point of repair.”
It is curious and more than a little disappointing that a city-owned Structure of Merit has not been protected by the same Municipal Codes that govern the rest of us as private owners.
Richard Closson
Santa Barbara
• • •
If we need a reminder that sports activities are the toy department of life and coaches are often the spoiled infant, Noozhawk sports columnist Mark Patton provides it with his Feb. 11 breathless rant against environmental good practices (“Diamonds Are Never It Seems for Homeless UCSB Baseball Team”).
The idea that athletic convenience should drive science and compel the pollution of our community is absurd, especially coming from an academic institution such as UC Santa Barbara.
If Patton wants to point a finger, he should direct it toward those who decided that natural turf should go and that this public space should be covered with chemical waste that will end up in the landfill within a few years.
Thanks to the California Coastal Commission for acting to enforce the long-standing rules protecting us from such folly.
Glen Mowrer
Santa Barbara
• • •
Does anyone locally realize the damage that UC Santa Barbara and Chancellor Henry Yang are doing to the Goleta Valley? The defiance of the housing decrees as well as not allowing an exit on Highway 217 to service the Santa Barbara Airport will render the new Project Connect ineffective.
Now a builder’s remedy project at the Giorgi property is going to be filled with UCSB students and not locals who need affordable housing.
UCSB is doing irreparable damage to our community without having to answer for it at the local or state levels. I think it’s time we all let Yang know we will not allow this any longer.
Santa Barbara County Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann feels a lawsuit is all she can do. She can do better. She is not the defender of the Goodland. Let her know at the ballot box on March 5.
Yang and every professor on the Academic Senate shouldn’t be able to go anywhere without being asked why they are choosing to hurt our communities and take needed housing opportunities away from local families who desperately need it.
UCSB needs to live up to its obligation to the future generations of Goleta and Santa Barbara, and every citizen needs to use their voice to speak for your community.
Ethan Woodill
Goleta
• • •
For those whose institutional memory remembers, Cars Are Basic’s first major Transportation Position was about the failure of a then-20-year-old destruction of Santa Barbara’s State Street.
CAB made it clear that our board consisted of successful local and often born-and-raised Santa Barbarans. CAB said that the if the city and the anti-car crowd continued, Death Valley (formerly State Street) would collapse.
The middle finger was gleefully waved at CAB and its supporters. The arrogant, ill-informed anti-car, narrow power elite laughed and stated when the street narrowing expands, the economy will thrive.
Guess what, readers, the State Street economy crashed bigger then the 1930s Depression.
CAB attended almost all City Council and outreach meetings framed around the Entrada Project. The comments recently made by the Community Benefit Improvement District committee were absolutely correct about the traffic pattern from Haley Street to Cabrillo Boulevard and the impacts on the Funk Zone.
CAB predicted the exact traffic and economic outcomes facing the city today. Did the narrowing of State below De la Guerra Street make Paseo Nuevo a success? No. Did the city have to pay monthly, tens of thousands of dollars to support the construction costs of that failure for years? Yes.
CAB invites all of the above named organizations and the CBID committee members to invite CAB for a minimum of a one-hour discussion about theses failures and the rational “fix” that politicians are now running from.
How about it? CAB stands willing and able. Are you?
Scott Wenz
Cars Are Basic president
• • •
I want to thank former Santa Barbara City Councilman Dale Francisco for reversing his stance and now supporting Measure A. In his Feb. 11 commentary, “My Mea Culpa on Santa Barbara’s Measure A,” he lays out his argument in favor of the measure, with which I wholeheartedly concur.
Although I write this letter as a private citizen, my view is informed by my role as chairwoman of the Santa Barbara Library Advisory Board.
Over the last couple of years, the library has been engaged in a three-part building project, including Library Plaza, in which the contract was awarded to the lowest-cost bidder. As Francisco notes, “what’s cheapest may turn out to be more expensive in the long run.”
This is precisely what has happened with the library’s construction project, along with many unfortunate delays due to the numerous “change orders” submitted by the company.
I urge my fellow citizens to vote “yes” on Measure A so that the city can move away from the lowest-cost bidder approach, which is especially important given the number of building projects anticipated in Santa Barbara over the next few years.
Margaret Crocco
Santa Barbara
• • •
Thanks to the Feb. 8 article, “Santa Barbara’s Measure A on Construction Contracts is Vague — What Does a Yes Vote Mean?”
I write this as a community member, not in my role on the Santa Barbara Library Advisory Board. However, in that role, I observed and learned about many delays and setbacks during construction projects at the library that were contracted based on lowest-cost bid. The projects ran into numerous problems, adding costs, exceeding the original bid, and delaying completion.
Learning from these experiences is critical to future success. Measure A addresses many of the issues observed during the library projects.
Please join in support of Measure A to improve future outcomes of the numerous capital improvement projects being planned for our city and estimated to be in the millions of dollars. This will allow the City of Santa Barbara to take steps to adopt best practices and enact a “best value” approach in awarding construction contracts.
Cecilia Harris
Santa Barbara
• • •
Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Laura Capps has it right in promoting the use of county-owned land for affordable housing, as outlined in her Feb. 12 commentary, “Santa Barbara County Property Can Be a Silver Bullet for Affordable Housing.”
The current state-approved housing plan borders on being a joke. Is it fair to pack 75% of new South Coast housing units into the eastern Goleta Valley, in a county of 2,735 square miles of land? Can a family of four live comfortably in an 800-square-foot unit?
How about only 10% of the units in the proposed massive 600-plus-unit Macy’s development targeted for affordable units? Ever notice the traffic between Hope Avenue and La Cumbre Road on State Street, right where the Macy’s development will be located? Never mind the Sears property up for future development!
It’s been obvious forever that the profit motive has been the primary roadblock to sensible low- and middle-income housing. Developers simply can’t afford to build without an overwhelming number of market-rate units. The cost of land is just too high.
And in-lieu fees often allow developers to reduce the number of affordable units in any given project. Give them county land to develop and an entirely new paradigm comes into play.
Thanks to Capps for introducing some sanity into this seemingly endless debate.
Jon Greenleaf
Noleta
• • •
I was happy to finally come across an article about housing costs that makes financial, social and ecological sense; Supervisor Laura Capps gets it!
In her commentary, she demonstrates that she grasps there is absolutely no way that private development can ever solve the housing crisis in Santa Barbara or anywhere else.
I and my family are long-term residents in Santa Barbara County. My wife’s family has lived here for more than a century. I am also an investor and investment adviser with 40-plus years of experience who has tried for many years to educate our politicians and civil servants about financial theory and how it relates to land use, housing costs and social outcomes.
Real estate is not a commodity. Real estate is a financial asset supplied by the largely private banking sector. Unlike commodities, financial assets are defined by the fact that they yield long-term cash flow. In the case of real estate, we call this rental yield.
The private market as a whole will not supply financial assets at a rate that reduces asset yields (cash flows). (Rental yield = annual cash flow from the stock of the asset). What the public and politicians do not appear to understand is that assets are priced based on the willingness of global investors to hold the stock of the asset.
It’s critical to understand that “investors” does not mean professional investors and corporations alone. It means anyone who owns or seeks to own financial assets such as housing, stocks and bonds.
As a global group, investors attempt to maximize yield. Therefore, they compare yields on real estate, stocks and bonds. Then they adjust for local and relative risks.
The adjustments create price differences between different housing stocks (locations), companies, municipalities, nations and so on.
This means that there is no rational reason to believe that the private real estate sector will ever supply so much housing so as to raise vacancy rates to the point where rental yield falls in any sustainable manner in any location.
No, the private market will always and everywhere stop supplying financial assets as soon as surplus supply sits idle for too long.
Therefore, I have been preaching for many years, mostly to deaf ears, that the only solution to affordable residential and commercial buildings in Santa Barbara County is public funding and ownership of downtown properties and a significant share (roughly 20%) of the residential housing stock.
Capps gets it.
Kristian Blom
Santa Barbara
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I appreciate Noozhawk’s courage to include voices of faith in its content. I believe it appropriately belongs in a balanced reporting of life. Thank you.
Lori Call
Santa Barbara
• • •
In response to Justin Ruhge’s Feb. 9 letter to the editor and his laundry list of proposed restrictive voting requirements:
It’s really pretty simple. Under the guise of eliminating nonexistent voter fraud, Republicans want fewer people to vote. Democrats want more people to be able to vote.
Bob Shapiro
Goleta
• • •
Just a note on mail-in ballots, Texas and Florida don’t use them or the voting machines, and results are in before the mail-in ballots.
Currently, in Santa Barbara, my wife got two mail-in ballots. The system is a joke and must go to a single day of voting, show IDs and make it a national holiday, especially for federal elections.
John Sween
Santa Barbara
• • •
Voters, you’re needed! Before you cast your ballot, have you seen the Unite2Win805 website?
There are FINALLY nine courageous challengers to the leadership of the Santa Barbara County Republican Party Central Committee.
Remember on Labor Day 2023, when Assemblyman Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara, was quoted in Noozhawk as boasting, “there were Republicans in the legislature, local government level, and we have pretty much extinguished that in Santa Barbara County.” Is a single party, totalitarian government desired by South Coast voters?
Now is the time to expand the tent, to be inclusive, by promoting these Republican challengers willing to serve — to volunteer their expertise — to turn around or to salvage the sinking, single Democrat Party-controlled Santa Barbara County Titanic.
Get involved and join the precinct project in your neighborhood.
Ensuring values of transparency and accountability are a shared responsibility. Become informed. Cast your ballot!
Denice Spangler Adams
Montecito
• • •
According to my newly arrived ballot for the March 5 election, there are three people running for the Santa Barbara County Third Supervisorial District seat.
But at least in my city, Goleta, Supervisor Joan Hartmann appears to be the only candidate interested in Goleta. I’ve received nothing from the other two — not a call, an email, a letter, a knock on my door, nothing, except I have seen a few signs with the words “Frank Troise Supervisor,” all placed illegally on public property.
Maybe the other two candidates believe that Goleta votes don’t matter and they are interested only in their North County communities. But if a candidate doesn’t care about a community before getting elected, why would they care about it once elected?
The Third District now includes almost all of Goleta, all of Lompoc and the area east to Santa Ynez. We need a supervisor who is going to show up throughout the district.
Only Hartmann has been doing that for the past seven years and during this important campaign. I trust her to continue standing up to oil; protecting our environment; supporting veterans, seniors and working families; and so much more.
Unlike the silent treatment I’ve gotten from the other campaigns, Hartmann has asked for my vote. So I am happy to vote for Joan Hartmann.
Don McDermott
Goleta
• • •
As someone born and raised in Lompoc (and a high school theater nerd), I am excited to see the revival of the Lompoc Theatre nearing its goal after so many years of effort. I asked theatre director Mark Herrier why it was finally happening, and he told me this:
“For the last 11 years, the Lompoc Theatre Project has been working hard to restore and reopen the Lompoc Theatre. It had been making slow but steady progress until supervisorial districts were changed in 2021. Literally overnight, Lompoc’s county supervisor became Joan Hartmann.”
Almost immediately, she reached out to the theatre, wanting a tour, and almost as fast she made restoring the theatre one of the most important goals on her policy agenda. She soon set up meetings with local and state politicians, major county arts funders, and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
The net result is that since she began representing Lompoc and the Third District, the Theatre Project raised $2.6 million, which is five times more than it had raised in the 10 years before she became Lompoc’s supervisor. Every dollar of that came from her hard work, connections, brainstorming, and follow through.
Hartmann continues to work hard to help raise the remaining money needed to complete this essential project, which will revitalize Lompoc artistically and economically for generations to come.
Indeed, Herrier says they now have a pathway to reopening the historic Lompoc Theatre in time to celebrate its 100th birthday, possible only because of Hartmann’s dedicated efforts. I can’t wait to see it!
I am so glad that my hometown has someone working so hard to revitalize its cultural core!
Meagan Froemming Harmon
Santa Barbara
• • •
It is with pleasure that the Gray Panthers Santa Barbara Network, a nonpartisan organization, announces our endorsement for the Third Supervisorial District seat.
After interviewing two of the three candidates running in the March 5 election (Supervisor Joan Hartmann and Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne accepted an invitation to participate in the endorsement process, Frank Troise did not respond), our board voted to endorse Hartmann.
During the interview, Hartmann exhibited knowledge of the issues facing older adults, a willingness to find solutions, and a commitment to improving quality of life for older adults.
She is actively participating in creating the Santa Barbara County Master Plan on Aging, which addresses a wide range of senior concerns. We look forward to working with Hartmann.
Please join us by supporting the re-election of Supervisor Joan Hartmann.
Carol Keator
Gray Panthers Santa Barbara Network board president
• • •
One wonders, is Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann a well-funded candidate or a paid-off candidate? Is the incumbent running on her backers’ money and not her merit?
Because of redistricting, unfortunately, Hartman has no track record with 60% of the voters of the new Third District, which no longer includes Isla Vista and only part of Goleta, along with Santa Ynez, Solvang, Buellton and Lompoc.
It’s refreshing that both very qualified opposition candidates — Frank Troise and Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne — offer the voters in the new Third District a choice this year of better representation.
They are running on merit, not money, in asking for votes, not trying to buy votes. What’s at risk is community representation and values.
Troise and Osborne both care about the needs of the constituents and support responsible environmental energy. Both are knowledgeable about the needs of the constituents and the Lompoc and Santa Ynez valleys.
Lompoc and Santa Ynez and the new Third District constituents have different needs and priorities that currently are not being addressed.
Osborne is very aware of what is needed in the area. Housing development needs to be targeted and sensible. While Lompoc has plenty of low-income housing, the area lacks midworkforce housing with the growing needs of SpaceX and Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Newly employed in this industry are crowding into Goleta’s already-burdened housing because of the lack of local housing in that area.
Both of Hartmann’s opponents understand finance and economics. They are pro-business, which brings more tax revenue into the county.
Osborne sat on the finance committee for four years before becoming a two-term mayor of Lompoc.
Troise is an investment banker and has extensive experience in business. As a 20-year resident, he and his wife have raised their family in Santa Ynez.
During the financial crisis of 2009, Troise served on a bipartisan commission to rescue the Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System from collapse.
His work helped the county survive the financial crisis without reducing any ongoing services that people relied on during these tough times.
His experience can identify and add new revenue streams to the county budget by bringing better-paying jobs to our communities and responsibly managing the county’s adoption of new renewable energy technology.
We need leadership that upholds its commitments and prioritizes the welfare of the locals and their community to represent the voters and taxpayers.
I feel either opposition candidate may be a better choice.
Roseanne Crawford
Buellton
• • •
Why am I am voting to re-elect Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann?
It is because Hartmann is an exceptional leader who has devoted her life to public service. She has worked relentlessly to meet the housing, food and medical needs of our most vulnerable residents. She is a passionate champion in preserving our open spaces. She is a fiscal conservative in controlling county spending and helping our local businesses thrive.
Examples of Hartmann’s contributions on behalf of underserved residents include expanding affordable workforce housing and serving as chairwoman of the countywide Elected Leaders Forums to Address Homelessness. Her efforts have resulted in two-thirds of formerly homeless veterans in the county now having shelter.
She has worked closely with both The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County and The Nature Conservancy to preserve the Gaviota coast, and spearheaded the county’s first Recreational Master Plan.
Hartmann worked with state and local leaders to secure $2 million for the renovation of the Lompoc Theatre. She led the development of the Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance, which will allow large agricultural properties to expand their revenue sources, ensuring that agriculture will continue to be a vibrant economic force.
She has also many meetings with Santa Ynez Valley residents to explore ways to reduce the number of crashes along Highway 154.
Hartmann is a caring, compassionate and courageous leader who has repeatedly proven that she is the right choice to continue serving the residents of the Third District.
Please join me in voting for Joan Hartmann.
Kelly Rose
Los Olivos
• • •
Some may believe there’s nothing important to vote on in the March 5 election. But if you live in the Third Supervisorial District, the election matters a lot to both district residents and the entire county.
As a single parent who is concerned about my child’s health and safety, I believe government’s No. 1 job is keeping us safe, and current Supervisor Joan Hartmann has a great record of doing just that.
Hartmann voted to prevent constant trucking of dangerous oil through our communities, as many as 70 tanker loads a day.
She works hard to keep us safe from wildfires, especially by serving on the Fire Safe Council board to identify and reduce wildfire risks.
She chairs the Highway 154 Safety Committee. And we all know how dangerous that road is.
Hartman has helped reduce crime rates, voting to fund the new North County Jail, while increasing vitally needed substance abuse and mental health programs.
When COVID-19 invaded, Hartmann took her role seriously to make sure that vaccinations were readily available, medical facilities supported, and that public health information was widely available.
At the same time, county government kept its vital services going and found ways to provide safe public participation through alternatives such as Zoom and email.
Hartmann has consistently demonstrated an understanding that government’s prime directive is to keep us safe. Please keep Joan Hartmann keeping us safe.
Margaret Granger
Goleta
• • •
Two weeks ago I attended (more accurately ZOOMed) a candidates forum for the Third Supervisorial District seat. What an eye-opener.
Incumbent Joan Hartmann came prepared to answer questions about problems that face the district but the others wanted to vent personal gripes and/or advocate statewide policy.
Two weeks later, I attended a meeting of some 50 Lompoc residents convened at Lompoc High School by Lompoc Self-Healing Communities — an awkward name but in-depth, sometimes tearful, conversation.
Seated unobtrusively in the crowd was, yes, Hartmann. Not standing to give a speech or posing for a photo op, not with her hand on the doorknob for a quick getaway, but listening, engaged.
This was not politician behavior. She was not even working the crowd, shaking hands.
I’ve lived in Lompoc for 46 years, and I’ve rarely, maybe never, seen our county supervisor behave like this, engaged, listening.
I asked a friend: “What’s she doing here? It’s an election, right?”
“No,” he replied. “It’s just how she is.”
I’m sold. Please vote for Joan Hartmann.
John McReynolds
Lompoc
• • •
The Goodland Coalition for Goleta has endorsed Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann for re-election and strongly encourages Goleta residents to vote for her.
As supervisor, Hartmann has fought for our values for seven years, opposing ExxonMobil’s proposed transportation of oil through our neighborhoods and protecting our environment, including our butterfly habitat.
Earlier, she championed the passage of Goleta’s Agriculture Protection Initiative in 2012.
Today, this initiative continues to protect the City of Goleta’s five remaining agricultural parcels of 10 or more acres, including Bishop Ranch, from being rezoned for development.
In addition, Hartmann has always been a committed and effective advocate for issues affecting Goleta that must be addressed on a regional level, including fire protection, transportation, land use and housing.
It is vital that Goleta residents continue to have her represent us as Third District supervisor.
Bob Wignot
The Goodland Coalition for Goleta
• • •
It’s undeniable that Santa Barbara County is a great place to visit, work and play. At least a major reason for our area’s desirability has been the leadership of people such as Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann.
Our county is a hot spot for high-tech development and small businesses. Agriculture is thriving and our No. 1 industry, along with our world-class wineries.
Tourism is booming. And both tourists and residents are drawn to the natural resources we’ve worked hard to preserve, such as our beaches, open spaces, butterfly preserve and countless hiking trails.
Hartmann has worked tirelessly for us, not just within the county but with elected officials and agency heads throughout our region and California.
With professionalism and compassion, she helped our county preserve prime agriculture and open space, and counter threats from oil drilling, processing and risky transportation.
She’s successfully seen us through countless challenges such as wildfires, mudslides, the COVID-19 epidemic and the associated economic pause, flooding, a water shortage, homelessness and housing needs.
If you look carefully, Hartmann’s track record demonstrates that she has the experience and expertise to guide us through changes on the horizon, from a changing business environment to climate change.
I hope you’ll agree that Joan Hartmann is the person we need to represent us on the Board of Supervisors.
Patricia Forrest
Goleta
• • •
One of my longtime friends who lives here in Lompoc had a mental health crisis while I was in Los Angeles for college. We had been on a Zoom call for hours, it was 4 a.m., and he wasn’t getting any better.
When I tried calling 9-1-1 to get him some help, I was put on hold by Los Angeles County dispatch for around 15 minutes. All I could do was hope that a dispatcher would pick up while I listened to my friend sob uncontrollably through the headphones I had set down on my desk.
When Los Angeles County dispatch finally answered, I got transferred to Santa Barbara County dispatch and, within three minutes, responders were on their way to help my friend.
Santa Barbara County dispatch could have gotten responders deployed five times while Los Angeles County was still picking up the phone.
This is why I support Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann for re-election. Her actions over the past few years have dramatically improved the quality of emergency services in Santa Barbara County, especially compared to other counties in California.
There’s a simple reason why first responders like the Santa Barbara County Firefighters have endorsed her: she has never faltered in supporting those who provide and use emergency services.
There is still much work to do, but she is the only candidate in her race who has a track record of never backing down from the challenges that Santa Barbara County faces.
James Aranguren
Lompoc
• • •
As a retired public school teacher, I would give Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, an F on war and peace.
While he rails about the proliferation of semi-automatic weapons at home, he rushes to send weapons overseas for wars that beg for diplomatic solutions.
Fortunately, the 24th Congressional District can choose a different candidate on the March 5 ballot.
Peace activist and former public school teacher Helena Pasquarella is a progressive Democrat challenging Carbajal’s votes for nearly $1 trillion military budgets, escalation of the nuclear arms race, shipments of internationally banned cluster bombs, and refusal to support audits of the Pentagon.
Pasquarella, from Ojai, calls for cuts to the bloated military budget to fund housing, health care, climate relief and education.
According to OpenSecrets.com, Carbajal accepted more than $70,000 from weapons manufacturers in the last election cycle. In contrast, Pasquarella rejects big money to anchor her candidacy in small donations.
Unlike Carbajal, who supports a $95 billion supplemental bill that would transfer $14 billion in weapons to Israel for genocide in Gaza, Pasquarella joins with a majority in the United States who support a ceasefire to de-escalate the violence.
For too long, we have been misrepresented in Congress. It’s time for a change. Helena Pasquarella for Congress.
Marcy Winograd
Santa Barbara
• • •
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