I had never met former Santa Barbara Mayor Sheila Lodge, but just spoke with her for an hour and was pleasantly surprised that she was just the opposite of “ornery,” which was how a local newspaper columnist recently described her.
Considering I’m a total stranger (but with common interests) and had lived in San Diego County for 20 years, I decided to pick Lodge’s brain regarding the Nov. 2 mayoral election. She was quite generous with her time and tres congenial.
Whereas Deborah Schwartz claims to be a city planner, I actually earned a master’s in urban planning (specializing in historic preservation) at the University of Colorado. Schwartz says that sitting on the Planning Commission makes her a city planner, as if sitting in the dentist’s chair makes you a dentist.
Everything I’ve read about Lodge makes me wish she was running for mayor. So i asked her who she was supporting, and she said “Randy Rowse.” That meant everything to me, so I, too, endorse Rowse (whom I’ve also never met or spoken with) for mayor of Santa Barbara.
Leon “Lee” Juskalian
Santa Barbara
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There is nothing Republican or Democrat about street repair, trash pickup, water, homelessness, housing and crime. Why should the mayor of Santa Barbara be chosen because they are a Democrat or Republican? Party affiliation is not a good reason to elect someone.
Yet most candidates tout their political affiliation. The first endorsement on Mayor Cathy Murillo’s list is the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party. James Joyce III was an aide to then state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, Democratic Party power broker, and got her endorsement. Deborah Schwartz, daughter of the late Santa Barbara County Supervisor Naomi Schwartz, was endorsed by the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County.
The Santa Barbara County Democratic Party also endorsed City Council candidates Meagan Harmon, Kristin Sneddon and Eric Friedman. The Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County endorsed Nina Johnson, who is running against Harmon for the council.
More important, these Democrat candidates are all endorsed by the labor unions that benefit from sweetheart contracts with the city. By “endorse,” I mean campaign donations.
I support Randy Rowse for mayor of Santa Barbara. All I want is better city government, and Rowse is the only candidate who can get us there.
Rowse has no political endorsements, nor is he a Democrat or Republican. He did get endorsements from the city firefighters and police officers unions, probably the most significant nonpartisan endorsements of the mayoral race. He was also endorsed by former Mayor Sheila Lodge, a liberal Democrat who understands the need to elect competent leadership.
The thing that irks me about the current City Council is that the issues that bother most of us only get attention around election time. They get lost in policies that line up with Democratic ideologies.
The things that they are interested in are wealth inequality, punishing landlords, saving the environment from gas appliances, quid pro quo sweetheart contracts for their union supporters, promises of (unattainable) “affordable” housing, and virtue signaling solidarity along racial, ethnic, LGTBQ and gender lines.
What about homelessness? State Street vacancies? The mall-ing of State Street? Obstructive city bureaucracies? Chaos in the city administration? Undue union influence? The things we citizens complain about don’t get solved.
We need change at the top to get this city back on track, which is why I recommend that you vote for Randy Rowse for mayor.
No one knows what’s under the city’s hood better than Rowse. He spent nine years as a councilman advocating reasonable policies. For most of his tenure he faced opposition from partisan council members who focused on their political agendas rather than practical solutions.
As mayor, Rowse will be in a leadership position to focus on the important issues, find the best policy solutions, and keep the City Council on track.
Due to Mayor Cathy Murillo’s lack of leadership, relationships between city council members are deteriorating. The other mayoral candidates have no leadership experience. Joyce has no local government experience, yet he wants to start at the top. Schwartz, who serves on the Planning Commission, is proving to be a divisive candidate.
Rowse is nonpartisan, he’s honest, he’s smart, he’s a leader and he has good solutions for Santa Barbara’s problems. Don’t let the partisans have another five years to muck things up. Vote for Rowse.
Jeff Harding
Santa Barbara
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