After 24 years of public service, Janet Wolf decided there was only one place to go and one more thing do: Travel to Norway to see the Northern Lights.
In January, she did some dog sledding, reindeer sledding and ice fishing.
“It was one of those amazing experiences,” Wolf said.
The trip was sort of the ultimate vacation for a woman who spent more than two decades shaping policy as a board member of the Goleta Union School District and then as a Santa Barbara County supervisor.
Wolf stepped down as Second District county supervisor in January. She had announced her retirement from public office last year, and said she planned to spend time with her grandchildren and enjoy the next stage of her life.
“I have grandkids now,” said Wolf, 64. “I worked when my kids were growing up. I was a working mom. So now, I thought, I don’t want to lose that with my grandkids. It was time.”
Wolf stormed into office on the Board of Supervisors in 2005, in a political battle where she edged out Das Williams, Dr. Dan Secord, and Joe Guzzardi for the seat.
During Wolf’s time, the county completed the Goleta Community Plan, which sought to maintain the community’s agricultural space near Highway 101. She pushed hard for a state-of-the-art emergency operations center that was built in 2011. She advocated to protect Goleta Beach County Park.
She also worked toward greater mental-health funding and criminal-justice reforms, including supervised pretrial release, alternatives to putting inmates in jail, and enhanced resources for mentally ill people.
She is a strong environmentalist, and raised awareness about the Greka Oil and Gas Company’s recent pattern of violations.
Prior to her time in public office, Wolf worked as an English and physical education teacher, but spent most of her career as a rehabilitation consultant. She gave up her consulting career to run for the Goleta school board.
But from the beginning of her political career at the county, Wolf overcame some serious health problems.
In December of 2004, just after she left the school board, Wolf suffered a near-fatal massive heart attack.
Doctors put a stent inside her and she went to rehab, and got into great shape. Her doctors told her she was as fit as an astronaut, she told Noozhawk.
Six months after that, Wolf found out that she had breast cancer.
She received radiation treatment, not chemotherapy, and decided to run for the Board of Supervisors in 2005, she said.
After the experience of the heart attack, she felt like she could overcome anything.
“The breast cancer just kind of annoyed me,” she said. “I said, ‘I can’t believe I have this.’ I really just kind of pushed it off to the side. Once I realized I didn’t need chemo, I never thought of myself as a breast cancer survivor.”
Then in 2007, Wolf fell off her bicycle and onto her head on Turnpike Road. She was wearing a helmet, but internally her head started to bleed.
She wasn’t feeling well after the fall, and while she was at the movies, she started seeing white lights and then went to the doctor.
“The medical community is awesome,” Wolf said. “They saved my life three times.”
Although Wolf established herself as a liberal progressive environmentalist, she somehow managed to find peace and harmony with an unlikely ally.
One of the most unpredictable relationships that Wolf formed while on the Board of Supervisors was with conservative North County Supervisor Peter Adam.
“We have the same birthday; I think that’s the only thing we have in common,” Wolf joked. “Peter and I were both pretty straightforward on our opinion of things. He believed one way. I believed the other.”
Wolf said she took pride in working with her colleagues, even if they disagreed with her philosophically.
“With age you learn things,” Wolf said. “Being in public office and being on a board, you have to work with your colleagues to get things done. It’s not to say we didn’t aggravate each other. That’s just the nature of it.
Adam agreed that Wolf was a special person on the board, and probably his closest ally.
“On a very human level, we just became friends,” Adam said.
Adam said Wolf always conducted herself with civility.
“I really enjoyed her and I still enjoy her,” Adam said. “She and I were darn near on opposite sides, but it is just how she conducted herself toward me that enabled us to have that kind of friendship. We just kind of enjoyed each other’s company
Adam said the relationship was strange because of their political differences.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” he said “She’s one of those people that comes into your life that you just want to like. Sometimes there is just weird chemistry. We had our little jokes and moments during meetings out in the hallways; it made the day enjoyable for me. I was just happy she was there.”
During an interview in early February, shortly after she returned from Norway, Wolf said she was pleased with her decision to walk away. She’ll always have an urge to get involved, but it’s time for some new blood, she said.
“I’m done,” she said. “There are so many great young people coming up right now. It’s so encouraging. I have always loved being the encourager of young people, of women getting involved in politics because it still is very challenging, but we are seeing a lot more of it. And we make such a difference.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
