After nearly 25 years of elected public service, Second District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Janet Wolf announced on Thursday that she will not seek re-election for a fourth term.
After serving three terms on the Goleta Union School District board of trustees, Wolf was elected in 2006 to the Board of Supervisors, defeating Das Williams, Joe Guzzardi and the late Dr. Dan Secord.
Wolf’s decision not to run again was a badly kept secret; most in political circles expected that she would make a public announcement after the Santa Barbara City Council election.
“I have decided that I will not run for re-election,” Wolf said in a statement through a spokeswoman. “During my tenure on the Board of Supervisors, we have accomplished much, often in the face of tremendous challenges.”
Wolf enjoyed a liberal Democrat majority through most of her term on the board, although when she was elected, she was in the minority with Salud Carbajal, alongside conservatives Brooks Firestone, Joni Gray and Joe Centeno.
“I am proud of our board’s many achievements over the past 11 years,” Wolf said.
Among the accomplishments she noted in a press release were decreasing the juvenile crime and incarceration rate, increasing opportunities for mental health and substance abuse treatment, and “completing many vital public infrastructure and maintenance projects.”
Wolf, who still has 13 months left in her term, said she plans to continue working full-time until then.
“I will continue to advocate for transparent, sensible and equitable public policy and land use decisions,” Wolf said.
Wolf also said she intends to spend more time with her three young grandchildren and “while also pursuing new opportunities to remain actively engaged in our amazing community.”
Goleta Union School District Board Member Susan Epstein, Santa Barbara City Councilman Gregg Hart and Goleta City Councilman Roger Aceves, who has challenged Wolf in the past, have all been mentioned as possible contenders for the seat, but none has announced an intention to run.
Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino announced over the summer that he plans to seek a third term as supervisor next year. No one has announced plans to opposed him.
— 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.