A member of the Santa Barbara City Council has apologized for an off-hand comment he made two weeks ago during a public meeting about banning plastic straws.
In explaining his reasons for supporting a ban on plastic straws, Councilman Jason Dominguez, who represents District 1 on the city’s Eastside, uttered these words: “Unfortunately, common sense is just not common. We have to regulate every aspect of people’s lives.”
The comment sparked an immediate backlash from people who read the quote in Noozhawk and other local media, wondering “did he really say that?”
Yes, he did, and on Tuesday, Dominguez apologized for the comment.
“I just wanted to apologize,” Dominguez said at the beginning of the meeting. “A few weeks ago I made a string of words in a rhetorical fashion about regulation and they were not taken as rhetorical and that’s my fault so I want to apologize.”
The City Council on July 17 voted to ban expanded polystyrene, or foam products. The vote was 7-0.
The council also voted 6-1 to ban plastic straws, and make plastic stirrers and cutlery “on-demand” only. Councilman Randy Rowse opposed the straw ban.
The straw ban sparked nationwide criticism and allegations of overregulation on the part of government officials. Locally, many members of the business community and conservatives badgered Dominguez with questions about his statement.
“What I should have focused on was gratitude toward the business community who overwhelmingly decided to ditch certain products seen as not environmental, but I just wanted to clear that up,” Dominguez said.
Ken Oplinger, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of the Santa Barbara Region, said Dominguez knew his comment was trouble shortly after he said it, and that “the blowback he got” didn’t help.
“It was not the smartest thing to say,” Oplinger told Noozhawk. “What he said was politically dumb.”
Oplinger said he believes that Dominguez didn’t intend the comment to sound like he supports massive government overreach. Anyone who truly felt that way, Oplinger said, probably shouldn’t be an elected official.
Oplinger said he was glad that Dominguez chose to “correct the record.”
In a statement to Noozhawk after the meeting, Dominguez said he wanted to clear up the misunderstanding and move on.
“I learned that there was confusion about what I said,” Dominguez said. “I wanted to clear the record and get back to working on issues that are important to people, like revitalizing State Street, helping small businesses succeed, and public safety.”
— 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.
