It didn’t take long for new First District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Roy Lee to get his hands dirty.

Two days after he was sworn into office with major accolades and fanfare, Lee made a decision that upset some people.

As an alternate on the regional board the Local Agency Formation Commission, LAFCO, Lee cast a vote to re-appoint Shane Stark as the at-large member of the group, and Roger Aceves as the alternate.

Not really a huge deal, except for the fact that Lee was filling in for Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson, who, along with a LAFCO ad-hoc committee, had recommended Jenelle Osborne, instead of Stark, and Aceves.

“Supervisor Hartmann made an incredibly compelling argument for Stark, and from listening to that I agree with her and fully supported her,” Lee told Noozhawk. “That was it.”

Nelson was off in Sacramento on an official Santa Barbara County trip, and was disappointed in Lee’s vote in his absence. When contacted by Noozhawk, he shared his views.

“It is hard to believe that the decision to choose a different direction was not influenced by political and personal factors, ultimately harming representation for the North County,” Nelson said. “I was surprised that the other North County commissioner did not advocate for our region, with only James Kyriaco voting in favor of equal representation.”

Nelson said the commission did not adopt the recommendations of the ad-hoc committee, despite it being indicated that the Board would follow those suggestions when volunteers were asked to serve.

“We dedicated time just days before Christmas—when most elected members were on break—to conduct interviews and deliberations,” Nelson said. “Our goal was to adopt a balanced approach that respected regional representation while allowing community members to cycle through various roles over time.”

Is the political honeymoon already over?

Lee was sworn in last week after a stunning upset of the longtime incumbent Das Williams. For more than a year, Lee and his candidacy has been cast in contrast to Williams, who fell out of favor with many constituents and political leaders largely over his handling of the county’s cannabis ordinance, and an overall decay in constituent service.

Lee’s victory over an entrenched incumbent signaled a changing of the guard. All of those individuals who were unhappy with Williams over cannabis, the removal of Montecito ring nets, and a sense that he stopped listening to constituents, jumped on the Lee bandwagon.

But with the change in power complete, Lee is now standing on his own, and everyone is watching to see how he will govern, amid high expectations.

“The first 100 days for our team the goal is to do outreach,” Lee said. “We want to let people know we are here to listen, we’re here to serve, and we’re here to get things done.”

He said “building bridges in the community in the longterm will achieve our goals.”

Among his first actions, which is coming up Tuesday on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors agenda, is tackling cannabis.

“Mandating carbon scrubbers is the first step toward finding a solution to finally stopping the complaints and all of the issues we have had in the county,” Lee.

Lee has support from board chair Laura Capps and Nelson to launch a full-scale attack on cannabis. Lee’s approach represents a dramatic difference from his predecessor.

Carpinteria is ground zero for the county’s cannabis policy, said Lee, a former Carpinteria City Councilman.

“We’re not against the industry as a whole, but the odor, putting it next to homes and schools, and creating those kinds of impacts, has left a really bad taste in the mouth of the Carpinteria community,” Lee said. “Now we have an opportunity to fix that and really move ahead, creating a better relationship with the Carpinteria Valley.”

Lee was sworn in formally on Monday with a reception inside the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Mural Room. The next day he said his oath of allegiance to the county, with his family in the front row to experience the moment. He has three children, Tyson, 17, Madison, 15, and Elle, 13.

“You saw my wife, my kids, my mom and dad, when I took the oath, for them to be there it meant a lot,” Lee said. “I haven’t seen my dad in a suit for over 20 years.”

“I will never let, not just my family, my community down,” Lee said.

Lee, 43, along with his Uncle Fu, and wife Tina, own the Uncle Chen Chinese restaurant in Carpinteria. Lee’s brother, Brian, is a Carpinteria mailman.

Lee was 3 years old when his mother and father came from Taiwan into the United States. His parents were farmers; his father raised livestock, and his mother grew bananas.

During his first week he was in the office at 7 a.m. and stayed until 6 p.m. It took some work, but he finally found all the bathrooms in the building. He hired a person to replace him at the restaurant, where he previously spent his days. He credits his wife for taking over the business to allow him to work full time at the county.

“I am fully committed to this position,” he said.

Board Chair Capps showered Lee with praise when she welcomed him at Tuesday’s board meeting.

“To Roy Lee, my friend, you radiate goodness,” Capps said. “It’s wonderful to have your family here and experience the warmth of the restaurant you built with your family shows me you are are going to bring the compassion, the warmth, the genuine spirit to this board room as well.”

As Lee sat inside the county board of supervisors meeting room, he soaked the moment in. It’s all still a bit unbelievable.

“It will take time for people to get to know me,” Lee said. “I don’t expect them to always agree with me, but I will always listen and work with people and be myself and be honest.”

Beyond Nelson’s concern about North County representation on LAFCO, Lee’s vote also signaled, at least on this issue, an alliance with Supervisor Hartmann, who has a very public grudge against Osborne.

Osborne unsuccessfully challenged Hartmann for the Third District Supervisor’s seat, a move that surprised Hartmann because she had previously campaigned for Osborne, the then mayor of Lompoc.

When it came time for Osborne to run for re-election as Lompoc mayor, Hartmann recruited and supported a candidate to challenge Osborne. Although Hartmann’s candidate Lydia Perez did not win, she took enough votes from Osborne to allow conservative Jim Mosby to win the seat.

Lee said he didn’t consider that in his decision, but that he had reviewed resumes and determined that Stark, former Santa Barbara County counsel, was more qualified than Osborne.

“For me, being accountable for my actions is important,” Lee said. “If I make a decision, I expect to be fully responsible for what I did.”

Lee said his actions aren’t political because “I am bad at politics and I am here to do what is right.”

For now, a week into the job, Lee is still full of glee at what he has been able to accomplish.

“It’s hard to explain,” Lee said. “I feel just happy, the kind of happiness I felt when my kids were born. That kind of happy.”