[Noozhawk’s note: This story is part of a series about Santa Barbara’s switch to district-based elections for the City Council.]
District-based elections are an opportunity to increase gender, racial and ethnic representation in the political process, said Luz Reyes-Martín, board president of the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee.
“We have seen both in our community and other parts of the state the opportunities that it provides for women, for women of color, and for underrepresented community members to be able to run and win,” she said.
“That’s just one step … running your election and winning is a huge goal, but the Women’s Political Committee will be with them even after.”
Recruiting and training candidates for local elected office are among the core initiatives at the SBWPC, with a focus on representation at every level of government.
“National politics are critical and important, and even statewide. But, there are decisions that impact your everyday life that take place at a local level, and we want people to recognize that, and understand that system better,” she said.
“It’s not just city council, school board and county supervisors. It’s the water and sanitation board … fire district board and commissions,” she said.
The SBWPC has a mission to promote “the feminist values of social, political, racial and economic gender equality.”
Santa Barbara County’s population of about 446,400 residents is comprised of about 50% men and 50% women, but that is not reflected in elected offices.
“We look below the top-level elected seats … and when you look down there … that’s where there is not as much representation as much as we would like,” said Reyes-Martín, who is also a member of the Goleta Union School Board.
Women tend to need to be asked repeatedly — seven or eight times — before they say ‘yes’ to pursuing a path in political participation, she added.
“We still do not have gender parity in elected office. A lot of our work is showing women examples of other women in our community who are serving, so they can see it can be done,” she said.
However, there is “quite a lot of excellent representation,” in Santa Barbara, especially along the South County, she said.
“That doesn’t happen by accident.”
The SBWPC offers campaign consultation sessions, skills workshops and scholarships through A Fund for a Feminist Future (FFF).
The money provides candidates with the knowledge and tools necessary to run for office, and to apply for appointments on commissions, boards, or other political offices.
City City Council Salary (2018) Mayor Salary (2018) Santa Barbara $44,576 $55,720 Goleta $42,134 $50,561 Santa Maria $15,756 $18,756 Lompoc $7,200 $9,600 Solvang $7,200 $8,400 Buellton $5,280 $5,280 Carpinteria $3,720 $3,720 Guadalupe $1,800 $1,800
Serving on a commission or board can be a great opportunity for residents to help their community, but many people may not be able to afford the time commitment Reyes-Martín said.
The five members of the County Board of Supervisors receive a salary of about $103,000, and City Council salaries range from $1,800 in Guadalupe to about $45,000 in Santa Barbara.
Most school boards, special districts and city commissions pay members small stipends, if they get paid at all.
According go the National League of Cities, the “average number of hours spent per week on council-related matters in small, medium and large cities is 20, 25 and 42, respectively.”
Many potential candidates have a full-time job and would have to balance work on top of duties as an elected official.
“When we talk to people who want to give back to their community, many people here in our community have to work full-time in order to afford to live here,” Reyes-Martín said.
“A county supervisor or a city council member may not be something they can actually do because they have a job and career.”
Goleta’s Public Engagement Commission suggested the city increase City Council salary to be closer to the median income. Voters agreed to increase salaries to $42,000 from $7,000 a year.
Getting ‘Voices at the Table’ for Every Level of Government
Santa Barbara has made the switch to district-based elections in 2015, after settling a lawsuit alleging the city’s at-large system violated the California Voting Rights Act and diluted Latino votes. Similar allegations have been filed across California, and most local cities have changed to districts as well, or will soon.
At the time Santa Barbara made the change, four in 10 city residents identified as Latino or Hispanic, but only one person on the seven-member Santa Barbara City Council did.
Almost 60 million people who identify as Latino live in the United States, and they are not proportionally represented in federal, state or local government, according to the Latino Victory Fund, a progressive political action committee.
Latinos comprise about 18% of the population in the United States, but make up about 1% of all elected officials, said Mayra Macías, the executive director of the Latino Victory Fund.
“That statistic is the foundation of why Latino Victory was created,” Macías told Noozhawk.
The national organization recruits and develops candidates for public office to increase Latino representation at every level of government, while building a permanent base of Latino donors to support each individual.
“The reason why donors are important within the political ecosystem is that many of our candidates cite the lack of a network or cite fundraising as a big obstacle for them to get involved,” Macías said.
Latino Victory Fund provides a network of support, but the biggest asset telling people they “can do it and should do it,” Macías said.
Often, Macías said, “the biggest hurdles are affirmation it is possible.”
She continued: “Because of that big disparity, many times, people in our community don’t know they can be elected officials, and that they can serve in public office because you can’t be what you can’t see.”
Latino Victory Fund is intentional about “going into districts, cities or states where there aren’t Latinos represented, and helping recruit,” Macías said.
Latino communities are often not a priority for traditional campaigns, Macías said.
“We are a young community, so if you are looking at who to target in a voter file, oftentimes, a bulk of our community won’t have a robust history because they are first-time voters.”
It’s important to have diversity in candidates because they are the people doing the day-to-day work of talking to the voters that represent the community, Macías said.
Local forms of government often have the most impact on everyday life, Macías said.
“People are often surprised when we say we endorse or support from the school board up to the president,” Macías said. “It’s critical that in all levels of government we have voices at the table who can advocate for the needs of our community.
“Because if we are not at the table,” she added. “The policies and values of our community are not going to be advocated or brought up.”
Read The Series
» 5 Years Later, Santa Barbarans Reflect on Goals, Outcomes of Switch to District Elections
» District Election Advocates Say There’s Still Work to Do to Improve Neighborhood Representation
» Recruitment, Training Programs Help Increase Representation Among Women, Latino Candidates
» Goleta’s Public Engagement Commission Tasked with Increasing Participation in Local Government
» District Elections Did Not Increase Santa Barbara Turnout Much, But Even-Year Voting Should Help
» Making the Nooz: Noozhawk Digs Into Santa Barbara’s District Elections
About This Project
Noozhawk’s Report on Santa Barbara District Elections investigates the goals and outcomes of the city’s new system for choosing City Council members. Staff writers and editors collaborated on a series of stories and hope readers like you will contribute ideas and feedback for future reporting on the subject.
Santa Barbara has conducted three district elections, more than any other local city, and lessons learned from its implementation could help achieve the goals of the effort: improving voter and candidate participation to create a city government that better represents its residents.
This project was reported with help from the Solution Journalism Network’s Renewing Democracy grant.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
