Could defense systems engineer Bob Smith overtake Congressman Salud Carbajal in next week’s election?

Smith is a Carpinteria resident asking voters to take a chance on him if they’re ready for change as he challenges Carbajal, a Democrat from Santa Barbara, who is seeking his sixth term. Carbajal has served in California’s 24th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017.

Smith is a retired U.S. Navy commander and veteran. He is listed on the ballot as a Republican but shook up the campaign in September when he said he changed his party preference to no party preference.  

“It’s like our stadium’s on fire and it’s falling apart, and everybody’s arguing with each other whether they have a red or a blue jersey on,” Smith said. “To me, it’s just like how about we just solve some problems?”

Carbajal is hoping his track record has earned him enough goodwill with voters that they will re-elect him. 

“I’ve delivered results for the Central Coast,” Carbajal said. “I think I have a proven track record that I hope to continue — being a good listener and working hard for the Central Coast for the priorities, needs and challenges that we are facing.”

Carbajal is a former Santa Barbara County supervisor and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve veteran. He serves on the House Committee on Armed Services, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Agriculture. 

If he is re-elected, Carbajal’s first priority, and the first thing he thinks Congress needs to work on, is the cost of living.

He wants to restore the Affordable Care Act premium tax credit so people can keep their healthcare, and wants to stop the war in Iran to bring down gas prices.

“Families are hurting,” Carbajal said. “That’s the No. 1 thing that Congress needs to work on immediately — to bring down the price of gas, groceries, housing, healthcare.”

To address affordability, Smith wants to see small modular reactors on federal property to bring down energy costs, regional collaboration to create a healthy housing ecosystem and direct the Federal Reserve Board to lower interest rates for first-time homebuyers. 

Smith grew up in Philadelphia and worked as a defense systems engineer in the Navy, eventually making his way to commander, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

After coming back from deployment in 2010, Smith got his master’s degree and worked with the Department of Defense, now called the Department of War, to develop new technology such as radar, ships or missiles for new threats. 

Smith said his first priority if elected would be to bring home federal funds for community projects such as a swimming pool and STEM labs for Carpinteria High School, fixing roads and infrastructure, fire prevention and mitigation efforts, and building more housing in Lompoc.  

Carbajal said he wants to move forward on legislation he’s introduced to secure affordable childcare, provide down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, and double the Pell Grant and financial aid for college students.

Immigration is also a big priority for the candidates. Smith wants to ensure protections and a citizenship pathway for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and people brought to the United States as a child. 

“I think most people agree. They understand that that was not that person’s fault, they did not make the decision,” Smith said. “They had no agency. They’re stuck in a weird do-loop where they can’t apply for a legal pathway, and I think that it’s just ethical to put those people on a legal pathway and let them then earn citizenship.”

Carbajal wants to see U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reformed and put a stop to families being separated. 

“We need to address all this terror that ICE is bringing upon our communities and reform ICE and stop the separation of families and the terror that they’re bringing on our communities,” Carbajal said. 

He also wants to see a stop to the Trump administration’s “corruption” with restarting the Sable Offshore Corp. oil pipeline in Santa Barbara County and instead focus on wind energy projects. 

Carbajal said he hopes his work, specifically on the bipartisan infrastructure law that brought $1 billion and 13,000 jobs to various infrastructure projects, will earn him re-election in November. 

He also points to his work sponsoring the Childcare Availability and Affordability Act and supporting the designation of the Chumash Heritage Marine Sanctuary.

“I have a track record of being effective,” Carbajal said. 

Smith said he is hoping that voters agree that “it’s time to move on” and that the Central Coast needs new leadership.

“It’s time for a disrupter,” Smith said. “It’s time to send somebody smart in there. I do not want to be a career politician. I’m not going to be there forever. I want to go in there for a few years, disrupt this system, get some problems solved and then hopefully turn it over to the next problem-solver.”

Voters can decide for themselves on Nov. 3.

Read about more candidates and issues in the Noozhawk Voter Guide.