The battle for the District 1 seat on the Santa Barbara City Council is taking shape.
Incumbent Alejandra Gutierrez is facing a challenge from Wendy Santamaria, a labor organizer.
The two met last Wednesday at a candidates’ forum hosted by Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina and Newsmakers with Jerry Roberts.
The candidates responded to questions on rent stabilization, affordable housing, State Street, the proposed half-cent sales tax on the ballot, and their views on the development at La Cumbre Plaza. Click on the YouTube link below to watch the forum.
Also in the contest is Cruzito Herrera Cruz, who has run for office unsuccessfully several times.
The debate over rent control so far had defined the contest.
Santamaria supports a 2% increase cap on annual rents, while Gutierrez opposes any local percentage increase cap. Gutierrez has received campaign support from many property owners. Santamaria is backed by local labor groups and the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party.
The two also disagree on the proposed half-cent sales tax increase, as well as whether to keep State Street closed to vehicles in the downtown area.
Check out this hour-long debate, which was hosted by TV Santa Barbara at the Community Environmental Council’s downtown building, 1219 State Street.
You can also find one-on-one conversations with the candidates and Josh Molina here:
Joshua Molina is journalist who currently writes for Noozhawk and teaches journalism at Santa Barbara City College and Cal State University, Northridge. He formerly covered politics and land use for the San Jose Mercury News. Santa Barbara Talks is an independently owned podcast where Molina looks to bring together voices from all perspectives to discuss and provide solutions to the challenges related to housing, education, transportation and other community issues. Subscribe to his podcast here and consider a contribution here.