Goleta City Councilman Stuart Kasdin has announced that he is running for a third term in this November’s election.

Kasdin shared his views on Goleta and the reasons he is seeking a third term.

“I enjoy it,” Kasdin said. “It’s fulfilling.”

Kasdin, a political science teacher at Santa Barbara City College who formerly taught at George Washington University, represents District 4, which is in Western Goleta.

In this one-hour podcast, Kasdin talks about his views on housing, including the controversial Glen Annie housing development; Goleta’s potholes; and the plan to restripe Old Town Goleta to add diagonal, back-in parking, and reduce the number of lanes from four to two. Click on the YouTube link to watch the podcast.

“There are three goals,” Kasdin said about the Old Town plan. “There’s safety, not just for bikers, but also pedestrians. It will be easier to cross the road when there is two lanes.”

Kasdin also noted that Old Town Goleta is a neighborhood, so how it impacts the residents is also important.

The second goal, he said, is circulation.

“Those people who are concerned, are absolutely right, and it is reasonable and appropriate for them be concerned,” Kasdin said.

He said the third is the impact on businesses.

“I think it is important to realize that not all businesses are the same,” Kasdin said.

“There are a lot of businesses in Old Town especially that are small,” Kasdin said. “Other places are really suffering, like Old Town Antiques, which recently went out of business, coffee shops, the bookstore, those are businesses that people are likely not driving from elsewhere to get to.”

Kasdin said he wants to make Old Town Goleta more attractive, like “an outdoor mall.”

Joshua Molina is journalist who currently writes for Noozhawk and teaches journalism at Santa Barbara City College. 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.