Goleta-born Ethan Woodill has a dream.
Can a local kid from the Goodland win a seat on the Goleta City Council? He believes it can happen.
Woodill, a Dos Pueblos High School graduate, a former high school wrestler, wrestling coach, volunteer Little League umpire and neighborhood activist, is running for office in District 3.
He spoke for nearly 90 minutes about his campaign for office, in the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina.
“I want a community that’s vibrant, that reflects everybody, that promotes more opportunities, better income, and a better life for everyone,” Woodill said.
Woodill lives in the same house he grew up in and cares passionately about his city.
He was among those who spoke at last Tuesday’s City Council meeting, along with several business owners, raising concerns about the Old Town restriping.
On the podcast, he talks about his opposition to the Goleta Old Town restriping project, Santa Barbara County’s Housing Element, which calls for housing at the Glen Annie Golf Club and Kenwood Village, and raises concerns about the city using Measure A funds to pay for roundabouts and street narrowing in Old Town, other than a pedestrian bridge.
“We have construction on the freeway, we have construction on the roundabouts,” Woodill said. “I feel there was a rush to bundle this into Project Connect.”
Woodill believes some of the current members of the council have lost touch with what the residents want.
“We need more pure, motivated candidates,” Woodill said. “I am not looking at another office. I am not looking to climb a ladder as far as a politician. I am clearly here for my neighbors. I am your neighbor first and your candidate second.”
In this podcast, he also talks about being a Libertarian, censorship, a recent ban he experienced from NextDoor, and his personal story.
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.
