Tom Widroe believes Donald Trump, even though he is a convicted felon, deserves another run as president.

“I am going to vote for Donald Trump,” Widroe says. “He’s a flawed character, for sure. I don’t think people have paid much attention to his felony conviction. And I think largely they are correct.”

Widroe, the executive director of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association, spoke with Josh Molina on the latest episode of the podcast Santa Barbara Talks.

Widroe is a conservative public affairs and political consultant, with a long history in Santa Barbara County. He also serves on the Santa Barbara County Republican Central Committee.

In this podcast, Widroe talks about Trump, President Joe Biden, public schools, housing and current culture wars, including politically correct speech and the concept of privilege.

“I do feel privileged and I will tell you how,” Widroe said. “What we all have in America it is called American privilege. There’s never been a better time in history to be an American than now.”

Widroe also shares his views on Santa Barbara’s housing situation. He is a proponent of building more housing to halt the housing shortage and wants school vouchers so families can transfer their children out of lower-performing schools.

“Why aren’t our schools, particularly in grade school, why aren’t these kids learning to speak English, to write, to communicate effectively, that’s not something I have the answer to, but it’s not going great,” Widroe said.

He also discusses his views on the importance of two-parent households in shaping a child’s future and ways to improve outcomes for children and families.

“A remedy for a lot of this stuff, and I know it is unpopular in some circles, is sobriety, don’t drink too much, don’t take too many drugs, if you are going to have kids, do it when you are married, and get a job, or create a job yourself,” Widroe said.

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.