Goleta City Councilman Kyle Richards shares his “coming out,” story in recognition of national Pride Month, in this special edition of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina
Richards was elected in 2016, and is the only openly gay elected official in Santa Barbara County.
He shared his story about telling his parents while in college after his mother asked him if was gay.
“I didn’t want to lie, I didn’t want to be evasive,” Richards said. “I just, as hard as it was, said, ‘Yeah, I am,’ and she started crying and said it was the worst thing I ever told her. I was kind of hoping that if she was ready to ask the question that she was ready to hear the answer.”
Richards said it was rough time, but now his parents are super supportive of him.
“One thing to keep in mind with people who are coming out is this is the person that they are, they are just letting you in on a little more about who they are, and they may be something that you didn’t know about them,” Richards said.
Richards later talks about everything going on in Goleta, how the community has changed in the past two decades, and what prompted him to run for City Council.
He said he attended a meeting about running for office and was hoping to meet other people interested in public service.
At the time, he was growing increasingly aware of the rapid housing development and related traffic congestion in Goleta. Generally a shy person, Richards decided to seek office because he knew someone had to make some noise about the issues he cared about.
“Someone needs to step up, someone needs to do something,” Richards said. “I didn’t want it to be me. I honestly don’t crave the spotlight. I don’t enjoy a lot of attention.”
The councilman and Molina talk about a variety of of other topics, including the return of the Lemon Festival, the arrival of Target, and the spurt of new housing over the past decade.
Richards talks about the future of Old Town Goleta, which includes narrowed roads, larger sidewalks and reverse angled parking, with new bike paths.
There’s also banter about the Camino Real Marketplace, a possible new sales tax, the future of housing in Goleta, and homelessness.
Please watch this podcast on YouTube and subscribe. Visit SantaBarbaraTalks.com for more podcasts and information from journalist Josh Molina.
Molina is a journalism instructor at Cal State University, Northridge and Santa Barbara City College, and brings his years of experience, reporting and listening skills to this podcast to help create amazing conversations with interesting and intriguing individuals. For the audio, find the podcasts on Apple or Spotify, or his website, Santa Barbara Talks.