The Santa Barbara City Council election may be a nonpartisan race, but sharp divisions were in evidence at an Oct. 24 forum featuring the three incumbents and the three candidates challenging them.
The forum, hosted by the Greater Santa Barbara Lodging Association, came less than two weeks before the Nov. 6 election.
Even on topics on which all the candidates mostly agreed — such as the need to widen Highway 101 — their answers seemed colored by whether they were insiders or outsiders.
While all six candidates agreed that Highway 101 should be widened, it was the three incumbents who talked up the merits of alternative forms of transportation, and the three challengers who came to the defense of automobiles.
Incumbent Das Williams qualified his support for widening the freeway by saying it is just one of many pragmatic solutions to traffic congestion. The cheapest way to reduce traffic, he said, is to make the city friendlier to buses, pedestrians and bicycles.
“I do support widening 101, but four or five years from now you’re going to hate it,” he warned the roughly 70 people in attendance at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort. “You’ll be exhausted by the amount of construction.”
Likewise, incumbent Helene Schneider championed the prospects of commuter rail, and incumbent Brian Barnwell said more businesses should encourage employees to work from home several times a month, as the city has begun doing. He added that the 101 widening should make way for lanes dedicated to high-occupancy vehicles such as buses.
In contrast, challenger Frank Hotchkiss referred to commuter rail as “too expensive an experiment,” and took a jab at Williams for lamenting the pains of highway construction.
“When you put an addition on your house, there’s going to be dust,” he said. “But that comes with improvement, so I do not think we should gripe about that.
Challenger Michelle Giddens was unequivocal about her support for widening the highway.
“We’re Southern California — cars are a big part of it,” she said. “We’re not a fly-in kind of city, we’re a drive-in kind of city.”
As for commuter rail, she said it would not be money well spent, because in other cities it “doesn’t do anything to decrease congestion.”
Challenger Dale Francisco said the widening of 101 should already have occurred.
STATE STREET CLOSURES?
Surprisingly, the candidates’ positions on whether to close parts of State Street to vehicle traffic did not vary drastically.
The notion was not ruled out by any challengers, who otherwise have been quick to blast their opponents for taking stances that they believe are out of touch with the mainstream.
In essence, though, all three challengers said they will base their positions on the sentiment of downtown merchants, who will be surveyed this weekend on the merits of the idea. (They are not expected to support it, said Steve Cushman, executive director of the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce.)
Francisco said he would support the idea if a reliable traffic study determined it was feasible, and “if there’s a groundswell of support from (merchants) in this area.”
Hotchkiss said, “I wouldn’t do a thing until all of you are united. And skip the traffic study.”
Giddens said she would normally oppose any effort to close or narrow the roads, but “I would support it as long as businesses also are in support.”
Among the incumbents, Schneider took the most similar stance to the challengers, saying she would only support the idea with the backing of the Chamber of Commerce.
Williams and Barnwell were less reserved.
Williams suggested a trial run in which part of the street will be closed at 6 p.m. in the “high season” summer months.
“Let’s experiment, and see what works,” said Williams, who acknowledged that most merchants will likely oppose the idea at first. He reminded the audience that merchants also fought the push to banish street parking on State Street years ago. “Look how many millions of dollars were made after that.”
Barnwell advocated a similar experiment, but for one weekend a month.
“I think it might be fun,” he said. “It’s very vibrant when that happens.”
HOMELESS AND GANG ISSUES
The widest rhetorical chasms centered on the issues of homelessness and gangs.
Hotchkiss and Francisco portrayed themselves as unafraid to get tough.
“On the homeless issue, word on the street is that Santa Barbara is a great place to hang out,” Hotchkiss said. When it comes to transients hanging out on a bench, the police are too polite, he added.
“They do everything but offer breakfast trays,” he said. “I’m not saying that’s wrong, but I think we can be more forceful.”
Hotchkiss also has a message for gang members: “Get out of the gang or get out of Santa Barbara.”
Francisco said that while he understands many homeless people are mentally ill and need help, “some of those people do not have good intentions. They are dominating our parks and downtown. We need to take that back.”
Giddens accused the City Council of doing nothing to deter gang violence until after the second of two murders this year — a charge the incumbents vigorously denied.
Schneider, meanwhile, portrayed herself as being armed with facts and said 20 percent of the region’s homeless are chronically so. Instead of arresting them, she said, they need rehabilitation.
Barnwell said the city must try to coordinate the many agencies — such as schools, counties and nonprofits organizations — that provide services to at-risk youth.
“Many of our youth programs are designed for moms who are going to take them to play soccer,” he said. “Those aren’t the at-risk kids.”
On gangs, Williams said: “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.” He called for a city program that would offer businesses incentives to hire youths who are at risk of joining a gang.
Williams also said he discourages people from placating panhandlers.
“We should not be giving them money; that’s like giving them a gun,” he said.