The journey that began at Ortega Park on Santa Barbara’s Eastside last May culminated Tuesday at City Hall when Wendy Santamaria took her seat on the Santa Barbara City Council.

Santamaria, an underdog in her bid to unseat Alejandra Gutierrez, pulled off the political upset in a campaign largely built around tenant rights and affordable housing.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t thank everyone in this room, and everyone who is not in this room, from the bottom of my heart for making this win happen,” Santamaria told the crowd of nearly 200 people Tuesday. “This win is not something that I just did. This is not just my victory. This is our victory.”

Santamaria, 27, the youngest person ever elected to the City Council, recalled how she used to speak to the council during public comment, but now she is a member.

“It’s very surreal to be sitting here,” she said.

Dozens of Santamaria’s supporters filled the room Tuesday to show support for her victory.

While it’s a new chapter for Santamaria, for Gutierrez, it’s the end. She served for five years on the City Council.

Gutierrez, who was born in Santa Barbara, shared about how her great-grandfather used to help decorate floats for the annual Fiesta celebration. She thanked her father and said she learned the value of hard work by watching her mother clean houses for a living. She said her uncle Mario used to clean City Hall.

“When he would clean City Hall, he would always say, ‘One of my family members is going to be in this building,'” Gutierrez told the crowd. “It ended up being his niece.”

Gutierrez said she never imagined she would be a politician.

“Everyone who knows me on a personal level knows that I don’t have that politician demeanor, but I am very grateful to this community, and I have helped so many people, and I have a love for this community that I think a lot of us share who grew up here,” Gutierrez said.

Each of the council members recognized Gutierrez for her work.

“Even where we have disagreed, and we have disagreed, and had really healthy debates over a number of issues, your love of Santa Barbara and its people have never been in doubt,” Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said of Gutierrez.

Mayor Randy Rowse also offered his support.

“I know you had challenges both personally and professionally, and you stood tall. You were very courageous, and I appreciate that and I respect that,” Rowse said. “I respect you for your community service and your dedication.”

Councilmen Oscar Gutierrez and Mike Jordan were re-elected to second terms.

Jordan thanked his wife, Dana, for supporting him during his first term and sharing the responsibility of being a council member, during the ups and downs.

“I can’t thank my wife, Dana, (enough) for joining me during that time and offering her full support,” Jordan said, fighting back tears.

He also waxed poetically about how to move forward when there’s division nationally and locally.

“We share more with those we disagree with than those we don’t,” Jordan said. “We all wake up in this city every day, and we’re in a place where other cities would just love to be us.”

Jordan said it is a community that is good and bad, but also a community that is looked at worldwide and regionally as one of the greatest small cities in the world. He said his goal is to join together and start from a place of agreement rather than opposition.

“Think how effective we could be if that’s where we started, rather than the left, the right, this side of the fence, that side of the fence, over here, over there, you’re playing offense, I am playing defense — if we just had none of that and work from a common foundation and appreciation of where we are starting out,” Jordan said.

Oscar Gutierrez thanked his father, who died 14 years ago, and whom he said he thinks about every day. He thanked his mother and said both of his parents sacrificed a lot for him. He thanked his family and his girlfriend, DJ Darla Bea, and his colleagues for supporting him.

“A lot of people don’t remember, but Mayor Rowse didn’t have a single gray hair until I got on the City Council,” Oscar Gutierrez said.

He said he is “here to serve,” and he even gave out his phone number for Santa Barbara constituents. He joked, “Just don’t write it on any bathroom stalls.”

“At any point if you have any idea, concern or issue that you want to address to us, don’t hesitate to reach out,” Oscar Gutierrez said. “I really put myself out there as much as I can.”

Tuesday’s meeting lasted about an hour, including an intermission with cake and sweet treats. Santa Barbara Police Department Color Guard members led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon was absent. She was on a Santa Barbara City College class field trip in Hawaii.

In her closing comments, Santamaria, who kicked off her campaign with a rally at Ortega Park, attempted to set the tone for 2025.

“We need to help preserve the fabric of this community,” she said. “No matter where you are from or where you were born, we all deserve a chance to live in a city that we make possible.”