Tide Chart Letters to the Editor

If you have something you think Montecito should know about, or wish to respond to something you read in the Journal, we want to hear from you. Please send all such correspondence to: Montecito Journal, Letters to the Editor, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite H, Montecito, CA. 93108. You can also FAX such mail to: (805) 969-6654, or E-mail to letters@montecitojournal.net Passion and Competence

When Das Williams was on the Santa Barbara City Council, I was the wife of a Councilmember, Grant House. Since then Das has been both my State Assembly member and my County Supervisor. I got to know him when he served on the Council, and have seen him grow since.

Das was young, passionate and energetic on the Council. He’s not so young anymore, but he’s kept that passion and energy, using it to help our community in so many ways. On the Council, he fought to make the City more environmentally responsible. As an Assembly member, he authored bills to end California’s dependence on fossil fuels and to fight offshore oil drilling. He authored the nation’s first “red flag law,” where the courts can temporarily remove guns from people who present a clear danger. He also got the 911 cell phone system reformed to end the response delays that put callers in danger.

As First District Supervisor, he faced a challenge that no Supervisor here has: two devastating natural disasters. He got out with a shovel when the Bucket Brigade formed. He handed out water bottles when the water was shut off. And he and his staff worked for 18 months helping the thousands of people to rebuild their lives.

Das has always combined passion with competence, learning how government systems work so he can get the most done. I can’t imagine why we in the First District would want to give that up. I’m voting for Das on March 3.

Peggy Jo Love

Dirty Politics

I have been following the Santa Barbara County Supervisor 1st District race closely and have some observations.

I was grateful that your recent Editorial publicly exposed the dysfunction and bias of the local Democratic Party where potential candidates, regardless of their qualifications, are actively discouraged or pressured from running and the endorsement process is essentially rigged in advance placing qualified candidates at a distinct disadvantage. This has been largely the case for a number of years but was at its most egregious in the current 1 st

District Supervisorial race where the local Santa Barbara Democratic

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-Santa Barbara Resident LETTERS Page 254 Party endorsed Das Williams in July, 2019 fully five months before the December, 2019 filing deadline to run. This was a deliberate effort to secure the endorsement for Das Williams and exclude Laura Capps after the Party was informed that she was strongly considering a run and despite her strong credentials as the President of the Santa Barbara School Board and her longstanding work with leading Democrats in the White House and US Senate. True, Ms Capps might not have received the endorsement, but the local Santa Barbara Democratic Party made 100% sure she had no chance of receiving it.

And, for Das Williams to accuse Laura Capps of “dirty politics” as he has recently done is laughable. I should know since I am the person whose photo Das Williams unscrupulously photo-shopped back in 2010 to put a champagne glass in my hand where none existed when he ran against me for State Assembly. A scroll through Williams’ 2010 primary campaign filing details the massive amount of PAC money he took during that Assembly race and that’s not counting the numerous mailers paid for by special interests that landed in voters’ mailboxes.

As for dirty politics, Williams is poised to again benefit from a substantial influx of money from a recently formed PAC called the Central Coast Residents Supporting Das Williams for Supervisor 2020. This Independent Expenditure (IE) Committee, which is legally required to be at arm’s length from the candidate it is supporting, has in the past week sent four mailers to local residents and voters attacking Laura Capps. Who’s leading this PAC? None other than cannabis consultant Mollie Culver who worked closely with Supervisor Williams to create the botched Cannabis Ordinance that has done so much terrible damage to our communities, schools and children in the space of less than two years. And who is the PAC’s assistant treasurer? None other than Das Williams former Campaign Treasurer Shawnda Deane who worked for him continuously since his 2010 Assembly race until 2019 and whose praises he sings on her company’s website. These close ties, which may be illegal, stink almost as much as the cannabis that grows surrounding Carpinteria High School. And just today 2/14/20, The Los