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Another man’s treasure
GOP boosts efforts to help candidates
SB Flea Market reopens to niche crowd
By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Voters are now in the home stretch of election season, and the Santa Barbara County Republican Party is ramping up its activities for the next several days to increase support for its candidates in Tuesday’s election. According to Santa Barbara County GOP chairwoman Bobbi McGinnis, Republican candidates have been walking precincts and will continue to do so. Under normal circumstances, this would entail knocking on voters’ doors, but due to COVID-19, this year’s precinct walking involves dropping voter guides off at the doors of those who haven’t cast ballots yet. “We’re going to households that have not voted yet,” Ms. McGinnis told the News-Press. The party has a phone bank of around 15 people getting in touch with voters and has a goal of reaching around 50,000 to 60,000 people this weekend. Also, the GOP is reaching out to senior citizens to inquire if they need somebody to drive them to a polling place.
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
The Santa Barbara Flea Market returned Thursday.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Santa Barbara Flea Market was closed for months until Thursday, when 50 or so vendors unloaded at the Earl Warren Showgrounds to buy and sell a variety of goods. There were a couple produce stands, a food truck, fresh cut flowers and a large selection of plants for sale along one side. It looked like a small farmers’ market. Then, spread out in rows were folding tables, tents and vans holding both new and old items. A handful of shoppers milled around, purchasing knick knacks and large
furnishings. Some booths curated a particular look. Valerie’s Vintage & Supply Co., a Santa Ynez store that extends to the flea markets, had a feminine yet rustic feel. Valerie Madeira, the booth’s owner, said she usually just participates in the Ventura Flea Market on Wednesdays, but it’s closed. She was disappointed in Santa Barbara’s flea market. “It definitely needs more people here,” she said. “Santa Barbara should have an amazing flea market.” But it was early in the day, and she said her pop-up shows in Santa Barbara always get off to a slow start.
Bima Pimentel said the Ventura market is usually three times as large as the Santa Barbara market. “When Ventura was open, I was there every week,” she said. “It was rocking and rolling.” Thursday’s market was very calm at 9 a.m., an hour after it opened. Ms. Pimentel’s booth was a collection of vintage items: some coffee tables, a rug, pottery and a couple paintings. She doesn’t have a business name or work toward a distinct look, but she enjoys participating and selling fun pieces. “You don’t even have to buy anything. It’s just a fun way to shop and see what everyone has,” she
said. When the vendors arrive, they set up and browse one another’s booths. They often buy things from one another to sell later. “I think of this place like a casino,” Robert Sprout, owner of a booth called Toy Box, said. “We’re like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna buy this and see if I can make some money back plus more.’ It feels kind of like gambling.” That morning, he spent $80 on vintage Star Wars memorabilia from another dealer. He smiled and held up a small figurine, enjoying his flea market find. His booth is a collection of Please see market on A4
At left, vendors sell a variety of goods. Some focus on one type of item, and others have a diverse selection. At right, there are lots of antiques at the flea market, but even new items can be sold there.
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Former supervisor to serve as vote monitor for Trump By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Former Santa Barbara County supervisor and attorney Mike Stoker will soon leave Santa Barbara to spend a week on the East Coast to do vote monitoring as part of the legal team in President Donald Trump’s campaign. Mr. Stoker told the News-Press he was “honored” and “humbled” when the campaign called him up to request his services. Mr. Stoker has worked as one of President Trump’s appointees as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Southwest Region and as the U.S. representative of the Western Interstate Nuclear Energy Board. He was appointed to the former position in 2016, was dismissed from the position in 2017 citing “clashes” with the agency’s leadership and was appointed to the latter organization in March. As part of the vote-monitoring team, Mr. Stoker will work to make sure that only ballots that meet the requirements of a state’s election rules are counted on Nov. 3. “What our job is, is to make sure the rules and the process of that particular state are followed and that only ballots are counted consistent with the rules of that particular state,” he said.
Different states have different requirements for ballots, and the leadup to the general election has seen states adopt new rules for ballots. For instance, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that ballots cannot be rejected if the signatures on them don’t match those on their corresponding voter registration forms. Because getting an accurate vote count can be complicated if precincts open up ballots that shouldn’t be, Mr. Stoker stressed that it is crucial for ballots that meet a state’s list of requirements to be clearly separated from ones that don’t. He said questionable ballots should be sequestered until after Election Day, at which time it can be determined whether a particular ballot should be counted. “The question is going to be, are there sequestered ballots that can change that vote result? No candidate is going to announce victory or accept defeat until those ballots that have been sequestered have been counted,” Mr. Stoker said. He suspects that getting a final vote count in closely fought battleground states might take as long as several days or weeks. When Mr. Stoker meets up with the president’s re-election campaign on Saturday, its lead attorney will allocate attorneys to work in different states. Please see Stoker on A4
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While Republican candidates have not scheduled any parties or social events as of yet, the party is going to hold a Trump 2020 auto rally at 2 p.m. Saturday at 3820 State St. The GOP has also been training volunteers to work as poll watchers Tuesday. Though they will observe the polls during the day and watch ballots being counted at night thereafter, the Republican Party’s volunteers will not be working before Election Day. “We don’t have enough manpower for that, but we are going to do it on the day of the election,” Ms. McGinnis said. To voters who have not yet sent in their ballots, Ms. McGinnis made this appeal: “The Republican Party stands for jobs, liberty, freedom of speech and security. We are not in favor of defunding the police and we want quality education throughout the county.” Santa Barbara County Democratic Party chair Gail Teton-Landis did not respond to the News-Press’ request for an interview regarding her party’s activities.
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Thursday’s DAILY 4: 4-1-1-6
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