LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Selected, compiled, and edited by Jim Buckley

Oct 20, 2026

Bob Smith Has Earned My Respect

Having spent years in public service, I know what it takes to run for office and what distinguishes an exceptional candidate. I can say without hesitation that Bob Smith is one of the finest candidates I have ever encountered.

Bob has conducted his campaign with integrity, class, and an extraordinary depth of knowledge on the issues facing our communities. His command of complex policy matters, combined with his practical experience and thoughtful approach to problem-solving, is something rarely seen in political candidates today.

His remarkable work ethic has impressed me just as much. Bob has devoted an extraordinary amount of time and personal effort to traveling throughout the Central Coast, meeting with residents, listening to their concerns, and engaging directly with communities across the district. He has worked tirelessly to earn the trust of the people he hopes to represent.

Regardless of political affiliation, we should recognize and appreciate candidates who bring this level of dedication, substance, and character to public service.

I am extremely proud of Bob and the campaign he has run. He has set an example of what running for public office ought to look like. As I have said many times, Bob Smith is the real deal, and his leadership is exactly what the Central Coast needs in Washington.

Brooks Firestone

Former California State Assemblyman

FOR LACK OF MORALITY

Why does it keep happening?

Mass public killings in our country, most recently at Silver Rail Elementary School, in Bend, Oregon. Three innocent children ages 5, 8, and 11, murdered, along with a 25-year-old schoolteacher, dead for no reason.

Charlie Kirk was murdered.

President Trump was almost murdered three times, in Butler Pennsylvania, on the golf course in West Palm Beach, and at The White House correspondents’ dinner.

Look at the pain, suffering, and anguish caused, all for a lack of morality. The entire country saw the horror of Charlie Kirk‘s murder and felt the terrible chilling effect on freedom of speech, the cornerstone of our democracy, affecting both Democrats and Republicans alike.

There is one candidate however, that stands out for her willingness to speak to this critically important issue. Her name is Sari Domingues, and she is running for California State Assembly for our district. She writes her values on her campaign materials: responsibility, accountability, and morality. She values all human life. She has campaigned and spoken with grace and courage, despite facing tremendous challenges.

Sari Domingues, for California State Assembly, a worthy candidate, who has earned and deserves the support of both Democrats and Republicans alike.

Please consider voting for Sari Domingues for California State Assembly, because freedom cannot exist without morality.

Caroline Abate

Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY’S FIFTH DISTRICT AT STAKE

Two weeks from today, we will have the most important election for Santa Barbara County in the last three decades. What is at stake is who will be elected the next 5th District County Supervisor to replace retiring Steve Lavagnino.

We need Maribel Aguilera to become Fifth District Supervisor.

If Ricardo Valencia is elected, I can guarantee you the following bad things will occur:

The county will completely shut down the oil industry and will pass an ordinance to force all oil companies already in business to shut down.

Your new Supervisor will lead the effort to pass an agricultural minimum wage of not $26 an hour, but $32 or more dollars an hour.

The county will pass the most progressive, liberal rent control ordinance in the State of California applicable in all the unincorporated areas.

The County Sheriff’s Department will be significantly defunded.

And the great candidate on tap to run for the 3rd District seat in 2028 will not run because she would have no desire to serve on a board where she will be in the minority and have nothing more to do than to sit back and watch the disaster I mentioned above be implemented on her watch.

Here, however, are the good things that will happen if you elect Maribel Aguilera:

We will be able to slow the effort to put the oil industry out of business in this county, helping the industry survive through court challenges, and ultimately winning the 3rd District seat in 2028, which we can do, but only if Maribel wins.

We will be able to stop any efforts to impose a disastrous minimum-wage raise on agricultural workers.

We will be able to prevent the county from enacting one of the most progressive and liberal rent control ordinances in the State of California for all of the unincorporated areas.

We will be able to make reasonable efforts to stop the defunding of the County Sheriff’s Department budget.

And, we have a great candidate who will run for 3rd District Supervisor in 2028, who has a better than 50% chance of winning, ensuring that a pro-business, pro-taxpayer, pro-property rights, and pro-public safety agenda is implemented in county government.

It’s decision time: which Santa Barbara County do you want to live in? Do not take this lightly. One of these two alternatives is going to occur.

Are you a person who just talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk? Or do you do both? If you do both, then you will contribute something today to do everything in your power to make sure the agenda that supports business, taxpayers, property rights, and public safety, is pursued.

I say that because I know you can afford to contribute AT LEAST $20. If you’re taking this election and the consequences of who wins seriously, contribute what you can afford, whether it is $1, $10, $20, $100, or $1,000. I promise you that electing Valencia will cost you much more than your contribution.

Consider this a smart financial investment.

There are two Campaign Committees helping Maribel that you can contribute to today. Her campaign and an Independent Expenditure Campaign (IEC) Committee called the North County Jobs & Opportunity PAC. Maribel’s committee will focus on her positives. The North County Jobs & Opportunity PAC will focus on what Valencia stands for and what he will try to destroy.

Polling shows that when voters know where Valencia stands, they will vote for Maribel Aguilera. But polling also shows people don’t know where he stands, so it is essential to fund this committee to get the word out. Arguably, at this point, this North County committee is more important to contribute to than Maribel’s committee.

I am asking you to not just talk about it but to do something about it. If you have already contributed to Maribel Aguilera’s committee, I want you to match that contribution and contribute to the North County Jobs & Opportunity PAC.

If you haven’t contributed at all, shame on you; contribute to the North County PAC today. And if you can afford to contribute to both, please do so.

Here is the link to contribute to Maribel Aguilera’s committee:

And here is the link to contribute to the North County Jobs & Opportunity PAC:

If you’re in the oil industry, a royalty owner, farmer, rancher, landlord, small business owner, property owner, or want to see our police supported, there is no excuse for you to sit by and let what could otherwise happen, happen. I’ve given you a realistic assessment of what is to come based on who wins this election. If you do nothing, you may find yourself regretting what happened because you did nothing to stop it.

You’re on notice.

Step up and be counted.

Together, talking the talk and walking the walk, we will win in November and start down the right road to get this county back on the right track.

So get to your computer and click on the links above and contribute to the North County Jobs & Opportunity PAC and/or Maribel Aguilera’s campaign to help us experience the kind of future we want in Santa Barbara County.

Mike Stoker: : Environment, Energy & Agriculture Attorney (ret.), former Southwest Administrator US EPA; Former member of Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, and currently President & CEO Santa Barbara County Taxpayer Advocacy Center.

Carpinteria

LA, LA, LA DOLCE VITA

I went to my non-partisan Santa Barbara #NoKings rally to support voter’s rights and to stop voter suppression. I got verbally accosted by a SB Tenants Union individual who was handing out flyers when I told him all Santa Barbarans have a right to vote on the SaveSantaBarbara rent stabilization ordinance referendum. I had to tell him to be polite and asked him more than once to leave me alone.
Creating la dolce vita, one bite at a time,

Michele Carbone

Santa Barbara

WE ARE AT A CROSSROADS

With four of seven City Council seats up for election, we will decide if Santa Barbara begins showing results in solving its biggest problems or spends another four years studying, debating, and falling further behind.

If you live in the 4^th District, I strongly urge you to vote for Monte Wilson. Here is why.

He will prioritize and actually make financial sense of key issues that are long overdue, like streamlining our ordinances to make it easier to do business, ridding us of needless red tape that slows innovation and progress; he will incentivize smart retail and modernize our housing growth process; he will get our financial house back in order, ensure city government efficiency, and grow our city’s revenue (not our taxes).

Monte has vast experience in large and complex organizations and budgets. Monte is a fixer, a collaborator, a turn-around expert, a results-driven leader. He has fresh and results-oriented ideas for downtown’s economic vitality, safety in our streets and neighborhoods, and efficiency in our government,

We can’t continue to have a council that delays key decisions, calls for more costly studies, and ignores staff’s budget counsel. It is time for new faces and ideas.

Who we elect to City Council in November will affect the decisions made in the coming years that will shape housing, infrastructure, energy reliability, economic policy, and the overall business climate for years to come.

Santa Barbara needs a common-sense, independent voice on the Council, someone who isn’t afraid to act decisively and who will bring a practical, results-oriented approach to making real, near, and long-term progress.

Vote Monte Wilson in District 4.

Alixe Mattingly

Santa Barbara

SAVING SANTA BARBARA CITY DISTRICT 6

I normally do not involve myself in elections involving districts where I do not live, but this year is an exception. In district 6, there is a very real choice between common sense and political ideology.

While there are several candidates running for the city council, there are essentially two contenders. One is a product of a political machine whose focus is less on policy and more about winning elections. His focus is likely to be on local issues only to the degree that it advances a national agenda and his political career.

The other candidate is Alex Stoeber. It is my privilege to endorse Alex for Santa Barbara City Council, 6th district. Alex has risen from a difficult childhood and built a successful life in spite of that. He has chosen to run for city council out of a sincere desire to serve the city. I am aware that he has been putting in hard work to prepare for this position for over a year. I am very impressed with his willingness to work and his desire to serve.

Alex cares about the city and his district. He brings a strong commitment to fiscal stability, policies focused on doing the most for the city, and a compassionate approach to challenging issues like homelessness and affordable housing. Alex has experienced homelessness first hand as a child, so this discussion will never be merely a theoretical policy discussion where he is concerned.

Vote Alex Stoeber in District 6

I hope I can play some small part in persuading the voters from District 6 to vote for him.

Barney Melekian

Chief of Police (retired)

Santa Barbara