Santa Barbara Politics
The county seat — State Street, City Hall, and the fight over downtown's future.
The City of Santa Barbara is the county seat and its best-known name, a roughly 90,000-person coastal city famous for red-tile roofs, the Funk Zone, and State Street. It is run by a mayor and a district-elected City Council that votes on the budget, housing, and the long-running effort to revive a downtown hit by retail vacancies.
State Street — closed to cars and turned into a promenade during the pandemic — has become the single most-debated piece of pavement in the county, a stand-in for every argument about the city's direction. Housing costs, homelessness, and tourism economics round out the council's agenda.
Governance
Mayor + seven district City Council members. The council oversees the city budget, planning and zoning, police and fire, and State Street's future.
Elections
Mayor and City Council are elected in nonpartisan races; council seats are by district on four-year staggered terms.
Local Issues
- State Street promenade
- Downtown retail vacancies
- Housing & rent costs
- Homelessness
- Short-term rentals
Who Represents Santa Barbara
U.S. Representative, California's 24th District
Federal
Monique LimónCalifornia State Senator, District 21
State
Gregg HartCalifornia State Assemblymember, District 37
State
Roy LeeCounty Supervisor, First District
County
Laura CappsCounty Supervisor, Second District
County
Das WilliamsFormer County Supervisor, First District
County
Oscar GutierrezSanta Barbara City Councilmember
City
Randy RowseMayor of Santa Barbara
City