If dysfunction were an art form, the Santa Barbara City Council chambers just became the Museum of Modern Art. To paraphrase a line from Bette Davis, you better fasten your seat belts because it’s doing to be a bumpy ride. After watching the newly constituted City Council in action, it’s clear Bette didn’t know the half of it. The new regime—just sworn into office two weeks ago — is experiencing extreme difficulty finding its collective ass with either hand. Late Tuesday night, the council saw fit to make a bad situation that much worse by guaranteeing a state of perpetual gridlock will persist between now and June.
The problem, in a nutshell, is that the council is shy one member. When Cathy Murillo was elected mayor last November, she went from representing the city’s Westside council district — the 3rd District — to banging the gavel. That created a vacancy that has to be filled. That also means there are only six votes to be cast on a given issue. This situation, in turn, created the theoretical possibility of tie votes and deadlock.
Tuesday night, that theoretical possibility became an inevitability.