Laura Capps stepped up her quest for the county’s 1st
District supervisor seat, currently held by Carpinterian Das Williams, with a
proposal to limit campaign contributions and to “ban contributions from
anyone with business before the board.” That could affect constituents ranging
from cannabis growers seeking permits to the county unions in contract
negotiations. Both groups give heavily to supervisor campaigns, and elected
officials themselves give each other thousands of dollars for their campaigns.
Williams called her plans a “poorly thought out political stunt.”
Anticipating the contest before the vote in March 2020, Capps
argued that those with money have too much power; she wants a county law to
limit contributions in the supervisor races to $1,000. Former supervisor Susan
Rose stood beside Capps as she made the announcement, though Capps said she
hadn’t yet spoken with the sitting supervisors about her plan. The dozen other
supporters there, including publisher Sara Miller McCune and Carpinteria school
board member Rogelio Delgado, have criticized Williams for being too friendly
with cannabis interests. Capps’s campaign manager, David Brostrom, distributed
a list of contributions to Williams from growers, many allegedly linked in time
to appeals or permit applications, adding up to $62,200.
In a phone conversation while Williams traveled to Cuyama
for a meeting on groundwater — which is critically drawn down in parts of the
valley — he said it was easy to tie campaign contributions to the county’s cannabis
issues, which have consumed more than 50 public meetings. “What she’s
proposing would prohibit anyone who ever needs anything from the board from
participating in politics,” he said. The only people who could participate
after that “are rich people who support Laura Capps,” he shot back.