As political tensions continue to skyrocket between incumbent Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams and his challenger, school board president Laura Capps, voters only have a few more days before the March 3 election to choose their next supervisor for the 1st District, which encompasses Carpinteria, Cuyama, Montecito, Summerland, and most of Santa Barbara.
Both Democrats share similar values when it comes to the district’s top issues — the environment, homelessness, and housing — and only clash over Williams’s approval of cannabis cultivation sites in Carpinteria.
Capps, while she doesn’t disapprove of legal pot, feels Williams opened the cannabis floodgates too far and believes the $62,000 in campaign donations Williams received from cannabis interest groups influenced him while writing and enacting the law. Capps is calling for an ordinance on campaign finance reform to bar groups and individuals with projects before the board from contributing to campaigns.