Candidates Clash in Carpinteria City Council Race

This article is part of an ongoing series of candidate profiles ahead of the General Election on November 3, 2020. Stay tuned to our Election 2020 page for all of our latest profiles and election coverage.

With two seats open and three candidates running, the race for Carpinteria City Council heats up as November’s General Election approaches. Former BMX champion and current mayor Wade Nomura, nonprofit professional and licensed marriage and family therapist Natalia Alarcon, and former SBCC instructor Mark McIntire battle for council supremacy.

Carpinteria has consistently balanced the desire to maintain its small-town feel with increasing calls for economic development, with the City Council race focused on a few hot-button topics. The long-burning issue of cannabis cultivation is still smoldering in the minds of some Carpinterians who feel the industry has adversely affected the town’s air quality and community charm. Economic and educational recovery plans in the age of COVID-imposed restrictions continue to split the population. And proposed developments along the Carpinteria bluffs and Linden Avenue have also surfaced as contentious topics in the election.