The Race Is on for Goleta City Council
Two Incumbents Face Two Challengers for Two Seats
As if in celebration of its 20th birthday, Goleta actually has two contested races for City Council seats. In the past, too often there would only be one candidate running without any opposition. Even after a voting rights violation lawsuit was threatened in 2017, one of the arguments against district elections was questioning whether enough people would step forward to have meaningful contests. The answer, today, is yes.
Two districts on the eastern side of the city each have an incumbent and a newcomer vying for a seat on the City Council. In District 1, Roger Aceves, a veteran police officer and councilmember, faces Luz Reyes-Martín, vice president for community engagement at Planned Parenthood and a member of the Goleta School Board. In District 2, James Kyriaco, who is finishing his first term on the Goleta Council and works for the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, faces his first challenger, Sam Ramirez, who is employed by the City of Santa Barbara and is a former Delano city councilmember.
Each is ambitiously knocking on doors to meet voters in their district, but if you haven’t met them in person yet, these portraits may help fill in the gaps.
