01 - Why I'm Running

With this post, we're beginning a series of statements taken from Das' candidate profile. These all will be numbered sequentially, from 01, 02, etc.

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Why I'm Running


I grew up in the Goleta Valley, starting my path to public service walking precincts for Bill Wallace 13 years ago. When a pro-growth majority seized control of the Board in the early 1990’s, it was painful to watch places that I loved be bulldozed to make way for special interests and their poorly planned developments. We can’t get those special places back again, but we can and we must fight to keep what was done to the western Goleta valley from becoming the fate of the Gaviota Coast, local open space areas like More Mesa, and the remaining urban ag lands which characterize the 2nd District.

As a City Councilmember working on local solutions to our most pressing problems, I have found root causes that originate in regional land-use & transportation planning. To make real headway on the issues of open space preservation, traffic reduction, and pollution requires effective advocacy at the Board of Supervisors level.