Jerry Roberts
Three icons of Santa Barbara’s public safety clan endorsed Roy Lee over Das Williams in the First District Board of Supervisors race this week, saying the challenger is running to serve the community, not just his own ambition.
The unexpected endorsements by former District Attorney Joyce Dudley, retired city Fire Chief Pat McElroy and ex-Police Chief and county Undersheriff Barney Melekian not only lend credibility to the long shot campaign of Lee, a Carpinteria City Council member, but also represent a rebuke to Williams, who is seeking a third term.
At a time when Williams effectively controls the dominant local Democratic Party, and is backed by its most-closely allied organizations, the trio of Lee endorsements is significant because they send a loud message, which many political, business and non-profit leaders will only whisper.
All three have worked with both officeholders over the years, and their praise for the lesser-known Lee – in words which stress his honesty, integrity and communitarianism — offer an implicit contrast of their up close and personal experience with Das.
“I kept thinking about all the people in our community who won’t say publicly what they say in private because they are afraid of consequences,” McElroy told Newsmakers, referencing the incumbent supervisor’s reputation for political payback. “Elected officials who know better in private, but fall in line in public.”
“Enough is enough,” McElroy added.
Why endorsements can matter. As a practical matter, political scientists, professional hacks and the cognoscenti engage in an eternal, and unresolved, debate about the impact of endorsements on voters, ranging from advocacy groups and media outlets to celebrities and politicians.
As a political matter, these endorsements supply a small spark of excitement in what has been a low-energy, low-information campaign, while triggering a quick boost to Lee’s fundraising effort, which has lagged badly. His campaign this week quickly churned out its first mailer, featuring Dudley, McElroy and Melekian.
An entrenched incumbent, Williams predictably collected endorsements from groups that underpin Santa Barbara’s liberal Democratic establishment: the party’s county committee along with constant local allies, including the Sierra Club and Planned Parenthood.
Endorsements from these organizations carry solid benefits for Williams, including volunteers and money. Perhaps most importantly, the seals of approval function as signifiers, or information shortcuts, for voters who may not follow politics closely but feel aligned with the groups’ missions and values.
For the insurgent Lee, the imprimaturs of three people who have been influential in local emergency services and law enforcement circles validate the seriousness of his candidacy, and, he hopes, encourage voters who’ve never heard of him to check him out.
How insiders view Roy and Das. Melekian, the city’s former interim Police Chief, previously worked in county government, both as Undersheriff, and as Assistant County Executive Officer for Public Safety. Among other duties in the latter posts, he oversaw enforcement for, Williams’ idée fixe cannabis project.
It’s telling that in his formal endorsement of Lee, who has been harshly critical of his rival’s unwavering pro-pot industry stance, Melekian stressed the challenger’s law enforcement bona fides:
“Roy Lee’s understanding of the complexities of law enforcement and his unwavering support for public safety initiatives make him the ideal candidate for Supervisor,” he said in a prepared statement. “His vision for a safer community aligns with the needs of our law enforcement officers and the people they serve.”
In a brief phone interview on her way to catch a flight, Dudley contrasted Lee’s approach in elected office to that of Williams, with whom she clashed over a variety of issues, not least his push for lefty public safety policies she felt made the community less safe.
“Roy’s attitude and actions are those of a true public servant,” she told us. “My experience with Das was that it often was always about him.”
McElroy echoed Dudley’s sentiment.
“To his great credit Roy accepted the difficult challenge of going up against an entrenched incumbent,” McElroy said. “He already has a business to run, a council member’s seat and a family. It couldn’t have been easy, but he answered the call.
“Roy is not a man who is going to make a career out of his ambition,” he added.
What will Indy do? One of the few political endorsements that definitely, and consistently, makes a difference in local races is that of the Santa Barbara Independent, which interviews candidates and then offers their election choices as a voting guide for thousands of readers.
There’s little doubt that the paper will enthusiastically back incumbent Supervisor Joan Hartmann in the three-way Third District race, but what they do with the Das-Roy First District contest is the matter of considerable speculation among insiders and other hacks.
Four years ago, the Indy endorsed Das, albeit in a rather backhanded fashion, enraging backers of then-challenger Laura Capps, who still believe it made the difference in that narrowly-decided election.
Despite the plaintive hope expressed in that 2020 endorsement that Williams would wake up and change his ways –“But we also believe Williams will learn to admit his mistakes quickly and with compassion, and that he will strive to repair relationships with those who have been his past allies,” they wrote then (sheesh -ed.) – longtime Das-watchers have waited in vain for him to mature, let alone transmogrify.
The Montecito Journal, the second weekly based in Williams’ district, meanwhile has been a clear-eyed, consistent critic of his political preening and two-faced MO on important local issues, most especially cannabis, housing and flood control.
“Williams is the consummate career politician, and we are a stone on which he is stepping,” editor Gwyn Lurie wrote in a fierce takedown of the incumbent last week, which served effectively as an endorsement of Lee.
“There’s nothing wrong with ambition,” she added. “Politicians need ambition to succeed and, at its best, it’s on behalf of constituents. But in this case, it’s clear to those paying attention that Williams’ ambition represents more of a commitment to self-service than to public service. He doesn’t love Montecito. I’m not even sure he likes it.”
Ouch. Read the whole thing here.
P.S. Williams refuses to answer questions from Newsmakers, saying that doing so is “not in service of the public good.”
Hartmann’s re-election race is complicated by the facts that: a) she has two opponents – Republican businessman Frank Troise, and Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne, who is running as a No Party Preference independent; b) the district has been redrawn, cutting out Isla Vista’s trove of lefty-liberal younger voters and adding the more conservative city of Lompoc; c) turnout is uncertain, given that the presidential nominating races are expected to be all but over, with Joe Biden and Donald Trump certain to dominate across the state.
Voter data from the Secretary of State shows that registration in the new district is:
Democrats 43 percent
Republicans 28 percent
No Party Preference 20 percent
Third parties, unknowns 9 percent
According to sources close to our imagination, a back of the envelope, March 5 worst case for Hartmann would go something like:
50 percent overall turnout = 25,500 votes (approx)
Total needed to avoid run-off = 12,750 votes
40 percent Democrats (est) 10,200
31 percent Republicans (est) 7,905
29 NPP, third party, unknowns (set) 7,395
WAG assumptions: Say Joan holds serve on Democrats, and Frank does so among Republicans. Joan then would need to win an additional 2,550 votes, or about one-third of the remaining portion, to win outright on March 5. Swami sez: Given that she’s the only one who appears to be, you know, running an actual campaign, it’s eminently doable.
BTW, If you missed our recent conversation with Joan Hartmann, co-moderated by Josh Molina and the Newsmakers’ genial host, you can watch it via YouTube below, or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here
Alexblue:
Your comment about Das being the definition of “elite” and never holding a job outside politics is inaccurate. You may find the interview in 2020 SB independent comparing Das and Capps enlightening. Both went to Berkeley, Das, on a scholarship after attending SBCC and living in his van half the year.
In 1992, Williams flew to South Africa to work on Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress campaign and was paid $20. a day. He also worked as a support manager for an internet company . He was also an ESL teachers for a few years. Williams grew up with his single mother, brother, and half-brother. Williams was the oldest and often took care of his siblings \. The family moved numerous times — eight moves alone in his elementary years. He attended schools in Isla Vista. He later moved to Paso Robles and dropped out of high school at 16 . He moved back to Isla Vista and lived in his van during the warmer half of the year; he’d park it at Leadbetter Beach and take classes at SBCC. “I received so much mentorship from poli-sci professors at SBCC,” Williams said. “They even helped me get scholarships to Berkeley. Dr. Eskandari’s classes were life-changing.”
https://www.independent.com/2020/02/19/a-look-at-the-lives-of-das-williams-and-laura-capps/
The article goes on to describe Capps childhood and journey:
Capps’s childhood in Santa Barbara could be described as nothing short of picturesque.
“I remember riding my bike all over town,” Capps said. “We basically lived at the beach.
Capps was younger than her two siblings, Todd and Lisa. Though a descendant of the Capps dynasty — both of her parents, Walter and Lois Capps, represented Santa Barbara in Congress. Ms Capps also graduated from Berkley. She went to D.C. after college, where she got her political start as a White House aide to Senior Advisor George Stephanopoulos before becoming a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. Her favorite job in D.C.,was working as communications director for Senator Ted Kennedy.
Oh, that’s fair. I should have said “Das is the definition of POLITICAL elites.”
And the guy has been in politics bouncing around for literally twenty years. Almost half his life. A couple of years of low level jobs decades ago doesn’t count for much.
I think he got into it for the right reasons. And I don’t think he has stayed in it for the right reasons. I’ve seen that up close and personal. His sense of entitlement to keep collecting that fat government paycheck is unfounded. I’m not a fan of political lifers like him or people who inherit their political clout like Laura. I think it’s bad for the system. That’s why I’d rather back someone like Roy Lee who has a lifetime of real world experience and responsibility–we need more people like that. Get in, serve your constituents for a term or two and then move on.
I can’t forget the EMS debacle which made me want to vote against every supervisor.
I lived in Carpinteria for 8 years, close to Foothill and the greenhouses at the end of Santa Ynez Road — thank goodness well before the pot grows. I believe the stench issue was and is ignored by politicians.
(I’ve lived in SB County all my life and never missed a vote)
Das has a deserved battle on his hands.
But articles like this:
https://www.montecitojournal.net/2021/08/12/a-sense-of-belonging-private-clubs-add-to-santa-barbaras-residential-appeal/
“The private clubs that call communities like Montecito and Santa Barbara home, it can be argued, have a lot to do with that appeal.”
are what make me blanch at articles like this (cited by Roberts):
https://www.montecitojournal.net/2024/02/06/montecito-the-das-and-a-new-kid-in-town/
Aww, poor Montecito.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/30/style/montecito-california.html
Glad to read more people are finally waking up to Das Williams core self serving character and outright destructive handling on many matters. Please vote like you care about Santa Barbara!
FYI, I am a liberal, but anyone who dares open their eyes can very clearly see, hear and read what Das is all about. Out with him!
Sheila Lodge also endorsed Lee. Waiting for the Indy to finally see the light, hope they do before everyone has mailed their ballots! Everyone at our house has already voted, and not for Das.
When 3 elites known for their involvement in “community-based harassment” —novel form of state repression— are backing Roy… It’s time to stick with Das.
LOL, politically, Das is the definition of “elites”. That dude has never had a job in his life that wasn’t in politics. He pretty much controls the SB Democratic Party through his double dipping proxy Darcel and others.
Das has been doing this far too long. It has corrupted him. I suspect that he is fearful that there’s no other way for him to make a living other than being a perpetual candidate but he’s wrong. He’s a smart and ambitious guy, he can go out and be a consultant where he will never have to be beholden to the public or deal with those oh so irritating questions about his actions again.
Time to get someone who understands that their first and highest function is to serve their constituents not themselves.
Oh, and Joyce Dudley was an awful, awful person.
Das has a cool job lined up at the dispensary on Mission St. He’s all good. Let’s let him go…
Not agreeing about Das, but you got that dead right about our former DA. Just awful.
Joyce Dudley was as corrupt as any of our supervisors, I can personally attest to that
Dudley was not corrupt
She went after the gangs, sex offenders, drunk drivers, fought toe to toe with Das, helped convict EARS
She also went after anyone who tried to take over her position and ruined the lives of many who were trying to in good faith navigate the local vs federal laws on dispensaries at the time. She was not a great DA, not at all.