Edhat Staff
Laura Capps (Photo: Manjari Sharma)
By edhat staff
Laura Capps officially launched her campaign for Santa Barbara County Supervisor in the Mission’s Rose Garden Tuesday afternoon.
Surrounded by Roosevelt Elementary School students holding blue and yellow “Capps for Supervisor signs,” Capps was introduced by her 8-year-old son Oscar and Reverend Anne Howard with her mother and former Congresswoman Lois Capps standing beside her.
Capps discussed the need to restore the bonds of trust between the people and the government stating there is far more that unites us than divides us. “Especially now, with our national government in despair, with our administration that could not be more alienating or out of touch, our local leaders need to be in touch with us, they need to be connected, they need to listen to us,” she said.
Over 150 attendees including elected officials, friends, family, and community members joined as Capps formally announced her campaign while stating her passion for fighting child hunger and climate change at a local level.
“I am proud to announce that I am running for County Supervisor because I am a leader who listens – and my north star for how I will govern will be the children of our County and the future they deserve,” Capps said. “I am blessed to be standing with so many of the people who’ve inspired me to get involved locally — combatting child hunger, creating a more sustainable path for our County’s future an independent and accessible leader for our public schools.”
Capp’s website shows a list of over 115 endorsements including former Supervisors Janet Wolf and Susan Rose, former Assemblymember Pedro Nava, former Mayor Sheila Lodge, and more. She got her political start as a White House Aide to Senior Advisor George Stephanopoulos and then as a speechwriter to former President Bill Clinton. She continued her work in politics when she became Senator Ted Kennedy’s Communications Director in the U.S. Senate and later the senior aide to John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign.
Capps is set to square off against incumbent Das Williams for the First District Seat who is already endorsed by the Democratic Party of Santa Barbara and current County Supervisors Gregg Hart, Joan Hartmann, and Steve Lavagnino.
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With her background in business, finance, and history of creating jobs, Laura is far and away more qualified for this position that Das.
Capps is a nice person with a pretty face and a locally famous last name. The rest about “business, finance, and history” is a bunch of crap. She is a career politician and she is only a professional politician and political communications expert. She has no other professional qualifications for the job. Let’s keep our facts straight please.
Creating jobs? Really? How?
Sorry to be contrary, but the headline should more appropriately read: Laura Capps Launches Campaign for County Supervisor Challenging Das Williams. She is not “launching a campaign against Williams,” it is “for supervisor.” Sounds better, doesn’t it? Mr. Williams just so happens to have the job currently. I’m pretty sure she’s got nothing against him personally. PS: I believe they are both capable of doing the job.
Nepotism…..
Das, has worked so hard for our community.
Ah yes, the ol’ alienating, out of touch, national government of despair platform.
Well said! Thank you!
I was one polled by phone when Capps was looking in to running.
I’ve spent SO much time on national politics that I was behind on local.
I support both, generally. This will take some research! Family fight…
But it’s true. I’ve never despaired of gov’t like I do now. I was pre-teen during Watergate hearings, but it affected my view of gov’t. for life. You think the 60’s mantra of “Don’t trust anyone over 30” was effective, bad or good, think what effect Watergate had on young people!
I learned not to trust the government.
But I learned that from Kent State too, and many other sources.
What exactly is her background? What job does she have? All I know is she is Lois and Walter’s daughter.
She is a professional politician. She has been very successful at that, Clinton WH, Ed Kennedy Communications Director, etc. That is what she does, political communications. She has never had a “normal” non-political job.
I am hearing from insiders that the Das camp is quite worried about internal polls showing that Laura’s “star” is skyrocketing. The money from the cannabis industry will be flowing to Das, but there is a HUGE amount of so-called smart money going to Capps. There are pros/cons to each candidate, but by all independent assessments, Laura pretty much has a lock on winning the election. Das is not a bad guy or anything, it’s just that the “Capps Machine” is so much bigger, stronger, and most importantly, well funded.
I’d vote Das out in a heartbeat. The man just can’t seem to make the right decisions. From my perspective…. and by hearing his comments during the Board of Supervisor hearings, he just doesn’t seem to understand much the first time around when an important issue arises that requires discussion. I just don’t know if Laura can do the job with her background.
Das is working hard to bring the industry into compliance after he set up the system that let them do pretty much whatever they wanted. No odor control, no verification that they had planted acreage when they applied for their permits- those LA Times and Indy articles are full of info about how his actions on the ad hoc committee gave the farm away to the pot farmers. Legal pot will not disappear, but they will have to be better neighbors in the future.
If she only did what the Dem machine told her to do, then why did she vote against the Iraq war? If only more of her colleagues had had her brains and guts, we could have saved trillions of dollars and thousands of US lives avoiding our foreign misadventures. Very few had the courage of their convictions like Lois to go against the prevailing march to war.
voters legalized cannabis. not das. das gets one vote on a county board. you’re right the election shouldn’t be about cannabis, but what else does capps add to the conversation, other than the popularity of her mother?
“…thousands of families in the county who support themselves working in cannabis”? No wonder there’s so much freeway traffic! 😉
So, Das “sold out his constituents in Carpinteria? How is that? A small, loud group is fighting cannabis but the majority of us are fine with it. We voted to make cannabis legal Also, he should be more interested in doing something about the sad state of business in town? He’s a County supervisor, the State Street problem is in the City.
Career politician? That’s the pot calling the kettle black
https://www.countyofsb.org/bos/williams
Whoever wins, I really hope that they make an attempt to help out the good people of Carpinteria. We used to regularly go there with family and friends, and even recommend Carp to our friends as a destination. No more. Slowly, but surely, there has been a definite shift in a negative direction. For all they have, the top hotels are Motel 6, and Motel 6, and Sandyland Cove. There are two other better hotels, but the three mentioned attract an interesting clientele. Sometimes, when you’re so close to something, you just can’t see the deterioration.
Come of the cannabis pioneers seem to be newcomers to land use and environmental review in Santa Barbara County. The oil companies and big developers used to demonize residents who wanted responsible environmental review done. Using some of the same rhetoric, name-calling, veiled intimidation, to silence them. Joni Gray used to joke about “playing in the oil fields” as a kid, to underscore how healthy it was. Now we have Lavagnino waving around a report unrelated to the cannabis complaints but as a way to say it’s all great now, shut up. Das warns constituents “I don’t want to see too many appeals”. But in reality, Community plans took years to complete and months were spent achieving consensus on zoning changes, where to allow commercial, visitor serving etc. But since the product is marijuana, somehow people are supposed to suspend all critical thinking and adopt industry-promoting cheers? Or risk being thrown into the reefer madness rhetoric? Gotta hand it to Das and the big cannabis lobbyists, they planed this takeover down to the tee. Sadly, the real loser is the tradition of careful and transparent community planning. Gone now, with the unprecedented precedents that have been set to pave the way for this commercial industry.
Both Da$ and Capp$ have zero life experiences as business people, yet they will manage hundreds of millions of taxpayer funds with their political power… Da$ has never had any kind of REAL JOB and is a political HACK. I would think the Dems could come up with better talent to back and support that both parties could stand behind-
There is something about Laura Capps and her beliefs that excite me. Lately I have been really disgusted with our politics. I am looking forward to some fresh ideas. Welcome Laura. You remind me of some previous politicians that held similar offices. Good luck.
Yes, the resemblance to some former congresspeople is uncanny!
This is a pretty impressive resume. Much better than anyone else on our Board of Supes. White House Aide to Senior Advisor George Stephanopoulos; speechwriter to former President Bill Clinton. Senator Ted Kennedy’s Communications Director in the U.S. Senate and later the senior aide to John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign. She now runs her own public affairs consulting practice out of her hometown of Santa Barbara, CA. Laura is an active volunteer in her community. In addition to her work on national boards, she is involved locally on the boards of the Community Environmental Council, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the Interfaith Initiative of Santa Barbara County. She is also an elected member of the Santa Barbara School Board.
MESARATS, the fact that Das is also a career politician does not change that Capps, who this article is about, is also a career politician.
it’s that swampy look that is so familiar
Yes, being the daughter of a Congresswoman certainly has its advantages. First and foremost, you’re gifted a seat at the table, an open door where ever you venture and the upper hand on every job or role you choose. And so is the way of modern America. Nepotism, favors, special treatment and of course, privilege… Being born on 3rd base and yet believing that you hit a triple. This is the problem with modern American politics and culture. Its disgusting and its the antithesis of the great American ideal: hard work = success. We need less nepotism, favoritism and special treatment in politics. Capps was gifted everything she has earned and now she’s lining up to pay back her benefactors and slide into her apparent birthright.
To say she got her start in politics by working for DC insiders is absurd. She got her start by being the daughter of DC insiders who put her in places to get a resume’ from other DC insiders. None of her vague “accomplishments” was earned by individual competency or effort. Sadly, her language skills are about as talented. These vague references to helping children or being “in touch” or not “alienating” folks are soppy at best. But Das is no bargain either. Fortunately I do not get to vote in this race so just enjoy the burlesque that it is becoming.
Exactly…and just because her mother was good in the job doesn’t mean she will be. i’d be interested in seeing her qualifications.
Say what you want about Das, but he’s already in the seat and already has a lot more experience than Capps
ok that answers my question for sure. good qualifications indeed. however if her only platform to run is to de-seat Das and go against the local pot farmers, she will lose. There is alot, and i mean A LOT of money in this industry and if she attempts to mess with it, it could kill her political career.
We have a state overflowing with drug addled homeless, yet we’re rejoicing in the prospects of recreational marijuana. I don’t get it. Yeah, yeah, marijuana isn’t a “gateway drug”, opioids aren’t addictive, and alcoholics just plain don’t exist. Carry on.
I’d support anyone to get rid of Das. He has sold out his constiuents and the Carpenteria area is much worse for it.
Laura may have been raised in a political environment, but she is smart, honest, truthful, has integrity, good values, and genuinely cares about our community. I’ve seen both Laura and Das “in action” and there is no comparison. She is the real deal.
We need people to run that actually sign the front of checks rather than the back. Spending other peoples money (tax payers) should be treated like you’re spending your own. Hardly the case anymore…..certainly not with either Capps & Das
Unfortunately, Das seems to work primarily for his major campaign donors. In addition to big contributions from marijuana growers and big ag, Das has received lots of money from landlords, such as $3,000 from a partner with apartment building owner Santa Barbara Capital, $5,000 from AMD Property Management in Woodland Hills. (Campaign filings can be found at SB County’s CampaignDocs eRetrieval site.)
YAY! I am happy to see this news. I voted for Walter back in the day and for Lois. The Capps family attends my church, they are active in the community and care about people. They will stand up for women’s rights, for protecting our planet from greedy big oil and addressing climate change… this is great news! She’s got MY vote! Thank you, Capps family, for the service you have given our community for decades.
biguglystick: what conflation makes you comfortable that inherited talent deserves our vote per se? Your enthusiasm sounds like an endorsement of royalty.
Big is just saying that character counts for a lot, and generally apples don’t fall very far from the tree. Extremists took a shot on a candidate with no moral character at all, and look where that has gotten us. If Laura is anything like Lois, and I think she is a LOT like her, then she can have my vote anytime.
Just because a person has connections doesn’t mean they have any talent or might have gotten to the same place without them. Everything I have heard about the Capps family has been extremely positive. She has been in the public eye a lot recently, and I don’t see any evidence that we have misplaced our trust in her. Your innuendo is undeserved.
Doesn’t mean they don’t have any talent….
BigUglyStick , that’s exactly the problem! We need a supervisor to work on our local problems i.e. State Street revitalization, crime, homeless population, rather than be Supervisor of the World.
I took the Vietnam class at UCSB with Walter. He was sharp and represented his constituents with a independent and strong personality. I sat next to Lois on the United flight to DEN more times than I can count. We chatted about all kinds of stuff and she’s a very nice lady, but she only did what the Dem machine told her to do. I’ve met Laura a couple of times. Seems to be a mix of her parents, but I consider her background in the WH and husband to be liabilities, not assets. I grew up with Das and knew him very well. I am on the fence on this one…
perhaps when you flash your Carpinteria bona fides, start by spelling Carpinteria correctly
Capps wants to take down cannabis farming. That’s the only thing different in her platform. Das has worked his tail off to bring cannabis farming into compliance. No easy task and a thankless one at that. If Capps wants to differentiate herself as being for families, what about the thousands of families in the county who support themselves working in cannabis? Does the word “family” only apply to those in Montecito and SBs upper east side? “Mas Das” is a fitting slogan to reach a lot of families who need jobs and benefit from regulations that allow cannabis farming. How does one help families if the county can’t afford services? Our county needs a strong ag economy to pay the bills. Say it again, “Mas Das,” for balancing the county budget in ways that have proven to support families.
If you think Laura Capps is any different than Das you’re really fooling yourself. She doesn’t have any new ideas, she’s not bringing anything to the table that he isn’t, not really–she just sees that he is vulnerable, so she’s going for it.
No Mas Das!
and the city is in the county….
Don’t forget the teacher’s union which kept him afloat in Sacramento so that he could vote against the ability to get rid of bad teachers.
You voted to make it legal but did you really want 15% of the planted pot acreage in the County to be next to your City? I bet if they put that on the ballot the vote would be a lot closer. And the City of Carp doesn’t want any- it is all on County land.
The Capps family are good people. Laura will make a fine supervisor and beyond.
and to blame it all on an agricultural industry that has brought jobs and money to the region is just beyond my comprehension.
Flicka, we don’t always agree, but man you really nailed it. I FULLY agree with your statement.
it doesn’t matter. period. you can’t have your cake and eat it too. it’s impossible to make everyone happy.
and it doesn’t work that way. red tape between county and city governments
So Capps is running on a platform to go against the majority and the will of the voters….just to appease a few people in Carp. Yeah that’s just greater good for all right? nope.
There is a lot more than the cannabis odor issue. Capps could wend her way into Congress when Carbajal retires and command a certain cachet. Regardless of what you think of Williams, Capps would have more influence if she ever went to Washington. Both she and DW are skilled and would probably have similar policies on most but not all issues. She, like her Mom, would bring a certain grace, humility and accessibility to the Board that is not often seen. Williams is shrewd but carries a certain arrogance reminiscent of Tammany Hall and it is often unclear whose tune he dances to, aside from his Donald-Trump-sized ego. Nevertheless, he is cagey and often comes up with slicvk compromises only a mad scientist could have thought up. Not necessarily a bad thing but he seems to think he owns his constituents.
Most of the homeless are not “drug-addled” and a lot of people who have housing are involved with drug abuse. Let’s not engage stereotypes, we are smarter than that.
Don’t know if the moderator will let this reply stand or delete it but I have screenshot this smear against Lois Capps and take note that it is a Williams supporter who is defaming one of the most outstanding members of Congress, ever: “only did what the Dem machine told her to do”. Lois Capps was an independent thinker and she was known for taking initiative and willing to buck powerful interests.
Myhonorstudentb: Excellent synopsis. Spot on!
Laura Capps reminds me of her mother Lois. Like her mom, Laura stands for nothing and says nothing. Strings together meaningless cliches and vapid nonsense. Completely useless.
kinda “swampy” looking airbrushed pic. will fit right in
Factotum: Do you understand the boundaries of the 1st District? She gets 100 votes in Carpinteria. Maybe a close vote in Montecito. Das is the master Campaigner in SB, on the Eastside he will win 90% of the vote. If they split the rest in SB Das wins in a landslide. Those are the Factototums!
I’ve got no dog in this hunt, but the Capps supporters seem to have very thin skin. This Capps/Williams bruiser should be a giggle to watch. Getting my popcorn ready…
I am very disappointed Laura Capps is running. I guess she thinks we need a ‘great white hope’ to pull us out of the cannabis quagmire. Well, there’s much more going on in the County than cannabis. I am not a great Das fan but all my Dem. friends and I will continue to support him. I hope we send Das back to the BOS, and send Joan Hartmann back in the 3rd district. She is the smartest one up there. Hope a good progressive candidate comes forward in the 4th district because we sure as hell don’t need Nelson, who is to the right of Peter ‘no brain’ Adam.
I too immediately noticed the air-brushing. LC is a beautiful woman and I hope she will use a more natural pic in her campaign. Her ma used lots of airbrushing toward the end of her career. I felt sorry for her as she continued to have ‘work’ done to make her look younger. I didn’t vote for her for her ‘youth’. She certainly was not a good speaker but I did like the way she voted in Congress. This is all going to cost a great deal of money that could have gone to charities/the homeless.
Our family are some of the “good people of Carpinteria.” I grew up here, am a senior citizen, born in SB, lived most of my adult life in Montecito, could live anywhere I choose. I chose Carpinteria to raise my only child and we could not be happier. You have no idea what you are talking about! Carp is as close to Heaven as it gets in SB County unless you are a hermit and want to live out in the boonies.
Aww, come on. , has a great record leading the SB School Board.
What a crock! Perhaps you’re not familiar with the laws and ordinances pertaining to marijuana. You are a good example of the problem we face today. Swayed by propaganda, letting others do you’re thinking for you.
OOPS I don’t know a supervisor from a city council person.
I hate to break it to you Flicka , it’s not a “small loud group”. It’s a large group, getting louder and larger by the day. The more people learn about how all of this went down the more they are organizing. We voted to make cannabis legal so we could go to a retail store and buy interesting products. We voted to make it legal to decriminalize a useful drug. We didn’t , however ,vote to have unlimited acres grown. There are 58 counties in California , only 11 have allowed cannabis cultivation. Of those 11 counties they vary in their ordinance language. The amount on any one parcel ranges from 1/4 acre in yolo to – 8 acres maximum on a 100 acre parcel in Mendocino. That’s the kind of control we voted for.
I live in Carp. Crazy Carpinterians is a group of about 100 elderly people who all hated “pot” before Prop 64 and they continue to complain today. After the recent Graham Farrar Appeal, the War is over. They will keep yelling but they have no teeth. Das will win easily but even if he didn’t, Capps by herself can do nothing and she has no personal legislative experience and it takes 3 votes to change anything. Also they can’t deprive local property owners of their property rights at this point. Most of the uniformed don’t understand that.
Are there more than 100 pot grower voters living in District One ,who will out-vote the growing outrage that is spreading across the entire district, including your description rabid pot-hating elderly voters.. Prepare yourself for an election surprise and it may be none of the above.
Your last point is incorrect. Santa Barbara’s cannabis ordinance can be modified at any time for a variety of reasons. The BOS reserves the right to modify or ban Cannabis cultivation altogether if the board feels it’s in the best interest of the county. The county is not liable for any damages to cultivators . Even if they have paid all their permit fees and were handed a land use permit, The risk is all on the grower. It is a gamble.
I don’t know if Capps would be a good supervisor but I have to smile at the thought of Das needing to go out and actually get a non-taxpayer-supported job.
Prior to the Solstice celebration, SB’s one-and-only major event was “Fiesta” (Old Spanish Days). Carpinteria’s major event is the Avocado Festival (the car show does not even come close). Since the majority of Carpinterian’s are “pro-weed”, it is only a matter of time before they will have a “Hemp” festival. Tye dye. Drum circles. Hacky sack tournies. Non-stop reggae. Marley t-shirts/posters. It will be a true international destination event! Wooooo-hooooooo…go Carp!!!