Anonymous
Source: Laura Capps for Supervisor Campaign
Today, Santa Barbara Unified School Board Member, environmentalist, poverty advocate, and former White House and U.S. Senate aide Laura Capps formally announced her campaign for Santa Barbara County Supervisor. This follows the recent decision by Supervisor Gregg Hart to seek the California Assembly rather than running for re-election. The election for this open seat is June 7, 2022. Capps was born, raised and has lived in the area for three decades.
Throughout her tenure in public service, Capps has been a leader who turns innovative ideas into reality, such as transitioning several hundred classrooms from relying on fossil fuels to renewable energy. Since 2013, she has helped lead a coalition of partners to ensure children throughout Santa Barbara County have food during summer, a time when child hunger spikes. Previously she has served in the White House, the U.S. Senate and has led national nonprofit organizations focused on poverty, climate and ocean conservation.
In her 5th year on the Santa Barbara Unified School Board, Capps currently represents all voters who live in the second supervisorial district. She won her most recent election garnering 57,000 votes throughout the 2nd district and beyond. She enters the race with strong backing from a diverse group of community leaders, elected officials, former county supervisors, educators, and others. She will be rolling out dozens of endorsements in the weeks to come, gathering more grassroots support via her campaign website: www.cappsforsb.com
“In today’s divisive climate, one of the top skills of a successful leader is the ability to listen. Laura Capps is that leader. Throughout her public service career she has consistently demonstrated the ability to lead with compassion, listening with both her ears and heart to make thoughtful decisions on behalf of the people she serves. That’s just one of the reasons why I support her candidacy for County Supervisor,” says James Joyce III, founder of Coffee with a Black Guy and former Santa Barbara mayoral candidate.
“Laura Capps is an excellent choice for 2nd District Supervisor. She is highly qualified and strongly committed to our community, particularly our local children and youth,” says James Kyriaco, Goleta City Councilmember and an early Capps endorser.
In officially announcing her campaign, Capps released the following statement:
“My candidacy for County Supervisor centers on our children and their future. As Supervisor, I will build on my decades of experience to tackle the urgent and interconnected issues of today: poverty, housing, homelessness, drought and climate change, mental health, economic development, transportation, healthcare and public safety, while creating innovative solutions for the issues of tomorrow.
For too many of our children, particularly children of color, Santa Barbara County is a challenging place to grow up — especially now as the pandemic endures. Our county has one of the highest poverty rates in the state of California. Financial and food insecurity has a tight grip on the lives of many. Children struggle to thrive. Adults bear the havoc of soaring housing prices, often resorting to long, climate-damaging commutes. Our unsheltered neighbors suffer without the resources they need.
I am fortunate I was raised in Goleta and Santa Barbara and am a product of our local public schools. My parents and teachers taught me from a young age what it means to be involved, to lend a hand, and make a difference in the lives of your neighbors. My career in public service spans three decades – in the White House, United States Senate, and national and local nonprofit organizations – reflecting a strong commitment to better the lives of others.
I am running for County Supervisor with the experience and commitment to serve the entire county and bring bold solutions to address our urgent needs. The children of this county are my North Star. When we do right by them, we do right by us all.”
Another entry from the revolving carousel of legacy politicians.
I like Ms. Capps’ stated positions on so many things, and yet she has no interest in truly stepping up to help children of color in this community. Seen her get the opportunity and turn a blind eye.
Interesting that she just ran for 1st District Supervisor where she ran a mean spirited, divisive campaign and despite unmatched family name recognition, and the support of several very wealthy individuals, she lost decisively. Apparently she has now moved to the 2nd District so she can run again. I wouldn’t bet against her and since she is not running against an incumbent hopefully she will run a better, more positive campaign.
Nothing like a family business.
Walter was okay.
His wife rode into the job after his death.
His wife and now the kid.
Dem control if nobody’s’ looking.
Generational politicians are the worst bureaucrats you can vote for.
In an SB Independent article back in Sept 2020 Capps states that”Literacy is a top goal, and we need to do much better.” Yet even before the pandemic our most vulnerable students, ( dual language learners ,students with differences, foster youth and students with socioeconomic hardship) have had painfully low literacy proficiency ( and math too). Chancelor David Banks the new Superintendent in NYC gets it.. He was hand picked by Mayor Eric Adams and is a highly regarded educator and attorney. In an interview with CBS Banks says. The new schools chancellor selected by Mayor-elect Eric Adams starts out with the belief that the New York City education system is essentially flawed and needs to be fixed from the bottom up.The question was simple: Why are 65% of Black and Brown students not reaching proficiency. The answer, surprising. Banks told Kramer it goes back to something so very basic: How kids are taught to read.
It seems the city changed tactics 25 years ago, and he thinks it doesn’t work.
“We went to kind of this thing called ‘balanced literacy.’ ‘Balanced literacy’ has not worked for Black and Brown children,” Banks said.
“So what do you want to do?” Kramer asked.
“We’re going to go back to a phonetic approach to teaching. We’re going to ensure that our kids can read by the third grade,” Banks said. “That’s been a huge part of the dysfunction.”
I know Ms Capps has higher office in mind because she always brings up the Clintons, Kennedy, and Kerry connections. But our vulnerable students need their unmet needs met. Capps routinely votes for an approach to reading by one of her biggest campaign supporters and # 7 in the top publishers for
Balanced literacy…. Capps said we need to do better. I would love to see her stop voting for Balanced Literacy. Our most vulnerable students are suffering because she just does not seem to get this… nor does the current Superintendent. Balanced literacy robs kids, particularly our vulnerable kids of a way to succeed in school . These kids are always behind and rarely catch up. Listen to Banks… And inspire Capps to get this right before she makes her way back to the White House and other impressive places. Our vulnerable students need to be able to read. And she needs to make sure it happens on her watch….Five years is a long time to ignore science.
Reportedly, she “had to move in January of 2021 in order to qualify to run for the Second District seat. She said she lived three blocks out of the boundaries after the county districts were reconfigured last year. ” noozhawk
I’m tending toward Abboud myself, though it’s early in the game. He may be in party politics, but he’s one heck of a self-made, self-starting person.
Course, if he comes up with paragraphs like Capps… I’m so tired of this boilerplate, pretty political speech.
Capps:
“My candidacy for County Supervisor centers on our children and their future. As supervisor, I will build on my decades of experience to tackle the urgent and interconnected issues of today: poverty, housing, homelessness, drought and climate change, mental health, economic development, transportation, healthcare and public safety, while creating innovative solutions for the issues of tomorrow.”
Yeah, right. We’ll get right on all that stuff that we’ve been working at for more decades than she or I have been alive… Please, narrow it down, be specific and be realistic! /rant
she may have liver “here” all her life but she did not live in this district so long. blatant opportunism and professional politician. ugh
And even though Lois Capps was basically a do-what-the-party-demands kind of bureaucrat, her most egregious act was to publically promise not to run for more than two terms if she was appointed to Walter’s position. Then she apparently liked the “perks” and ran again and again. She was in Congress for almost 20 years.
Pay attention to her conduct during SBUSD Board meetings. She is completely tuned out, checking her phone, texting, etc.. If that’s the kind of “focus” we can expect with her in a sup seat, no thanks.
Enough of Laura Capps already.