Edhat Staff
Meagan Harmon, Oscar Gutierrez, Michael Jordan, and Alejandra Gutierrez (Photo: John Palminteri)
By edhat staff
Four Santa Barbara City Council members were sworn in on Tuesday with two members taking their seats.
Incumbents Meagan Harmon and Oscar Gutierrez were joined by newcomers Alejandra Gutierrez and Michael Jordan in taking their oath of office.
Harmon and Oscar Gutierrez ran unopposed securing their seats for Districts 3 and 6. Councilmembers elected to hold a special meeting to appoint them instead of spending $106,000 to add them to the ballot.
Alejandra Gutierrez won District 1 by just eight votes against incumbent Jason Dominguez with her grassroots campaign. Jordan edged out four contenders in his highly populated race for District 2.
The council is gearing up for important changes within the city including the relocation of the Saturday Farmer’s Market from the Cota Street commuter lot and remodeling De La Guerra Plaza.
Councilmembers Dominguez and Randy Rowse said their goodbyes as the newly elected officials entered. Dominguez has plans to run for Monique Limon’s State Assembly seat while Rowse just recently sold his longtime restaurant Paradise Cafe.
The Democratic Central Committee Controls elections in the County and the City. Today the City has 2 Councilmembers who didn’t get a single vote from District voters. 1 “won” by 8 votes, but there are questions about who really won. 1 had to register as a Democratic to get endorsed. Is it me or do others want the DCC (13 Democratic organizations from the County, not the City) to STOP choosing who they will endorse for a District Election in the City of Santa Barbara? Residents are in no way choosing their representative. Wake up people. District Elections didn’t get the City better candidates that know anything and they now represent the District. The City now has more puppets. If you watch the City Council meetings you can see the puppet master (the Mayor) line up her puppets (votes) before any action is taken. HINT: watch how the meetings are conducted…
ugh….and Oscar is still in the council…wtf…this guy is awful. After his tantrum at the meeting for the new police station location, i have zero faith in that guy. He screamed at reps from the farmers market. People that we have known and trusted way longer than he’s even been alive. he knows little of the needs of the downtown area but sure likes to push people around. I’ve had private talks with him and still feel he’s got anger issues and is too new to be in that role. Going to miss the diversity that Dominguez and Rowse brought. Now it’s very uneven. I’m a lefty, and still would be happier with a few republicans in the council. a good balance is needed. Now we have a bunch of clowns lead by a theater major. awesome….
I don’t think Murillo is the puppet master, She doesn’t have what it takes to master anything. She is actually the puppet for the local Dems.
Why do you think no one ran? DCC choose our representative BEFORE they closed recruiting and they make contenders swear not to run if they are not choosen. They then have up to 200 people working to drop off flyers, call… Huge built in team very very few can overcome. If you can fog a mirror, promise to vote on certain issues and are a crony you are golden – even if you lie about your experience, title being a foundet of the Franklin Center, or that you have attended hundreds of Council meetings but really just pressed the button to record them. Santa Barbara is going down and residents are allowing it to happen because they are not informed and they vote because they think that people have been vetted when they haven’t been. We have shills, puppets, a drama major, a backstabber who would sell out their best friend and someone who can cite quotes for council members. do you really think that qualifies them to make substantial decisions for the city for both the short and long-term? I don’t. I want quality, experience, and compassion. Integrity, honesty and thoughtfulness are also top qualities. This ican be found few and far between with regards to these seven counseling.