The first major debate of the Santa Barbara mayor’s race is set for next week, as City Council members Eric Friedman and Kristen Sneddon and former school board president Wendy Sims-Moten face off at the New Vic Theatre.
The event marks the start of a 60-day sprint to the Nov. 3 election, as the mayoral contenders — along with 11 other candidates competing for three neighborhood district seats — will shape the new balance of power on the seven-member council.
Voters who would like to attend the mayoral forum, scheduled for 6–8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3, may reserve free tickets here. The event is co-sponsored by the News-Press, Newsmakers and TV Santa Barbara. TVSB will record the debate for later broadcast on Channel 17, and it also will be available on our YouTube channel.
News-Press editor Josh Molina and I will co-moderate the event and pose questions to the candidates. We’ll be asking about some of the key controversies facing the city — rent control, the future of State Street and city finances, among them — and if you have inquiries about other issues that concern you, please email them to us at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to include them.
In recent weeks, Newsmakers interviewed all three leading candidates for mayor — the only council office elected citywide — and you can watch or listen to those conversations here:
You can also find our interviews with most of the candidates running in Districts 4, 5 and 6 here:
District 4
District 5
District 6
We’ll be speaking with the remaining candidates who will appear on the ballot soon.
Image: (L-R) Sims-Moten, Friedman, Sneddon.
How do you propose to address and solve the severe lack of action and accountability evident in the slow pace of progress on the key issues facing our city? Will you hold yourself personally accountable?