Candidate for
Council Member; City of Carpinteria

A respected leader in business, government and politics, Joe Armendariz has been active on these fronts since 1992. In 2006, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously nominated Joe for appointment to the California Coastal Commission. In 2004, he was elected to a 4-year term on the Carpinteria City Council. In 2003 and 2004, the Pacific Coast Business Times listed him as one of the 50 most influential business leaders in the Tri-Counties and in 2006; Latino Today Newspaper recognized him for being one of the 50 most influential Latinos on the Central Coast.

In addition to currently serving on the Carpinteria City Council, Joe is an appointed member of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), the Santa Barbara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and the Cities-County Joint Affordable Housing Task Group. He also Chairs the South Coast Subregional Committee for SBCAG and is also the Chair of the SBCAG executive committee.

Joe is a past Chair of the Santa Barbara County Economic Vitality Committee and a past Chair of the Santa Barbara County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy and a founding member of the Santa Barbara County Broadband Task Force, which was established to make telecommunications policy recommendations to the County Board of Supervisors. Joe has worked closely with the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for over ten years and was instrumental in their decision to form a blue ribbon commission to study the county budget. The commission identified 76 recommendations of which over 50 have been implemented.

Joe has served on various boards and committees including the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business, Carpinteria Chamber of Commerce, Zona Seca and most recently the Santa Barbara County Education Office's special fundraising team for Computers for Families. His commentaries on local and state politics, business and economics appear regularly on CaliforniaRepublic.org, HispanicVista.com, RealClearPolitics.com, Articlesbase.com and American Daughter.

Joe resides in Carpinteria with his wife and best friend Karla and their four children.