Why this election is important

By Sharon Byrne

General position statement on the 2011 election, key issues, and solutions for our city.

This election is about good answers. Those are the only kinds of answers I care about - the answers that work for the citizens that live here, work here, and care about this place.

I want to restore quality of life in our city. Here's a question for you: are you better off here than you were 10 years ago? Is Santa Barbara a better city than it was 10 years ago? Do you feel your quality of life, your city, is eroding before your eyes?

Well do you want to do something about it?

We're a small town, of some 90,000 souls, with some big urban issues. How did gangs, homelessness, hate crimes, and drugs come to be big issues...here?

Have you noticed how we keep getting stuck in either / or argument? Let me give you some examples - you've all seen these before: Either we get tough on gangs, or we put more programs into place for with at-risk youth. We're either catering to the homeless, or we're not doing enough for them. We either preserve the city's unique heritage, and build nothing, ever, or we turn it over to developers, and lose the city in high-density and overbuilding.

We need to stop falling for these either / or traps, because that's what they are. Traps. To be effective at solving our problems, we must move away from the polarity of `either or' and move towards both / and. We can be tough on gangs that commit crimes against us, AND have programs that keep young kids from joining gangs. We can recognize when youth are shutting down in school, and become targets for recruitment. We can enact solid intervention strategies, to get them out of gangs. But we can and should also ensure they understand that the safety of our citizens and our neighborhoods is paramount. It's both / and.

I organized the trip to Santa Monica for our city staff and council members in March to study that city's solutions for homelessness. We saw a jurisdiction muster the political will to say it was unacceptable to continue to allow people to live on their streets. We here know that life on the street does not lead to longevity, and is not healthful for either the homeless, or the rest of us. Now, again, do not get caught in the either / or trap. We can be both compassionate with the homeless in recognizing their plight, AND put in place effective policies that reduce the numbers of people living on our streets. Giving someone change, while leaving them where they are on the street, is not compassionate. It might make you feel better, but it does nothing to alleviate that person's condition. Finding good, effective ways to help people leave life on the street is both compassionate and effective. We can also decide that everyone needs to respect our laws, our neighborhoods, and our community, whether housed or not. We can develop an approach that is humanitarian, both compassionate and effective.

Have you seen the paintings on Mason, just East of State St? Some of them were done by would-be taggers, and they are now public art, thanks to an incredibly talented arts educator here. Tagging on that wall has gone down considerably as a result. Those that live near me know when I catch taggers in the act, I chase them, and go have a talk with their parents, if I know them. When I don't, I clean it off. I am an adopt-a-block captain. We can all do that + take care of our own blocks, as part of loving our city. We can get graffiti under control.

We can and should, both make it a priority to hold onto our unique architectural and landscaping style, to keep our city special and historically significant. Our early leaders thought it was important to preserve this city. They were right. Let's be good stewards, and not be foolish with our city. We can also look at better policies for housing, in replacing some of these rundown apartments and dilapidated houses. That housing should be a good architectural and neighborhood fit, and it should be agreeable to the neighbors by whom it will reside.

We should be able to walk in our city, along our waterfont, along State St, and along Milpas St, and feel great about our surroundings, without fear of harassment, intimidation, or even harm. We should be PROUD of our city! Don't you want that too? We can restore our quality of life back to what it was, and make this town welcoming for us and our families, and really appealing to tourists.

We can only do that, though, if we have a government that is responsive to us. Our city government gives the appearance of being responsive, but the citizen who tries to navigate it knows the truth. Who can attend City Council meetings held at 2 PM? How many have been unable to take off work, or arrange childcare, to come?

Here are better ways to ensure citizens can participate and be heard by the city:

How about meetings held in the neighborhoods where neighbors can participate? What about evening meetings to accommodate working people? What about the ability to submit public comment online? How about taking a direct pulse of the citizens with an online poll on the city's website, rather than spending big dollars on a ballot initiative? How about a list of important phone numbers on the landing page, for things like illegal dumping, shopping carts, zoning, and graffiti, so citizens don't have to call around to find the one person that might be able to help them?

These are things I would put in place, if elected, to make government more accountable to us, the citizens.

Santa Barbara is a tourist destination, but it is also our home. This place is worth fighting for. I am a solutions-oriented, non-partisan candidate with a proven track record of success in this community. I am the candidate with a head for public policy, and a heart for Santa Barbara. I welcome your support, and I ask for your vote for city council.