The California Primary moved up to March 3, 2020. Here are Sierra Club's official endorsements for Santa Barbara County and results.
As non-partisan races, the Supervisor races are over if one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the primary, and so we can declare these as outright victories.
- Congress, California’s 24th District: Salud Carbajal - (goes on to general election)
- State Senate, 19th District: Monique Limón - (goes on to general election)
- Assembly, 37th District: Steve Bennett - (goes on to general election)
- Assembly, 35th District: Dawn Addis - (goes on to general election)
- County Supervisor, District 3: Joan Hartmann - WIN
- County Supervisor, District 1: Das Williams - WIN
Read more about the candidates below.
About the 2020 Santa Barbara County Supervisor race
Fossil fuel special interests are targeting this race. Joan Hartmann's oil-backed opponent, Bruce Porter, has even created fraudulent nonprofits to suppress the student vote. We need strong and consistent leadership to see through key environmental initiatives started at the County over the last few years. Please support our environmental incumbents. (See also Enviros for Hartmann)
County Supervisor, District 3: Joan Hartmann
Joan Hartmann, J.D., Ph.D. was elected County Supervisor in 2016. As Supervisor, she passed the Strategic Energy Plan to promote commercial solar and renewable development, joined Monterrey Bay Clean Power, a community choice energy program that will promote renewable energy, reduced rates, and reinvestment in local communities, helped the County reduce greenhouse gas pollution through building retrofits, transition to electric fleet, and solar/battery, and set strong goals for the county’s Climate Action Plan. In addition, she championed Baron Ranch Trail & Master Plan and the county-wide, cross jurisdiction Park and Trail Master Plan. Before being elected Supervisor, she served as County Planning Commissioner. Before that, Joan helped establish the public policy program at the Claremont Graduate School and the environmental studies program at Oberlin College. She left the academic world to work in the policy and budget offices and as legal counsel for federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior and EPA. JoanHartmannforSupervisor.org
County Supervisor, District 1: Das Williams
Elected County Supervisor in 2016, Das Williams took over the seat held by Salud Carbajal who was elected to Congress. Carbajal called his successor, “one of the most effective and experienced leaders we have serving our community.” As Supervisor, Willams helped spearhead the move to 100% electric cars for county fleet replacement and worked with county HR and Sustainability Division to reduce County employees’ commutes. He passed the county Strategic Energy Plan which kicks off the expansion of utility scale solar. After joining Monterey Bay Community Power, a Community Choice Aggregate that will give us more control over the source of our energy so we have the potential to move to 100% carbon-free energy ahead of the state requirement, he was selected as the County representative to that Board. He helped approve funding and development of the Tajiguas Resource Recovery project, which will convert waste into renewable energy. This project will account for nearly 62% of our total GHG reduction needed, the equivalent to taking 28,500 cars off the road. While the road to regulating legalized recreational marijuana has been bumpy, it is worth noting that the green commute incentives, Strategic Energy Plan, Environmental Impact Report for utility-scale solar, and the entrance fee for Monterey Bay Community Power have been funded by the marijuana tax, which was passed by the voters in 2018. Prior to being elected Supervisor, Williams served as California Assembly Member from 2010-2016, where he had a 100% rating by the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters and authored landmark renewable energy and groundwater testing bills. Prior to that, he served as Santa Barbara City Council Member from 2003-10. Williams holds a master's degree in environmental science and management with a focus on water pollution, planning processes and land-use law from UC Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science. daswilliams2020.com
Other Important 2020 Elections for Santa Barbara County
Congressional District 24: Salud Carbajal
Rep. Salud Carbajal has proven his commitment to combating climate change and defending our Central Coast environment. From his House-passed bills to safeguard coastlines and ensure our communities are resilient, to his dedication to protecting our Carrizo Plains and Los Padres wild spaces, he fights for us. We are proud to endorse him as our choice to represent California’s 24th Congressional District. In 2019 alone, Carbajal made great strides to end offshore oil drilling. His California Clean Coast Act that bans future drilling off California’s coast passed the House with bipartisan support. His record makes clear that he puts the safety of our communities and coastlines above special interests. Carbajal understands the urgency of the climate crisis. His House-passed Coastal State Climate Preparedness Act ensures coastal cities and neighborhoods like ours have the resources to remain resilient against climate disasters. He has championed efforts to strengthen water resiliency, study ocean acidification and designate Los Padres and Carrizo as protected wilderness, so future generations can enjoy their beauty. Carbajal has been recognized locally as an environmental hero, he hosts beach cleanups and nature hikes, and he earns his credentials by always defending our Central Coast in Washington and here at home. https://www.saludcarbajal.com/
State Senate, 19th District: Monique Limón
Monique Limón has earned a 100% lifetime Sierra Club rating for her tenure in the Assembly. She will bring the same vision to the State Senate. She has provided strong leadership on oil. Her AJR-29 battles Trump administration plans for offshore leases. She has passed bills that ensure that oil companies, rather than taxpayers, pay for oil spills and for decommissioning offshore infrastructure. She has also fought to increase disclosure requirements on oil companies for the threats their drilling techniques pose to water quality. A strong advocate in the battle against climate change, she authored a bill to help Santa Barbara achieve its goal of generating 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Environmental justice has been another area in which the Assembly member has led in addition to senior advocacy, which was her first bill. Her AB 209 helps fund access to parks for disadvantaged communities. She has supported enhanced air and water quality testing in the underserved communities most impacted by climate change. She will continue to fight to protect the environment in the state Senate. www.moniquelimónforsenate.com
37th Assembly District: Steve Bennett
This is a very competitive race with seven candidates, four of them extremely well qualified. The Sierra Club endorses Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett because of his unmatched record of environmental accomplishments. Candidates Elsa Granados, Jonathan Abboud and Cathy Murillo have much to offer and, under different circumstances, we could easily endorse any one of them. Elsa Granados is a social justice advocate ready to bring her social advocacy and first-hand knowledge of environmental justice into the political arena. Jonathan Abboud is a young, sharp, first generation American with progressive positions as a UCSB student, SBCC trustee and SBCAN board member. Mayor Cathy Murillo has a solid political record in Santa Barbara City Council and a passion for environmental causes. Steve Bennett simply has by far the strongest record: he was the visionary leader whose SOAR initiatives revolutionized growth management in Ventura County, protecting the greenbelts and agricultural areas formerly vulnerable to sprawl. As a five-term Ventura County Supervisor he wrestled control of county government from the oil industry, wrote the strongest campaign contribution limit laws in California, and battled to wrest control of groundwater management away from industrial and agricultural interests. The Club has endorsed Steve in each of his seven races, all successful, and worked closely with him for more than two decades. https://stevebennettforassembly.com/
35th Assembly District: Dawn Addis
Addis will challenge incumbent Assembly member Jordan Cunningham (R-SLO) for this district seat that covers SLO County and Northern Santa Barbara County. Dawn Addis become the Mayor of Morro Bay in 2018 after a successful campaign based on economic vitality, housing and coastal protection. She co-founded Women’s March San Luis Obispo (WMSLO) in 2016, a grassroots organization to protect civil rights and the health of the planet, and transformed it from a one-day event into a fiscally-sponsored non-profit. Through WMSLO Dawn supported climate action rallies and environmental justice principles. Dawn supported the Measure G anti-fracking campaign in SLO County. On City Council she led the passing of a resolution to add a ban on-land drilling/fracking to the existing policy against off-shore drilling. She is a member of the Morro Bay Open Space Alliance to support the preservation of local open space and she consistently voted to move the public sewer outfall to meet EPA standards. Dawn worked as a special education instructor for more than a decade and is fluent in Spanish. As a legislator she pledges to incentivize reduction of fossil fuel consumption, development of solar and wind power, mass transportation and bicycle infrastructure, electric and shared vehicles, and to create housing conditions that increase walkability and access to transportation. https://dawnaddis.org/
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More about the Sierra Club endorsement process:
The Sierra Club leverages the power of our networks of volunteers and members in every state to help elect environmental candidates. The Sierra Club sees the importance of having environmental champions at all levels of elected office. To ensure the Sierra Club only endorses the best environmental candidates, our volunteers and staff have developed a multi-step process and criteria for selecting which candidates receive our support. Driven by our grassroots members, the endorsement process begins at the chapter level. Volunteers examine each candidate's record and distribute questionnaires to candidates who meet our criteria. The questionnaire responses are then evaluated, and interviews with candidates are conducted. If the local volunteers support an endorsement, the endorsement must win the support of two local committees, and then committees at the state or national level, depending on the office. Throughout our process, volunteers and staff evaluate the environmental and public health records of candidates, their electability and their propensity to be a true champion on our issues.
Paid for by Sierra Club Political Committee, www.sierraclub.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee