Common ground
in Santa Barbara.
Bob is running to bring the cost of living down and keep the power on, and he wants to earn every vote here in person.
What Bob will work on for Santa Barbara
Affordability
The American Dream should be attainable again.
Housing, groceries, fuel, and power all cost more here than they should. The plan is to attack costs from both ends: more housing supply, guardrails against speculation, and new tools to help working families own a home.
Energy & Water
Reliable. Affordable. Clean. Secure.
Keep Diablo Canyon open, bring a national small modular reactor demonstration home to the Central Coast, and treat water supply as the infrastructure problem it is. Reliable, affordable power is the foundation everything else sits on.
Education
Real careers and real opportunity.
Not every good career starts with a four-year degree. Trades, apprenticeships, and technical training deserve the same standing and the same funding.
What this means for Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara has the sharpest gap in the district between what a job pays and what a home costs. That gap is why teachers, nurses, and firefighters commute in from somewhere else. Attack the cost from both ends: more supply, and real tools for first-time buyers.
I did not start with much. My father went to prison, I moved in with my grandmother, and I dropped out of high school to work. The Navy gave me a second chance to earn a diploma, then a degree, then a commission. That ladder is what Santa Barbara families are being priced off. Jobs are leaving. Home ownership is out of reach. The cost of living is untenable. I am running to put that ladder back where people can reach it.
Cmdr. Bob Smith, USN (Ret.)