UCSB CAMPUS DEMOCRATS ENDORSE DAS WILLIAMS FOR STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 35



SANTA BARBARA, CA – The University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) Campus Democrats today announced their endorsement of local Santa Barbara Councilmember Das Williams in his campaign for the 35th Assembly District. The UCSB Campus Democrats voted unanimously to endorse Das Williams.

Leaders of the UCSB Campus Democrats cited Das Williams’ deep commitment to and understand of higher education issues and service to the campus community.

“After carefully considering both democratic candidates, we are pleased to endorse Santa Barbara City Councilmember Das Williams for the 35th State Assembly District,” said Amanda Wallner, President of the UCSB Campus Democrats. "Das Williams has been a huge supporter of Campus Democrats for years. He knows students, he knows Isla Vista, and I am confident that he will continue to work for us and with us in the State Assembly. Das cares about the students and his commitment to UCSB is unwavering. The UCSB Campus Democrats are excited to have this opportunity to send a strong advocate for students to Sacramento."

The UCSB Campus Democrats have hundreds of active members and are the largest Democratic club in the 35th State Assembly District. The UCSB Campus Democrats are nationally recognized leaders in voter registration and were awarded Chapter of the Year Award in 2009 from the California College Democrats.

“I am proud to have the support of the UCSB Campus Democrats,” said Das Williams. “I look forward to continue working closely with the Campus Democrats and the UCSB campus community to make affordable, quality higher education a priority in Sacramento.”

Labels: 35th-Assembly-District, california-assembly, endorsements, Santa Barbara, university of california

Dear Friends,

Election day is here. Today, voters in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Oxnard will elect new city representatives and vote on several important measures. This is a critical election, so please go vote today. Below are my election recommendations and some important polling place information and ballot drop off instructions.



Oxnard

Yes on Measure E

Measure E will help protect Oxnard schools from budget cuts that have threatened vital education programs by maintaining key math and science programs, keeping school libraries open, maintaining preschool programs and keeping qualified teachers on the job.




Santa Barbara

Mayor and City Council

I'm supporting Helene Schneider for Mayor and Grant House, Dianne Channing and Bendy White for City Council. These individuals are also the choice of the Democratic Party and the City Firefighters.


No on Measure B

The Democratic Party and I are also recommending a "No" vote on Measure B, the Building Heights Initiative. Measure B could hurt our ability to provide middle-income housing in downtown and undermine efforts at planning for long term sustainability.


Santa Barbara Voting Information

Santa Barbara is conducting it's first all vote-by-mail election. If you still have your ballot you must drop it off at one of the locations below. If you lost your ballot you can also get a new one at these locations. The drop-off locations are open from 7AM to 8PM. If you have any questions call the City Clerk at 805-564-5309.

Braille Institute
Auditorium, 2031 De La Vina Street

Cleveland School
Multi Purpose Room, 123 Alameda Padre Serra

Grace Lutheran Church
Fellowship Hall, 3869 State Street

Holy Cross Church
Parish Hall, 1740 Cliff Drive

Pilgrim Terrace
Activity Center, 649 Pilgrim Terrace Drive

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Fleischmann Auditorium, 2559 Puesta Del Sol

City Clerk's Office
City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street



Ventura

Ventura City Council

I am supporting Brian Brennan and Ed Summers for Ventura City Council. Both are great choices for Ventura and will work hard to revitalize the economy while protecting the environment.


Yes on Measure A

Measure A is a half cent local sales tax that will help protect city services like the Wright Library, roads, parks and emergency services from cutbacks threatened by state raids on the Ventura city budget.


Yes on Measure C

Measure C will prevent big box stores -- like Wal-Mart -- from expanding, including preventing the already-giant Wal-Mart on Victoria Avenue from turning into a behemoth Wal-Mart. The measure protects good paying local jobs, Ventura's small businesses, and the character of the area.

Labels: elections, Santa Barbara, Ventura

[ From: "City officials consider dance permit exemption," By Eric Lindberg, Daily Sound, Oct. 21, 2009 ]


While making it patently clear that they had no intention to relive the convoluted and lengthy process of developing a dance permit ordinance, Santa Barbara city leaders agreed to consider a narrow exemption for small establishments outside of the downtown entertainment district.

Brought to the agenda by Councilmembers Helene Schneider and Das Williams, the amendment would exempt establishments with only a beer and wine license — not a full liquor license — that have a maximum occupancy of 80 people or fewer.

“I think these kinds of businesses are good players,” Williams explained. “They are not dance clubs, there are not huge numbers of folks and they aren’t in the entertainment zone.”

He described a recent visit to Muddy Waters, a local coffeehouse that also hosts bands with amplified sound from time to time. A few older couples were dancing to a swing band, Williams said, and were technically violating the city’s dance permit regulations.

“The intention is to control the amount of rowdiness we have in the entertainment zone,” he said, not to punish small establishments that offer a bit of live music every now and then.

The concept of an exemption didn’t sit too well with Councilmember Iya Falcone, who cited the three years of public hearings, controversy and painful discussions it took to get the current dance permit ordinance approved.

“I, on an instinctive level, feel this is going to create many, many more problems and unintended consequences that we haven’t foreseen,” she said.

To a lesser degree, Councilmember Dale Francisco also recommended approaching any exemptions with caution. While supportive of any efforts to help out small businesses, he said he didn’t want to cause any problems for neighbors or community members.

Police Chief Cam Sanchez said the small establishments being cited by Schneider and Williams do not cause any trouble for law enforcement and are rarely, if ever, the source of noise complaints from neighbors.

He recommended sending the proposed exemption to the city’s ordinance committee to allow community members, police officials and others to weigh in with their opinions — a path that a majority of the city council agreed to take.

Labels: dancing, Santa Barbara, small businesses