Smyser
announces bid for county supervisor
Former
Solvang City Councilman and former Santa Barbara County Planning Commissioner
Dave Smyser made it official Jan. 11 – he’s in the
race to see who will succeed retiring 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone.
Three
times during the press conference at which he announced his candidacy, Smyser said he was running “for our children.” Standing in
front of the Veterans Memorial Building in Solvang, and later that same day at Girsh Park in Goleta, Smyser said
all of his community service has been “for our children” and a “way I could
give back.”
“Here
in the Santa Ynez Valley we teach our children that they should give something
back to the community where they live, where they work, where they play,” he
said. “This is a generous community and our children learn about being
contributing members of society from watching our service.
“As
an environmental land use and business attorney with an office here in Solvang
I recognized that my training and experience could be used to help my
community. It was a way that I could give back,” Smyser
said.
Smyser served as an aide to Firestone before
being appointed by the 3rd District Supervisor to be a Third District Planning
Commissioner. He was a member of the Solvang City Council and served as Mayor
of Solvang, and he held seats on the County Air Pollution Control District and
the Santa Barbara County Local Agency Formation Commission.
He
said his service on the city and county levels allowed him to secure local
funding, work with industry and regulators and stop urban sprawl. He pointed
out that during his time as mayor he helped launch a successful ballot measure
to protect municipal revenues.
As
mayor, he helped Solvang acquire “a more efficient, cost effective, more
responsive municipal government,” Smyser said.
He
said his bid for supervisor is to “follow in the footsteps of Brooks Firestone
to complete the work that he has begun at the county level.”
Attending
the press conference were numerous supporters, including Firestone. Other
individuals endorsing Smyser include 4th District
Supervisor Joni Gray; 5th District Supervisor Joe Centeno;
Linda Jackson, mayor of Solvang; Larry Lavagnino, mayor
of Santa Maria; Leo Trujillo, mayor pro tempore of Santa Maria; Jean W. Blois,
Goleta City Council member; Willy Chamberlin, former 3rd District Supervisor;
Don Lahr, former mayor of Santa Maria; Dan Blough,
former county planning commissioner; Marty Mariscal,
former Santa Maria City Council member; Carey Rogers, former Goleta Water
District trustee.
Discussing
again the children in the area, he reviewed the accomplishments of his own
three children, who, he said, along with children of other residents,
“represent the future of Santa Barbara County.
“I
want our children, when they return, to find the same safe, wonderful rural
community, with employment opportunities, and an affordable home in a community
with the stable property values that I found when I came to this valley,” he
said.
“This is a county of opportunity and challenge. I am
confident that together we can preserve the quality of life that we enjoy here
in Santa Barbara County for ourselves and our children, and our grandchildren,”
he said. “That is why I am running for supervisor.”