Pappas announces platform

 

Third District Supervisor hopeful Steve Pappas announced his official campaign platform Feb. 19, outlining his goals to balance a troubled budget, preserve agriculture lands and curtail prospects of casino expansion.

“Each of these issues is not being handled by the local government for the people, but by the government for the government, which is not in the best interests of people who live in the 3rd District,” Pappas said.

Pappas’ platform also includes key 3rd District issues that have been topics of heated debate during the past year, including zoning and development issues, casino expansion, development of unincorporated county lands and preservation of agricultural lands.

 

He vows to fight high-density housing development in rural areas, balance the county budget and erase the “huge” deficit, make zoning regulations more restrictive and community inclusive, initiate a healthy relationship between UCSB and the Isla Vista college community, and fight overall casino and gambling expansion in the district.

“We cannot afford the status-quo any longer,” Pappas said in a press release. “The public has a constitutional right to have a voice on all issues affecting their lives.”

Pappas is the first candidate to announce his political platform and says he’s not surprised.

He claims that unlike other politicians, he’s not playing it safe and would like to give voters a fair opportunity to understand his intentions.

 

“I’ve never been afraid to be transparent about where I stand,” he said.

Doreen Farr, who leads the five-candidate field in fundraising, said she will be making her platform public when she opens her campaign office within the next few weeks.

“I’ve had a Web site up for awhile now, but Steve did a long-detailed statement, and he’s certainly the first to come out with a platform,” Farr said.

Newly announced candidate Victoria Pointer said her platform is in the works and could be announced as early as mid-March.

“It is early to be announcing a platform; I think the fact that he’s making his campaign transparent is great,” Pointer said. “The sooner you know, the better, and it lets you know where a person is coming from.”

 

Candidates David Bearman and David Smyser could not be reached for comment.

Pappas said that he is excited by the prospect of running for 3rd District Supervisor, and that he is not deterred by the fact that he trails Farr, Smyser and Bearman in contributions.

“If the byproduct is there are more campaign donations and attention that’s fine,” he said. “But the purpose of me announcing this earlier is to be clear about where I stand.”

 

Other candidates may be waiting until the first debate, scheduled for March 19, to announce their political platforms. The debate is being sponsored by INC Group and will be held at 11:45 a.m. at Pea Soup Andersen’s in Buellton, 51 East Highway 246. All of the candidates will be invited.