By Neil Farrell
For the first time in a generation, the local Congressional seat is wide open, and nine candidates are running for the 24th California Congressional District, which includes Northern Ventura County and all of Santa Barbara and SLO Counties.
The eight men and one woman running to replace Congresswoman Lois Capps are a mix of political leanings — four declared Democrats, three Republicans and two with no stated political party. The Top-2 finishers in the June 7 Primary Election will run off in November’s General Election.
Democrats are: Benjamin Lucas, a design consultant; William “Bill” Ostrander, a non-profit director; Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider; and Santa Barbara County Supervisor, Salud Carbajal.
Republicans are: small businessman and rancher Justin Fareed; financial planner Matt Kokkonen; and local State Assemblyman and small business owner, Katcho Achadjian. The no-party candidates are: John Ubersax, a social scientist and biostatistician; and Steve Isakson, an electronics engineer and businessman.
At a candidates’ forum held recently at Cuesta College, differences and somewhat surprisingly, a lot of similarities came out among the diverse group.
Achadjian noted that he is a Cuesta College and Cal Poly alumnus, was Cuesta’s Alumnus of the Year in 2007 and has been both a City Councilman (Arroyo Grande) and County Supervisor before being elected to the State Assembly.
Carbajal said his father was a farmer and he had extraordinary parents and teachers growing up. He is a Marine Corps veteran who “knows what it’s like to struggle.”
Fareed is a third generation rancher in Santa Barbara County and a former Congressional staff member. While there he saw how dysfunctional Congress is.
Isakson has been here more than 40 years, has a PhD from UCSB and wants to focus on getting control of the Federal budget, which has been out of control for years and getting worse.
Kokkonen is a naturalized citizen from Finland who came alone to the U.S. at 13, landing in New York with just a suitcase. “I’m here to tell you the American Dream is alive” and he now has two suitcases, he joked. He’s an Army veteran, has two master’s degrees and has been in SLO 45 years.
Lucas said the Central Coast has had incompetent representation for 20 years and this is a chance to change philosophies. He’s put together a comprehensive package called, “The Solution” and is the only one who has put his platform in writing.
Ostrander said Carbajal’s story is like his father’s and like the supervisor their parents lifted them up. “We can’t do that for our kids,” he said.
Schneider said she is well aware of issues facing the Central Coast and has the experience of an elected mayor and work in the non-profit world.
Ubersax said the U.S. has been at war for 15 years in a record seven countries and wracked up a $6 trillion expense. He said wars are all immoral and we were “fighting for oil and on behalf of international banks.” He represents a true dedication to peace. “Please vote for peace,” he said.
Asked about their stance on offshore oil in light of last year’s spill at Refugio Beach, Carbajal said he has a long history and record of opposing offshore oil. Refugio reminds us of the “peril to our environment and our economy.”
Fareed said we needed to move towards a future of better innovations and technology to make it safer. Isakson preferred development of green resources. “I do believe in global warming,” he said.
Kokkonen pointed out that the Santa Barbara Channel has the second most natural seepage of oil in the world and more drilling and extraction was needed to lessen that seepage.
Lucas said the Refugio spill was caused by “Lois Capps’ office,” which has supported increased regulations that have made it difficult for pipeline companies to maintain their facilities.
Ostrander said oil was a 20th Century power source and not a 21st Century source. The U.S. subsidizes oil companies at $5 billion a year, he said, and there is more money in solar power.
Schneider would support not renewing offshore leases and switching to a renewable economy and the Refugio spill was from an onshore pipeline, not an offshore platform.
Ubersax said Saudi Arabia was “blackmailing” the U.S. and there were “great risks in being dependent on a foreign government.”
Achadjian said the existing leases should be honored. He favors bringing those responsible for Refugio to justice.
Asked, “Yes” or “No,” if they supported the minimum wage increases, Lucas, Ostrander, Schneider, Ubersax and Carbajal said they did and Kokkonen, Achadjian and Fareed said they didn’t.
Perhaps the most heated debate, again a Yes or No question, came when they were asked if they supported keeping abortion legal. Lucas, Ostrander, Schneider, Carbajal and Isakson said they did and Kokkonen and Achadjian opposed.
Ubersax became visibly upset and said it was a moral question and not appropriate for candidates for Congress. He refused to answer. Achadjian agreed, saying a question like that wasn’t a yes or no. Most of the others agreed with that statement.
Asked how to break the logjam over immigration, Ubersax said he wanted to reform the system so people don’t get the runaround, and cut out the “handouts.” Immigrants were proud people who should not be “turned into Wimpy of Popeye” with handouts.
Achadjian said those here illegally, “I want out” but also wanted to bring back a Bracero Program for seasonal workers. Carbajal said when he went through the immigration process it worked but is doesn’t work anymore. He favors securing the borders and creating a path to citizenship.
Fareed said we needed a legal immigration system that works but must first fix systemic problems. Isakson said he would work with Congress to draft a bill everyone can support. Kokkonen wants to re-do the system and make E-verify mandatory.
Lucas wanted to turn illegal border crossings back into felony offenses. And Ostrander said as Americans “we haven’t decided how we feel about immigration.”
Schneider said she wanted to bring people together to break the logjam. She would check were the biggest immigration problems are “and start there.”
