3rd District candidate Steve Pappas

 

Steve Pappas, candidate for the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisor’s 3rd District seat, had not a second’s hesitation when asked what he thought will be the most important issue facing the next office holder.

“Tribal expansion” and all the surrounding issues such as fee-to-trust, liquor licenses, and local input to federal processes at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said Pappas.

Pappas got his start in local activism when he founded two politically active groups, Preservation of Los Olivos and Preservation of Santa Ynez. The groups were formed as a response to an attempt to convert a Los Olivos property, the Montanero Farm, into a high density condo project. Pappas and his groups brought pressure on the developer and the planning commission to lay aside plans for the property — and it remains undeveloped today.

 

Pappas and his groups then lead local opposition to casino and tribal expansion efforts by the Santa Ynez band of Chumash Indians.  As an example, Pappas cited the annexation by the tribe of a 6.9-acre piece of property across Highway 246 from the casino through a process called fee-to-trust.

“My argument is not with the Indians and their community, but with the BIA,” Pappas said.

He went on to point out that the process precludes public participation and it takes property off the tax rolls and places it under the sovereign control of the Chumash tribe without appropriate compensation.

Pappas said that, if he is elected to the board of supervisors, he would hire a tribal liaison to assist in communicating with the local tribe. He said that he already has someone in mind for the job, the parent of one of his son’s friends.

 

Among other issues that Pappas said needs close attention from the next supervisor will be California’s state housing mandates. Calling the process flawed and “riddled with corruption and must be scrapped,” Pappas said that he is  “against high density housing projects in the unincorporated rural areas of the county and opposed to the disingenuous State Housing Mandate.”

Pappas said that he supports preserving the Gaviota Coast and that the county must find ways to make transfers of development rights work to resolve issues faced by Naples property owners who want to develop their properties. Naples is the last undeveloped piece of property west of Goleta.

Pointing to the budget of the Los Olivos School Board, of which he is president, Pappas said he has been on a team that “insisted on, and achieved, a balanced budget over the last 3 fiscal years.”

Pappas said that the county cannot run on deficit budgets, adding that balancing the budget would be one of his most immediate concerns.

 

When asked during a local candidates’ forum what he would do to help offset the county budget shortfall, Pappas said that what they did at the Los Olivos School District was cut administrative costs first and the same can be done at the county level. 

Pappas said that county CEO Mike Brown’s performance “needs to be re-evaluated.” He noted the change in county government since 2005, when department heads first were required to report to Brown instead of to the board of supervisors directly.

Pappas answered the question, “How are you better qualified than the other four candidates for this office?” with three statements:  “I’ve been an entrepreneur for 22 years and have the experience of running a business with 8 employees.”  His experience as president of the Los Olivos School Board and his 7 years of hands-on experience in the community as an activist also give him the experience to perform in this office, said Pappas.