Armed with a carefully selected staff and an intimate knowledge of local politics, 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone says he is ready to deliver on the promises he made to voters during his campaign last March.
Having assumed his position Jan. 4, Firestone said he is ready to start making the small but significant changes necessary to improve the condition of the 3rd District, which extends from the Santa Ynez Valley to Isla Vista and UCSB. Firestone said a balanced county budget is on the way — if his term goes according to plan — along with I.V. improvements including street lights, a post office and a ride home for drunken revelers.
Firestone is one of five district supervisors who represent different areas within Santa Barbara County at board of supervisors meetings, which are held once a week. Firestone said he and the rest of the board discuss and rule on issues such as housing, budget, infrastructure and development within the county.
Firestone said his main priority for his four-year term is to balance the board’s budget, which he said has been the source of considerable unrest in the county.
“This really all comes down to a shortage of funds,” Firestone said. “We don’t have the income to cover our expenses at this point, and we have to fix that.”
Firestone, a 68-year-old father of four with 11 grandchildren, said his background in business and public service should help him throughout his term. Firestone spent 12 years working in the private sector for Firestone Tires before moving to California in 1972 to become a vintner. In 1982, Firestone ran for state Assembly, but was defeated; he went on to win, however, when he ran a second time in 1994 and served two terms before retiring. He came out of retirement to campaign for his current position in March 2004.
“I noticed the perception of angst in the county, beginning with the recall election for Gail Marshall, which I did not support,” Firestone said. “There were acrimonious and unproductive meetings over county issues that I’d observed … I realized I was in a unique position; I knew a lot of people and had been part of the area for a long time. I felt I could serve as a bridge-builder and a healer.”
Firestone said his campaign promises to improve I.V. have not been forgotten, and he said rectifying the area’s “history of neglect” is still important to him.
“I.V. needs a lot of care and attention, and it deserves a response from the county,” he said. “I very much look forward to being a part of that.”
The I.V. Master Plan, which proposes various enhancements and improvements for the area, is very ambitious, Firestone said, but he said he thinks action needs to be taken immediately. He said the Master Plan has been in the works for 35 years, but few changes have been made.
“I believe in equal participation between planning and actually producing,” Firestone said. “It seems, in this case, that the planning has had the preponderance.”
Firestone said he is working on plans to open a post office in I.V. and install more streetlights, for both aesthetic and safety reasons.
“It’s dark walking around I.V. at night,” Firestone said. “In college towns, people walking around alone or at night should be safe and should have streetlights. I think the county owes that to these students.”
I.V.’s crime problems, Firestone said, are not unique to the area. He said such problems are common in any area where there are students and alcohol.
“I feel UCSB wants to reduce its reputation as a party school without actually reducing the number of parties,” Firestone said. “The idea is to make the area less of a magnet for out-of-towners.”
On Halloween, Firestone said, he came across a girl in I.V. who had had too much to drink and was about to be arrested by IVFP officers for public intoxication. He said he arranged with the IVFP officer to take the girl back to her friend’s house to avoid the arrest, but said he thinks more can be done to prevent this type of problem.
Firestone said he would also support the creation of an organization that would patrol I.V. during the weekends and would offer to take people who had too much to drink home.
“They could be sanctioned by the university so that somebody like [the girl on Halloween], who was going to get arrested and go to jail — that’s rough, I hate that — could be safely taken home and would have a safe haven.”
Firestone also said he will continue to speak out against issues which conflict with the needs of the community, such as the proposed I.V. parking plan. He said he objects to the plan, currently under review by the California Coastal Commission, because of the $195 permit for cars not registered within the county and the seven parking officials needed to enforce the restrictions.
“I said I would never vote for a plan that was that expensive and required that many people to staff it,” Firestone said. “The plan as proposed doesn’t provide more parking, and it can’t involve the harassment of people just looking for a place to park.”
Firestone said he plans to maintain his stance on local issues, in addition to opening an office staffed by UCSB interns in I.V., which he said will establish a more positive, more constant link between students and the rest of the county. He said he thinks the office will help resolve conflicts in the community, such as the dispute between county inspectors and I.V. landlords regarding the eviction of several oceanside Del Playa Drive properties.
“In the case of the bluffs, I went out there and brought people together — landlords, inspectors and students,” Firestone said. “It was an impromptu, but very productive, meeting. It was part of the process about reaching some conclusion about those buildings.”
Despite the challenges he faces, Firestone said he remains confident he can achieve his goals.
“I want a better reputation for county government among the people in the county,” he said. “I want a balanced budget … and for I.V. to progress as a college town, so that when you come back as and alumni, you’ll say, ‘I wish this was how it was when I was here.’ And, when you visit, you’ll be able to find a parking space.”