Santa Maria Mayor Larry Lavagnino announced earlier this month that he’s endorsed Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) in her bid for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. At a press conference on Oct. 5 at the Santa Maria River Levee, Lavagnino mentioned Capps’s work in helping ensure the city received $40 million in Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to repair the worn levee. “You have delivered, and that’s why, as far as I’m concerned, there’s not any difference here between Democrat and Republican. We’re working together to serve and protect the people of Santa Maria,” Lavagnino said in a press release sent after the conference. She also helped write legislation—which was approved by the House—to delay for five years the requirement that homeowners living in newly labeled flood zones buy flood insurance. Capps is running against Republican Tom Watson to represent the 23rd Congressional District.
This article appears in Oct 14-21, 2010.