Doreen Farr had an exciting election night party, but she wishes she hadn’t. If the votes had gone in her favor earlier in the night, she could have avoided the long, nerve-wracking hours she spent waiting for the votes to be counted.
Trailing behind Steve Pappas with 48 percent of the vote to his 51 at the start of election night, Farr ended up with a decisive 55 percent by the end. It was a signal, she said, that she connected with voters and that they were ready for a change.
“I’ve followed county issues very closely and felt that the county was headed in a direction that people didn’t want it to go,” Farr said in a Nov. 10 interview.
Farr is certainly going to be a different voice on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. She’s taking over the 3rd District from retiring supervisor Brooks Firestone, and it’s already evident that she and Firestone have different opinions on at least a few key issues—especially oil.
Firestone famously supported re-opening the Santa Barbara coastline to offshore drilling. Farr does not.
“My priorities are different, I’m a very strong environmentalist,” Farr said. “I support the moratorium on offshore drilling and onshore drilling needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.”
Farr has put other environmental causes on her platform, and said that one of her main priorities when she takes office will be to protect the Gaviota coast from excessive development. As for other projects, Farr said she realizes the budget problems facing the state of California and the country will, by necessity, take up a lot of the board’s time in the coming year.
Farr comes into her position with the already stated support of two of her fellow board
members. Second District Supervisor Janet Wolf and 1st District Supervisor and Board Chairman Salud Carbajal endorsed Farr during her campaign. Farr said she’s also had some conversations with Supervisor Joni Gray, and looks forward to getting to know Supervisor Joe Centeno.
Between now and her swearing-in date in January 2009, Farr said she’ll be working with Firestone on transitioning to his position and hiring staff members to help her during the year and staff her offices in Santa Barbara, Solvang, and Isla Vista.
“I’m not nervous, but excited,” Farr said of starting her new job as supervisor.
This will be the first time Farr serves in an elected position. She was previously appointed to the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission, a job she said was the perfect preparation for serving on the board because of the many land-use issues she had to juggle.
Farr, who currently lives just outside Solvang, said that for the last 25 years, she’s lived in the unincorporated areas of the county, and knows what it’s like to have only the county government as representation. Because of that experience, Farr said she wants to increase community involvement with the Board of Supervisors.
“I really want to welcome and encourage public participation,” she said.
The board can do that by being open with the public, releasing minutes from meetings in a timely manner, and holding more meetings out in the community, she said.
As for Farr, she’s getting ready for some big changes herself. Being a board member is going to take a lot of work, she said.
“I’m very aware of the honor of being elected,” Farr said.
She’s also excited about the newest addition to her family: She just found out that she’s going to be a grandma. Her eldest son’s wife is expecting a baby.
“It’s going to be a big first quarter for me,” she said.
Contact Sports Editor Sarah E. Thien through the executive editor at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 13-20, 2008.