Stephen Pepe - Lompoc

Jennifer Christensen is the county’s chief investment officer and an experienced financial professional. It is no secret that Santa Barbara  County is heading into some serious financial budget and fiscal issues. We need an experienced and well-qualified individual as our auditor-controller. That is why a number of past and current local mayors and the county […]

Recently, after four plus years, scores of outreach meetings and four county Planning Commission meetings, the winery ordinance came up for a final vote. The Santa Barbara Vintners Association, the Econ Alliance, and the Santa Rita Hills Wine Growers Alliance urged the Planning Commission to permit direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine sales for small family-owned wineries.  More […]

I first met Bruce Porter at a Buellton City Council meeting. Before the Buellton City Council was a resolution asking the county not to count winery charity fundraisers as a special event.  Bruce was there representing the Red Cross and urged the Buellton City Council to approve the resolution. The Buellton librarian and nonprofit organizations […]

Two of the candidates for the 3rd District Supervisor are hostile to charity fundraisers at county wineries.  When the winery ordinance was first proposed, several of us were apprehensive that the regulation of special events would adversely affect charitable events at wineries. We drafted a resolution asking the county not to count charity events at […]