The 2026 election in Lompoc could result in a dramatic change of political direction in our city.
First, the election for mayor pits two former foes for the seat. In 2020 they faced off for the council District 4 seat, and Jeremy Ball won handily by a 600-vote margin. Then in 2024 Jim Mosby, who lost other attempts, only garnered 40 percent of the vote to win the mayor’s seat in a three-way race.
I think Ball will win his race by a wide margin. Why? Well, Mosby has alienated many people in and out of city government with an off-putting confrontational attitude that would make a bully blush.
Noozhawk recently reported that “Mosby claimed that there’s a great attitude at City Hall under his leadership. What he didn’t discuss is that City Hall has lost a significant number of top employees in the past two years, many privately pinning their departures on Mosby’s return. Both publicly and privately, Mosby’s favorite targets include criticizing city staff, such as work by individuals and in general. He also has lobbed criticism at other agencies, including Santa Barbara County and regional organizations.”
If Ball wins, this leaves his council seat vacant. A newly seated council will have to select someone to finish out Ball’s two-year term. And it’s likely that Ball already has someone in mind who would support his agenda.
We will have to see if the new council has what it takes to provide thoughtful directions to the city manager to address the many challenges that our community faces.
Dirk Starbuck is retiring from his council District 3 seat after a long tenure; his seat is being contested by two candidates, and it’s too early to predict a winner. One of the candidates, Nick Gonzales, has extensive experience in city government and was chairperson of the Planning Commission for several years. The other candidate has no experience in city government.
Victor Vega in council District 2 is being challenged by a relatively new candidate who has little experience with city government. It’s Vega’s election to lose, but he will have to convince voters he’s worthy of another term.
Add to this the fact that the council District 1 representative has serious legal issues that could result in the loss of his seat if he is convicted of any of the 20 felonies he faces in court.
You can quickly realize that there could be four new council members.
There are many issues that a new council will have to face. The first is the next two-year city budget, which is a challenge to seasoned council members and may be one of the most difficult tasks new members will face. Simply understanding where funds come from and how they can be used is foreign to people unfamiliar with the process.
Another is the strong desire of county Supervisor Joan Hartman to have the city extend utilities to the Sweeny Road “homeless village” so it can be expanded. The council will have to consider who will pay for the cost of construction and whether importing a few hundred more unhoused folks to the area, when nearly 20 percent of the population is considered “persons in poverty” by the U.S. census, is a wise decision.
Concerning new housing, the 2030 General Plan, Public Services Element, Policy 3.1, states, “The first Fire Department response units capable of initiating effective incident intervention shall arrive at a priority emergency within six minutes 20 seconds from receipt of the call at the dispatch center, 90 percent of the time.”
The Fire Department has previously reported that it cannot meet this standard because Fire Station 52 isn’t strategically located to serve the northern and western areas of town. The council will have to decide whether it wants to continue to jeopardize public safety or aggressively seek funding to relocate this vital public asset.
One thing is certain: No matter who prevails in this election, there will be a change in the political atmosphere of the city; whether this will be better or worse remains to be seen.
Conversation doesn’t fix anything, action does.
We will have to see if the new council has what it takes to provide thoughtful directions to the city manager to address the many challenges that our community faces.
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in September 17 – September 24, 2026.
