There may be a political renaissance in the making in Lompoc. Sometimes change is good, and other times it may bring only chaos to a community. For the last couple of City Council meetings, there seems to have been an organized effort to undermine the traditional way our City Council, current and past, has been operating.
What I can gather from public complaints is that some feel that the members of the council are “too old,” sometimes appear disinterested in the topic of discussion, or are ignoring the needs of some in the city.
On each meeting agenda, this statement is included at the top of the agenda, “The general oral communications periods are reserved for persons desiring to address the Lompoc City Council on any subject within the jurisdiction of the City Council. Closed session and consent calendar oral communications periods are limited to the subjects of the closed session/consent calendar agenda items.”
Most of the public comment has been used to advance the political agenda of the speaker, rather than addressing specific “subject(s) within the jurisdiction of the City Council.”
One such group is CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy), which according to its website is a grassroots organization in Ventura and Santa Barbara County dedicated to “social, economic, and environmental justice for working-class and immigrant communities.”
It has somehow become interested in Lompoc. “CAUSE organizes renters to advocate for policies that prevent unjust evictions, stabilize housing costs, and protect the safety and well-being of tenants.” In other words, they want rent control without considering the cost that responsible property owners must bear to maintain their properties.
Another claim is that “this legacy of environmental racism has continued for far too long, with working-class immigrant neighborhoods in our region being impacted by the worst air pollution from industrial facilities and heavy-duty trucking, the heaviest use of dangerous agricultural pesticides, and the most toxic chemical runoff into our drinking water.”
Of course, none of these claims have been verified, and many would argue that Lompoc has the cleanest air in the county primarily because there is no heavy industry in our city. The California Office of Health Hazard Assessment investigated claims of pesticide contamination in the late 1990s and found that “there was no difference between seasonal variation of Lompoc and seasonal variation of the comparison counties when bronchitis or asthma discharges were compared by admission quarter.”
The upcoming general election in November will determine if these folks are able to gain any traction.
But there could be several changes to the makeup of the dais. The mayor has a challenger, who happens to be a council member with two years left in his term. If the challenger prevails, it would leave an open seat in his district. Another council member is retiring, and a new person will be elected to fill his seat.
Yet another council member has a challenger; if the challenger is successful, a new person will serve his district. And lastly, the trial of a council member accused of multiple felonies will begin in September. If found guilty, this will immediately create another open seat.
The result could be that only one member of the council would have any experience of governing our city. The new members would have to appoint two new council members to fill empty seats and shortly after they are sworn in begin budget hearings for the next two-year budget.
Each of the new members would bring their personal agendas to the public arena. Most are relatively new to the political scene and, based on statements made during public comment periods, are woefully misinformed.
Sometimes change is good, and at other times it may bring only chaos to a community.
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in July 9 – July 16, 2026.
