It’s not a rumor.
Jason Dominguez, a man who lost his council seat by eight votes, is running again for Santa Barbara City Council.
The attorney and former councilman is looking to replace Kristen Sneddon in District 4 on the Santa Barbara City Council. Dominguez served four years as a representative of Santa Barbara’s Eastside before losing the seat by 8 votes to Alejandra Gutierrez.
Now he’s back, rebranded and eager to win a seat.
“There’s going to be an experience vacuum because we are losing Kristen (Sneddon), Eric (Friedman) and Meagan (Harmon),” Dominguez said. “One of them may stay as the mayor.”
He said once Oscar Gutierrez and Mike Jordan leave in two years because of term limits, the council is really going to need someone with experience.
“I think having someone who has had a term is going to be really useful,” Dominguez said.
Although Dominguez is a registered Democrat, he proudly proclaims that party registration should not matter in local politics.
“I am a centrist,” Dominguez. “I really lean into representative democracy. I lean into who my constituents are. I want to keep partisan politics out of Santa Barbara.”
Dominguez served from 2016 to 2020. He was a strong advocate for the Eastside, supporting projects such as the renovation of Dwight Murphy, exercise equipment at the Cabrillo ballfields the creation of Alisos street bike lane, and safety at parks.
During his term he also frequently sparred with then-mayor Cathy Murillo over appointments to advisory groups.
Although the mayor is typically the representative appointed to serve on the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, Dominguez’s colleagues appointed him to the board over Murillo, in a step away from tradition. But a month later, then councilman Randy Rowse flipped his vote and ousted Dominguez from SBCAG.
Dominguez once boycotted a city retreat because he didn’t like that the event was in Goleta and not televised. He voted against the city budget in 2019.
Dominguez also called for greater public safety at Ortega Park. At one point he videotaped people drinking alcohol at the Eastside park and called on law enforcement to crack down on nuisance behavior.
If elected again, he said he wants to focus on public safety, wildfire protection and bike safety. As a father of a 6-year-old, Dominguez now also says he takes a more measured approach to conflict and has become a better listener.
On the issues, Dominguez told the News-Press that he would like to see more public safety officers and volunteers downtown to increase E-bike safety. Regarding State Street, he said the master plan was too expensive.
“We didn’t need a consultants to come up with this plan,” Dominguez said. He criticized the fact that Santa Barbara gave year-long severance packages to some employees when they departed the city.
On the issue of rent stabilization, he said it would likely be finalized before he would take office. He noted that attorney Barry Cappello has filed a lawsuit over the rent freeze, which could make the rent stabilization issue moot by the time he would have serve.
“I personally am skeptical of rent control,” Dominguez said. “In a town like ours there is one thing that really characterizes Santa Barbara. We have a very old housing stock. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Housing that was built in the 1950s and 60s needs a lot of work.”
He said people whou live in a rent-controlled apartment would definitely benefit from such a system.
Dominguez said he would push for housing on State Street, and wants to build “a couple thousand units.”
Dominguez said he has already been walking the district and after the June 2 primary he will fully launch his campaign.
“It is really going to come down to experience and being a known quantity,” Dominguez said.
