Matt Kilrain is back on his bicycle, his campaign signs are back around town, and “Boat Rat Matt” is back on the ballot.
Five years after finishing last in Santa Barbara’s six-candidate 2021 mayoral election, Kilrain, once again, has qualified for the race and secured a place on the ballot.
Like the Olympics or the World Cup, Kilrain’s run for office has become something of a four-year event.
But this is anything but a typical candidacy.
Interviews with Kilrain can veer from e-bike safety and city finances to Biblical prophecy, plans for Santa Barbara’s “Boat Rat Matt” minted currency and allegations of conspiracies involving city officials and the courts.
He has since added another name: “.07.”
“I’m kind of like Santa Barbara’s James Bond, dude,” Kilrain said. “Except I’m .07, not 007.”
The nickname is based on what Kilrain says was his share of the 2021 vote. Certified election results show he received 178 votes, or 0.68%.
“That’s how I became .07,” he said. “And there’s other spy stuff going on.”
Some of those claims center on years of legal disputes involving Kilrain, the city and people who worked along the Santa Barbara waterfront.
Kilrain is currently subject to a five-year civil harassment restraining order obtained by “L.O.” – a transgender woman – that remains in effect until May 3, 2027. And in May of 2023, Kilrain also had a separate, secondary restraining order in place. In this case, a three-year workplace violence restraining order was obtained by the city on behalf of five employees, but has since expired.
The trial court found L.O.’s testimony to be credible and rejected Kilrain’s assertions that her allegations were part of a sort of political conspiracy. Kilrain continues to dispute the allegations and maintains that city employees and others conspired against him in his 2021 campaign.
Religion also seems to figure prominently in how Kilrain describes himself and his campaign.
His campaign website introduces him as “God’s White Knight for Mayor of Santa Barbara,” declares him “backed by 144,000,” and promises that he will “rescue Santa Barbara from evil rule.”
The 144,000 are not campaign donors or endorsers.
“It comes out of the Bible,” Kilrain said. “There are 144,000 songbirds that sing the song, but nobody understands the lyrics except them.”
“Those are the 144,000. They’re backing me up,” he continued. “Because all the stuff I talk about, nobody understands but them.”
Kilrain said he did not grow up religious, nor does he consider himself religious now.
“However, God Almighty and Jesus Christ have been living inside of my body since I was a young boy,” he said.
This time around, Kilrain is campaigning on what he calls a “four cornerstone agenda” – child and adult bicycle safety, community unification, a sovereign city currency and reform on the waterfront, State Street and City Hall. An amendment to the platform would make Santa Barbara residents shareholders in the city and distribute dividends when the city turns a profit.
He calls e-bike safety the most important issue facing Santa Barbara, though he has not yet written the initiative he would pursue.
“I’m not proposing shaking down the kids, sending the cops after a bunch of kids or nothing like that,” Kilrain said. “I’m proposing to get the parents together, and let’s do something about this.”
He said parents should consider taking away their children’s phones or e-bikes when they ride recklessly.
“Mom bought the kids an e-bike, and Mom gets a break, and the kids go out and terrorize the town because Mom’s taking a break,” Kilrain said. “All of us parents know that we’ve got to do something about it. None of us really know what to do, but when you put that microphone in my hand, we’ll figure it out.”
Kilrain’s economic plans start with silver. He wants Santa Barbara to invest money in the metal and eventually establish a silver-backed local currency alongside dollars, credit cards and cryptocurrency.
“It wouldn’t hurt to invest a million,” he said.
Kilrain also plans to mint his own currency.
“I’m gonna come out with my own Boat Rat Matt coins that’ll probably say Santa Barbara on it,” he said. “Maybe a picture of a boat on the back – maybe a picture of me under fire, whatever, doesn’t matter. It’s just the silver itself.”
He predicted silver would approach $100 an ounce by November or the end of the year.
“The city’s not gonna invest in silver between now and the election,” Kilrain said. “They’re not gonna do it, and they’re gonna lose a lot of money because they don’t.”
Through the court fights, campaign losses and years away from the Santa Barbara harbor, Kilrain has kept the name that began as an easy-to-remember email address for a man who sold boats.
“You gotta be somebody. You gotta have a job,” Kilrain said. “What’s your profession? I’m Boat Rat Matt.”
The name, he acknowledged, has taken on a life of its own.
“It’s an identity I should have ditched,” Kilrain said, “but I did not.”
