Gabe Escobedo wins Santa Barbara City Council District 6 seat

Gabe Escobedo is moving from the school board to City Hall.

The Santa Barbara Unified School District board member won Santa Barbara’s District 6 City Council seat Tuesday, succeeding outgoing City Councilmember Meagan Harmon.

At time of the News-Press calling the race, Escobedo had 70.2 percent of the vote. Alexander Stoeber followed with 11.6 percent of the vote. Jason Carlton was in third place with 11 percent. Anabella Lehne was in last place with 6.7 percent.

Escobedo and other Santa Barbara County Democratic Party-endorsed candidates gathered at Validation Ale to watch the results.

The Democratic Party endorsed Escobedo in the four-candidate race. Alexander Stoeber, a real estate agent, received backing from the Santa Barbara Police Officers Association and the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce Business Action Fund.

As of Oct. 29, Escobedo had raised about $24,000, compared to $29,000 for Stoeber. 

The victory secures Escobedo a four-year term representing District 6.

Escobedo brings with him experience from the Santa Barbara Unified school board, the city’s Planning Commission and its Community Formation Commission. 

Throughout his council campaign, he has advocated for more affordable housing downtown, rent stabilization as well as keeping downtown State Street closed to cars.

Describing affordable housing as “an ecosystem of policies,” and argues that building additional housing whilst protecting existing tenants should go hand in hand.

His opponents offered some differing approaches to housing, downtown revitalization and city spending.

At the Santa Barbara Public Market, Alexander Stoeber told the News-Press “there’s a blue wave across the country,” and added “the slate matters” after initial results showed Escobedo on top.

“I ran to give people a choice,” Stoeber said. “I’m seeing the democratic slate is powerful.”

Stoeber, a downtown renter and real estate agent who initially came to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB, said that experiencing homelessness as a child helped to shape his outlook. He believes the city should increase its housing supply, including accessory dwelling units, and is critical of the city’s rent stabilization ordinance. 

On State Street, he supports a more flexible approach that could possibly accommodate a trolley, events and vehicle access at certain times.

Anabella Lehne, a Santa Barbara native whose career has included teaching, social work at Cottage Hospital, and now loan signing, focused her campaign on affordability and financial transparency. As a renter herself, she opposed the rent stabilization ordinance, with her argument being that additional regulation could potentially hurt small rental owners. She also called for rebuilding city reserves and assessing State Street’s needs on a block-by-block basis.

Jason Carlton, an electrician and business owner, was making his second bid for the seat after running in 2021. A member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, he criticized the city’s coordination of infrastructure projects and called for an auditioning process to scrutinize spending. His State Street priorities included safety, lighting and cleanliness, along with bollards to allow flexible vehicle access along the downtown corridor.