Joe Holland, Melinda Greene battle - Santa Barbara News-Press

Today’s newsletter is presented by Esparza Law Group.

Take a look at this week’s podcast interviews with Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor Joe Holland and Melinda Greene, chief deputy clerk-recorder and CFO.

Jerry Roberts and I teamed up to interview the two candidates. The race for the Office of Clerk, Recorder, Assessor and Elections typically does not earn a lot of headlines, but this year is unique because Holland faces a challenge from his chief deputy, a person he hired.

Typically, the contest is not political, but Greene has pulled in endorsements from all five Santa Barbara County supervisors and several other elected officials. Holland has served for 24 years in the position and is looking for a seventh term.

The race has become a more prominent contest because Holland has not worked in the office for about 18 months, a fact that has irked members of the Board of Supervisors. A chronic health issue has forced him to work remotely. He does say he plans to return to the office “soon.”

Greene says the office needs a leader there full time, someone who can jump behind the counter to work when needed and lead by example for the rest of the staff. She also said she wants to provide transparency around the elections office.

It’s a high-profile battle to oversee a $22 million budget.

Check out the conversations, and later this week, we’ll have a full story on the race.

Joshua Molina

News-Press Editor

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Carrie Kelly is the former executive director of Downtown Santa Barbara.

“A core challenge is that what State Street is facing is not just a design or access issue. It’s an economic one. Solving it requires two distinct functions to run in parallel.”
— Carrie Kelly

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