Supervisor, Supervisorial District 1 — Santa Barbara County

Assemblymember Das Williams currently represents over half of Santa Barbara County and a quarter of Ventura County in the California State Assembly, a position to which he was elected in 2010. Prior to his service in the Assembly, Williams served 7 years on the Santa Barbara City Council from 2003-2010 and also served as a trustee for Peabody Charter School in Santa Barbara. 

During his extensive public service, Williams has earned a reputation as a champion for renewable energy and the reduction of green house gas emissions.  In the Assembly, Williams helped successfully advocate for a requirements that 33% of the state’s energy come from renewable sources by 2020. With the state on track to hit that goal, Williams has authored legislation to increase the renewable energy goal to 50% by 2030. 

A lifelong advocate for our coast, Williams championed required testing of groundwater before, during, and after hydraulic fracturing, which was included in California's regulations on fracking. He is currently authoring a bill to expand groundwater monitoring to other types of injection wells to protect underground sources of drinking water from oil and gas wastewater disposal. 

Williams also took leadership to ensure statewide resources would be spent locally to provide relief from the drought, including securing funds for the Lake Cachuma pump project and supporting funding for water recycling and conservation efforts. He's also been a leader on emergency preparedness, hosting an emergency preparedness fair every year since he took office and working to ensure 911 calls are correct routed to cut down on response time. 

Williams grew up in Santa Barbara County and attended local schools. In addition to his service in elected office, he taught at Antioch University in Santa Barbara, worked as a junior high school teacher, as well as a legislative aid to California State Assemblymember Hannah-Beth Jackson. Williams holds a Master's degree in Environmental Science & Management, with a focus on water pollution, planning processes, and land-use law at UC Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science. 

I currently serve as the County Investment Officer and manage a billion-dollar portfolio for the county, schools and special districts. In almost 15 years as a public servant, I’ve worked with, negotiated for, or counseled every department in the county. I’ve achieved professional success both as an attorney and finance professional, and I’ve learned many valuable lessons over the course of my career.

I know what it takes to make our government more accountable, efficient, and disciplined. I will ensure that our children, grandchildren, and their children after them have the tools for success and the ability to succeed – and not the legacy of debt that we are leaving them now.

I want to create a county government that protects its taxpayers, works for its families, and makes decisions to benefit those it represents.

Like you, I have watched our Board of Supervisors make both good and bad decisions over the past several years. More often than not, the county’s failures resulted from our elected officials failing to make pragmatic decisions that ensure our long-term success.

It is a great trust that is placed in any elected official who represents our wonderful community. It is a trust that requires respect for the citizenry, humility as a public servant, and is honored by understanding that county government is based on the premise that the people of this county do not yield their sovereignty to the elected officials who serve them. As a supervisor, I will honor this public trust.

Politically independent, committed non-partisan. 

I believe in working together to solve the issues we face as a county. Partisan politics and partisanship should have no role in this discussion. If we want to do what's best for our community, ensure our economic vitality, and provide opportunities for our youth, and esssential services to those most in need, we need to set aside partisanship and work together.

That is my political philosophy, and my problem-solving approach. Serve this community, build consensus, work together, and leave partisanship at the door.