Rematch: Janet Wolf vs. Dan Secord for 2nd District Supervisor

Posted: Jun 1, 2010 6:19 PM by Ariel Wesler

Next Tuesday... if you think the two candidates battling to represent Santa Barbara County's 2nd District, look familiar, you're right.

The race is a rematch from 2006. Former Santa Barbara city councilman Dan Secord hopes to trump the incumbent and board chair Janet Wolf. The district covers portions of western Santa Barbara and the Eastern Goleta Valley. The biggest issue on the table during this race is the county's $40 million budget shortfall.

Both county supervisor Janet Wolf and Dan Secord have been here before. They ran against each other four years ago but in this economy, the stakes are much higher.

"The board majority simply isn't doing their job because they've let this deficit get out of control," Secord said.

He blames the $40 million dollar budget shortfall, nearly double last year's, on increased spending while Wolf says the county's taking in less money.

"We've been moving some of our departments out of very expensive rental spaces back into our county buildings to save money. We have changed our worker's comp carrier to save money," Wolf said.

Just last week, the unions and the county agreed to $10 million worth of concessions, but Secord feels Wolf is getting too cozy with employee groups.

"We may have to make some very serious changes to the way people think they're going to retire when they work for the government," Secord said.

"The county is making strides and moves in order to look at our pension system in broader detail," Wolf said.

She says the county has put together a task force to examine retirement options. Meanwhile, Secord says the county pays more into retirement pensions than many private employers and needs to focus on necessities.

"We gotta take care of the poor. We got to provide the court. We got to do the sheriff and then we should start saying are we doing something that needs to be done," Secord said.

"We have always balanced our budget. We will continue to do so by making strategic cuts," Wolf said.

Four years ago, neither candidate won the majorty n the primary election. That forced a runoff and Wolf squeezed out a victory by just 1500 votes.

For more information on Janet Wolf, click here.

Fore more information on Dan Secord, click here.