Goleta mayoral race

Mayor Paula Perotte runs for second term

Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte is running for a second term this year, as she seeks to preserve the city’s small-town feel and support its small businesses.

The 40-year resident of Goleta was elected to City Council in 2010 and elected as mayor in 2018. 

However, local government is only a small fraction of the wide variety of work the mayor has done in her lifetime.

Mayor Perotte worked for the Santa Barbara Community Action Commission, where she helped parents of special needs children obtain their necessary services. Prior to that, she worked at her family’s high-tech business, waited tables at Joe’s Cafe, had a home business as a pie maker, drove a bus and spent 15 years working with the Parent Teachers Association at local and state levels.

She and her husband, Peter, raised two daughters in Goleta and are “happily spoiling” their two grandsons, Colton and Dakota.

As mayor of Goleta, she told the News-Press some of her proudest accomplishments include: moving forward with a new fire station; keeping Goleta’s crime rate among the lowest in the state; removing Venoco’s Ellwood Oil Processing facility at Haskell’s Beach; increasing public participation and transparency in city government; and funding Goleta Old Town improvements. 

Mayor Perotte said she will continue to protect businesses and residents from evictions and foreclosures, and support restaurants with a “Goleta on the Go” campaign.

“Our Economic Development Committee is forming a plan specifically to help local businesses during and after the pandemic,” Mayor Perotte told the News-Press in an email. “In the meantime, we have enacted safety measures so that local businesses can reopen partially or fully as soon as possible. We will continue to improve our quality of life and public safety so that people are attracted to visit, work and shop here.”

She said that economic consequences of the pandemic have affected the timing of some of her plans to improve streets, parking, crosswalks and sidewalks for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. However, she intends to accelerate road repair, bike paths and other infrastructure improvements.

In addition, the mayor wants to continue efforts to attract businesses that provide clean, well-paying jobs.

“We want to support current local businesses as they seek to diversify, and we want to attract businesses that provide some jobs with training programs so that people just starting out have opportunities here,” she continued. “Finally, we want to attract businesses that are less vulnerable to erosion from remote, online businesses that often provide little local benefit.”

She referenced Goleta’s new zoning ordinance, which was designed to ensure these businesses and enterprises are sited at locations zoned for such activity.

Mayor Perotte also mentioned the increasing cannabis industry.

“Since California legalized cannabis, one of the impacts is not just the growth and retail sales of cannabis, but also its processing,” she said. “This might be an industry with some good, new growth potential, but only if done safely, in a way compatible with our area and if all impacts are mitigated.”

Her top priority for her second term is ensuring the health, safety and well-being of the city through the pandemic. On top of that, she’s prioritizing support for first responders.

“I’m especially honored to be endorsed by, and working closely with, both the Santa Barbara Firefighters and the Santa Barbara Deputy Sheriffs,” Mayor Perotte said. “I want to work with our wonderfully diverse community to ensure needed changes to our justice system, so that every individual can live and thrive with equal treatment, dignity and safety with the same opportunities as everybody else.”

Mayor Perotte supports putting Measure O, which would extend the mayoral term in Goleta from two years to four, on the ballot for Goleta voters to decide. The Public Engagement Commission recommended this measure to “enhance transparency, diversity and increased participation in the actions of our city,” and she said relying on their recommendations has served the city well.
“I’m the only mayoral candidate with a solid record of advocating for the ‘right’ development, at the right pace,” Mayor Perotte said. “My record shows that I’ve provided the leadership to support the needs of both residents and local businesses, while protecting the character of Goleta neighborhoods and its environmental resources.

“I believe that my record of community service and achievement before and during my years on Goleta’s city council demonstrates that I have the experience, energy and understanding of Goleta’s values necessary to serve as mayor.”

To learn more about her campaign, visit her website at paulaperotte.com. 

email: gmccormick@newspress.com