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Ex-councilman Dale Francisco enlivens the latest episode of "Newsmakers," featuring local journalists Kelsey Brugger, Josh Molina and Nick Welsh, bringing his conservative perspective and insights to a spirited discussion and analysis of local politics - and pot. Dale peppers the conversation, as Nick recounts the impressions of the mayoral candidates he gleaned from his perch as a grand inquisitor on the stage for the Indy/KCRW debate; Josh reports the latest on the increasingly aggressive campaign for council in the 4th district; Kelsey explains, in her continuing coverage of local governments adapting to marijuana legalization, why Lompoc may become the Amsterdam of Santa Barbara County; and Jerry offers his view on SB's state senator joining an internecine Democratic revolt against U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. It's up right now, right here:

Cathy Murillo said at a mayoral debate Friday that “rent control is coming” to Santa Barbara in the form of a future ballot measure, adding later she does “not rule out” supporting such an initiative. The council member’s comments came during and after a Rotary Club forum, featuring all five candidates for mayor at the Fess Parker. It was the first time rent control had surfaced as an issue in the campaign, and Murillo’s statements contrasted sharply with the categorical anti-rent control views expressed by her four rivals. “Rent control is a disaster,” said Frank Hotchkiss, Murillo’s conservative council colleague, in the strongest denunciation of a policy long and bitterly opposed by local landlords and real estate interests. Murillo, the most liberal candidate in the race, however, said in answer to a question about affordable housing, posed by moderator and former City Administrator Jim Armstrong, that she would remain open-minded in the face of any efforts by tenants rights groups to place a rent control measure on a future ballot. “Rent control is coming,” she told an audience of about 75 people. “Members of the public will submit signatures. I’ll deal with that when it comes.” After the forum ended, Newsmakers asked Cathy to amplify and clarify her comments: Q: “So when you say you’re going to consider it, are you saying that you support rent control or don’t support rent control?” A: “If someone gathers the signatures and puts it on the ballot then we’ll have to take a position on it, right?” Q: “So you’re not ruling out rent control?” A: “Right, I’m not ruling it out.” Q: “Okay, because the others did.” A: “If someone’s going to collect the signatures and put it on the ballot, we’ll all have to make a decision about it.” Q: “Okay, because the others all ruled it out. That’s all I’m asking.” A: “Okay.” Tenant rights conflation. A few hours later, Murillo emailed to say that she “misspoke” earlier, and had conflated efforts to advance rent control with a current signature-gathering campaign, led by the tenant rights group, Rental Housing Roundtable, in favor of a “just cause eviction” measure. That would limit and restrict the reasons for which a landlord could evict a tenant. The Rental Housing Roundtable is “currently building support for a just cause eviction ordinance, I think that involves circulating petitions,” her email said. “I've been to a couple of (the group’s) meetings and people talk about putting an initiative on the ballot for rent control.” “I think that is a real possibility,” Murillo added. “That's why I said what I did at the forum today.” About 60 percent of residents in Santa Barbara are renters. Amid high rents and a near-zero vacancy rate, tenant advocates earlier this year convinced the council to consider a batch of proposed protections. The council formed a joint landlord-tenant task force on the issue but, under intense pressure from landlord groups and real estate interests, took rent control off the table as a policy alternative. The Indy had the best coverage of the dispute, particularly a piece by Nick Welsh here, and another by Tyler Hayden here. JR Images: Cathy Murillo: Pro-and-con signs from a fight over rent control in Oregon: (cityobservatory.org and thinkingoregon.org). Email us news tips at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com or comment on our stories on our Facebook page - SB City Desk. Thanks for reading.

Save the date: Nine days before the election, KEYT-TV will host the one and only, live televised debate among the five candidates for mayor of Santa Barbara, News Director Jim Lemon confirms. The event is scheduled to air live on KEYT and keyt.com on Sunday night, October 29, from 7-8 p.m. It will be simulcast and then repeated several times on the NOW Channel (Over the air Channel 3.2, Cable Channel 13). “It’s important for Santa Barbara voters to see their candidates for the city’s top elected position in an unfiltered way,” emails Jim. “Answering questions and outlining their take on city issues, ranging from downtown development to jobs creation, is vital so voters can decide Santa Barbara’s next leader.” We’re told all five candidates – Angel Martinez, Bendy White, Cathy Murillo, Frank Hotchkiss and Hal Conklin – plan to be there, so it will be the last, best chance for undecideds to see and hear the rivals on the same stage before mailing off a ballot. The panel of journalists asking questions will be led by KEYT anchors Beth Farnsworth and CJ Ward, and include Noozhawk EIC Tom Bolton, plus a representative chosen from amid the vast and byzantine journalism bureaucracy that is the “Newsmakers” Santa Barbara bureau. More details later. JR Images: KEYT logo; News Director Jim Lemon. Email us news tips at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com or comment on our stories on our Facebook page - SB City Desk. Thanks for reading.

It’s a basic rule in the Old Guys Official Handbook of Political Reporting: In assessing the debate performance of any candidate, always keep in mind there are two audiences: the one inside the hall and a much larger one, listening or viewing while snug at home. By that measure, Cathy Murillo and Hal Conklin were the clear favorites of the SRO crowd of 400 that packed the Garvin Theatre for Tuesday night’s radio broadcast, mayor’s race debate. It was Frank Hotchkiss and Bendy White, however, who used key words, phrases and positions most effectively not only to differentiate themselves clearly from the others, but also to target discrete, small but crucial, cohorts of voters who might be tuned in. Josh Molina has a written-on-deadline, blow-by-blow of the debate over at Noozhawk, and the Indy has the live stream recording on their website, including my live tweets, which also are in the post below. Here’s one referree's look at how the Fab Five did in the big event, which was sponsored by the Santa Barbara City College Foundation, the Independent and KCRW-FM which broadcast the affair. Frank Hotchkiss. Fearless Frank won the night, simply because he drew the sharpest distinctions between himself and the others, smiling (Reagan-like?!?), as he endured boos and catcalls from inside the theatre for controversial views on the homeless (some “are just looking for a handout”) affordable housing (“it’s an oxymoron in Santa Barbara”) and climate change (“we’re not at a crisis point on the environment”) while aiming his address squarely at conservative, older, white homeowners, a cohort that always votes, whom he hoped were listening elsewhere. Republicans like Frank only are the third largest voting bloc in town, but in a crowded race with low turnout, he nevertheless has a plausible scenario for victory, as we’ve noted previously, especially if he can prevent center-right voters from jumping on the bandwagon of Angel Martinez; Hotchkiss sought to do just that, by repeatedly tweaking the Shoe King, scoffing at his opinions about Milpas Street, future possibilities for retail on State Street, as well as Angel's dismal overall view of what Frank, in optimistic and good-natured tones, called “the preeminent small city in America.” Grade: A-. Bendy White: Let’s be blunt: Bendy is not someone you’d want to get stuck in a broken elevator with, lest he pass the time by explaining the elegance of plumbing design in the desal plant or beginning to recite the General Plan by heart. Despite his fondness for deep weeds policy detail, however, Bendy has been around for three decades, long enough to have his own base of center-left, old-school, neighborhood preservationists, whom he probably knows by name. White spoke directly to them throughout the night; “I start with the traditions of Santa Barbara,” he proclaimed proudly, when moderator Jonathan Bastian asked him to name a radical policy idea he held; amid a theatre audience where some may never have heard of civic preservationist Pearl Chase, Harwood invoked her name like a mantra. Asked about the mentally ill who haunt the streets, Bendy provided a 60-second history lesson, referencing then-Gov. Reagan’s 1973 closure of state hospitals as “the big bang," and he subtly contrasted himself with fellow liberal Cathy Murillo on housing, by describing his plan to "feather" housing into neighborhoods. He had the last word of the evening, calling himself “the steady hand,” best suited to oversee our district-elected council. Grade B+ Hal Conklin. Conklin won a lot of love from the Garvin Theatre crowd by focusing intently on the environment and vowing to return Santa Barbara to its former top-dog status as a national enviro leader, through the crafting of green civic solutions to everything from housing infill to water outflow. Hal has more plans for plans than Frank Lloyd Wright –and he often turns aside tough questions on a specific issue by arguing it can only be properly considered in the context of some far-off well-considered strategy. He won some of the biggest laughs of the night by noting the city's "schizophrenic position" of earnestly figuring out how to accommodate marijuana dispensaries while simultaneously moving to "shut down smoking." His closing statement was the strongest, as he stated clearly the three Power Point reasons he's running for mayor – more protection for the environment, creation of a long-term economic development plan (!) and returning "power to the people" via vigorous reach-out to neighborhood groups. The more you listen to Smilin' Hal, the more you understand why a giant utility corporation paid him big bucks for years for his skills at deflection. Grade: B. Cathy Murillo. Cathy stuck to the script and her talking points, maintaining her campaign-long strategy of making avoidance of any mistakes her top debate priority. She nicely finessed a good question from Nick Welsh about being more suited to be an advocate for progressive causes than a consensus-building mayor – “People see me as mayoral, Nick” - and won big applause in the hall for making clear she, more than anyone in the field, favored more new housing construction - "It takes courage to build housing" in Santa Barbara - and highlighting her past role in helping to kill a proposed gang junction, which she assailed as “law enforcement suppression.” Cathy on the trail works hard, and often effectively, to project confidence and self-possession – “As your mayor” and “Under my leadership” are favorite refrains – but her tell-don’t-show self congratulatory style – “I’m known as a great leader,” “I have a friendly personality” - and endless platitudes – "We need to get behind it, we need to make it happen” are simply tiresome. Grade: B- Angel Martinez. Angel was more low-energy and subdued on Tuesday night than at any previous forum and he failed to articulate clearly why he is running. He handled an inevitable question that implicitly compared him to Donald Trump nicely, noting that as a business leader he'd learned and mastered the crucial value of collaboration and cooperation, and while he had a few good lines - If the city permits a pot shop on State Street, he said, “it better be a nice one” - but he repeatedly failed to respond to Frank’s sniping; Hotchkiss ate his lunch by mocking Angel for setting the target income for millennial workforce housing at $90,000, a taunt that Martinez left unanswered. Most critically, Martinez never made the argument for the central premise of his campaign – that he represents change against four rivals with deep ties to City Hall. Grade: C

Update 10:15 p.m. Full Winners and Losers report card piece will post on Wednesday. Meanwhile a couple of quick takeaways from the debate: 1-A terrific event. Mega-kudos to SBCC Foundation, the Independent and KCRW for first-rate execution of organization and logistics that smoothly accommodated a packed house. Everything from the pre-game sliders and Arnold Palmer fixings to timing of the show was on the money. 2-There are always two audiences for a broadcast debate - the crowd inside the hall and the much larger audience watching or listening in. Cathy Murillo and Hal Conklin seemed the favorites of those inside the Garvin Theatre, but Frank Hotchkiss and Bendy White seemed to have the best plans about exactly who they wanted to talk to outside the hall and aimed their comments accordingly. 3-One word to describe each of the candidates tonight: -- Angel Martinez: Subdued. -- Bendy White: Wonky. -- Cathy Murillo: Rehearsed. -- Frank Hotchkiss: Feisty. -- Hal Conklin: Coherent. More anon. Jerry will be live Tweeting the big mayoral debate on Tuesday night, commenting on the play-by-play as it goes. Assuming our vast Department of IT Services and Luddite Co-Founders figures it out, tweets will be posted here, and also on Twitter at @newsmakersjr, starting around 7 p.m. On Wednesday, we'll post our regular Winners and Losers analysis of the event. Stay tuned - meanwhile here's some key pieces on the race we posted previously..

Three weeks before the election, the five candidates for mayor face an enervating gauntlet of public forums and debates this week, with the big event a Tuesday night face-off co-sponsored by The Santa Barbara City College Foundation, KCRW, and the Independent. With mail-in ballots now in the hands of voters, the five-way race is gaining more urgency, as time and opportunities for breaking out of the pack begin to dwindle. For voters, the best chance for undecideds, leaners and the fully committed to see – or hear - all of the candidates, in what likely will be their most lively session to date, is Tuesday night, live from the Garvin Theatre on the campus of Santa Barbara City College, where the Foundation, a chief sponsor and co-organizer, will host a reception starting at 5:30 p.m. All five contenders have confirmed they’re coming to the debate; for those who want to skip dealing with parking at SBCC, KCRW radio will broadcast it live on 88.7 FM, 7-8 p.m. KCRW’s Jonathan Bastian, whose cool smoothness (smooth coolness?) was born for public radio, will moderate, along with Nick Welsh, the Indy’s executive editor, whose encyclopedic knowledge of local politics, keen sense of the absurd and well-developed B.S. detector lend a whiff of danger to the proceedings, at least for the candidates. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. when the Indy's promo on the SBBC Foundation reception, promises “complimentary wine and refreshments,” and the live broadcast begins at 7 p.m.. Ssshh. Why it matters. The debate is important, for two main reasons: It will be the campaign's first broadcast airing of a mayoral match, and reach by far the largest audience so far (KEYT is planning a live TV debate on Oct. 29, more details to follow). And as a political matter, the Independent has yet to issue its endorsement for mayor; word on the street is that it’s still an open proposition over at their E. Figueroa Street offices. Political professionals, writers and other hacks often argue about the importance – or unimportance - of endorsements in campaigns, which ones matter a lot and which not at all. In Santa Barbara, the most important endorsements historically have been those of the city’s two big public safety organizations. This year, however, both the Police Officers Association and the City Firefighters Association surprisingly decided not to endorse in the mayor’s race. At least at the margins, this should increase the impact and import of the Indy endorsement, and thus the stakes for the debate. As a practical matter, endorsements by news organizations carry less weight than they did 10 or even five years ago. Amid Santa Barbara’s fractured media landscape, however, the Independent’s remains the most coveted by candidates, because of the weekly newspaper's core of tens of thousands of loyal readers and its status as a leading voice for good government politics and environmental values in Santa Barbara. Editor-in- Chief (and, all rise, Indy Co-Founder) Marianne Partridge, with Nick and other key staffers, put a lot of effort into their endorsements, meeting face-to-face with the candidates, researching their records and then arguing with each other about it for days or weeks. In the end, it’s Marianne’s call, and while Newsmakers is willing to lay long odds against the chances of conservative council member Frank Hotchkiss getting the nod (that said, however, take a look back at our earlier analysis of how he could win, right here), it would not surprise us to see any of the four others capture the endorsement. Big fun on Tuesday. Where the candidates will be. A peek at campaign schedules shows a series of other mayoral events this week, from a retirement community meeting to a small neighborhood association reception, but the two best additional chances to see the candidates together are: -- At 5:30 tonight, Monday, the Youth Coalition and Police Athletic League have scheduled a forum at the Louise Lowry Davis Center, 1232 De La Vina Street. -- At 11:30 a.m. on Friday, the downtown branch of Rotary will host the candidates at the Fess Parker. Don’t forget to vote. (10-17: This post has been updated to reflect the major role in the event of the Santa Barbara City College Foundation. Apologies to the Foundation and Friend of Newsmakers Geoff Green for communications glitch that left them out in original version). JR Images: Poster for Independent/KCRW debate; Jonathan Bastian; Marianne Partridge (Paul Wellman); Geoff Green. Email us news tips at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com or comment on our stories on our Facebook page - SB City Desk. Thanks for reading.

Hannah Beth Jackson, Santa Barbara's state senator, told Newsmakers Sunday that she supports state Senate President Kevin de Leon in his intraparty challenge to longtime Democratic incumbent Dianne Feinstein in California's 2018 U.S. Senate primary, “Kevin represents a new generation of leaders,” Jackson said, in what sounded suspiciously like prepared, talking point remarks. “I‘ve worked closely with him. He represents the spirit and future of California.” The liberal De Leon, who’s hinted for months about mounting a generational and ideological challenge to the centrist Feinstein, made it official via video-mail to supporters Sunday. We reached Jackson less than an hour later in Chicago, where she said she was enjoying a visit with grandkids, even though she was freezing. “It’s 52 degrees,” she kvetched. . Another reason we try never to leave Santa Barbara. Weather report complete, we moved on to the purpose of my call, for which Jackson was primed. "Kevin reflects the more progressive values that we’re seeing in California today," she said. "I have nothing bad to say about DiFi. Over the course of time, she has been a strong advocate for California but its time for new leadership," she added. "The future really requires someone who is more aggressive in responding to Donald Trump and his hate filled and reactionary approach to this country. There's a lunatic in the White House who plays by nobody's rules." Much more spontaneous, Beth. Breaking it down. On one level, Jackson’s instant endorsement of the termed-out de Leon is no surprise; she chairs the powerful Judiciary Committee in his regime, and under his leadership. she has passed a number of progressive measures on the environment, gender equality and other issues. Like many liberal Democrats in the state, she views California as ground zero of "the Resistance" to Trump, and expresses frustration at Feinstein's less-than-fiery, work-within-the-system opposition to our 46 percent 45th president. Purely as a matter of partisan politics, however, it is counterintuitive that de Leon is taking on a fellow Democrat in one of the party's safest seats in the nation, given the current political landscape. With Republicans controlling every lever of government in Washington, the Democrat’s top priorities for 2018 nationally are: 1) Flipping 24 Republican-held congressional seats, including at least seven in California, while hanging on to all their own (shout-out Salud!), in an effort to win back control of the House; 2) Battling an extremely unfavorable Senate electoral map in a desperate bid not to fall deeper into the hole than their current 48-seat minority status; Republicans (despite their own little civil war) must defend only nine seats next year while the Democrats have 25 on the ballot, including 10 in states that Trump won. Feinstein was first elected to the Senate 25 years ago and has remained, for most of that time, the state’s most popular elected official in public opinion surveys. Her re-election is the closest thing to a gimme that Democrats have in 2018 In that context, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told Newsmakers during a recent visit to Santa Barbara, “it is counter-productive” for Democrats of whatever stripe to pour into an internecine primary fight millions of dollars that could be used in more critical campaigns. That is why Feinstein, in announcing her re-election bid last week, had lined up the immediate endorsements of key liberal Democrats – including U.S. Senator Kamala Harris; ex-Senator Barbara Boxer; Lt. Governor and 2018 gubernatorial front-runner Gavin Newsom; leading Trump Twitter antagonist and L.A. Rep. Ted Lieu, along with the United Farm Workers union. We're told there are more like that to come. What's the beef? Feinstein has angered many on the grassroots left since Trump’s election, because they find her opposition to Trump too measured. Although she forcefully opposed the critical nominations, both of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, she also has voted to confirm about half of Trump’s Cabinet appointments. And while she has not hesitated to criticize Trump, she committed a big verbal blunder during an appearance in San Francisco last month, when she said that Trump” has the ability to learn and to change. And if he does, he can be a good president. And that’s my hope.” Ouch. De Leon has picked up the comment, and now claims it as his rationale for his candidacy, “We just have a two very different world perspectives,” de León told political writer Joe Garafoli Sunday. “The state has changed significantly over the past 25 years, and we’re overdue for a real debate on the issues." Three takeaways. Eight months before the primary, it is of course impossible to forecast how de Leon's audacious move will play out. Here are some key factors that will shape the race: Governance vs. struggle. Feinstein is among the last of a breed of old-school, statesmanlike U.S. Senators, who believe in compromise and seek to work across the aisle to find bipartisan solutions to problems, a moderate, centrist style that has been her trademark since she started out in San Francisco city politics in the 1960s. With Trump, white nationalists and radical congressional Republicans now viewed as an existential threat, however, some liberal Democrats would prefer a louder, more activist Senator who focuses more on fighting and less on legislating. "This country has moved away from dialogue," Jackson told us. "I understand she’s trying to work with this guy, but you can’t work with a lunatic." Old vs. New. At 84, Feinstein is older than her hometown Golden Gate Bridge; at 50, De Leon represents a generation of Democrats whose ambitions have been dammed up by the longevity of elderly incumbents, including Feinstein, Gov. Jerry Brown, Pelosi and, until recently, Boxer. Termed out and with no statewide office openings available to him, de Leon will try to cast the race as change vs. more of the same. The Jungle Primary. As a practical matter, de Leon's play will be to finish at least second in the June 7 open primary (top two finishers advance to run-off, regardless of party) and then frame the run-off with Feinstein as a traditional left-vs.-center Democratic brawl. He will try to rally Bernie Sanders supporters (worth noting: de Leon backed Hillary Clinton over Sanders in 2016; also in 2008 over Obama), Latinos and lefty activists like the California Nurses Union, around issues like single payer health care, immigration and climate change. It's tricky terrain, however; Feinstein is hardly a conservative on any of de Leon's issues, and she also appeals to registered independents whom de Leon will struggle to attract; if Republicans find a credible Senate candidate, it's easy to construct a scenario in which de Leon finishes out of the money in June. And there may be more candidates who jump in: investment banker and Democratic moneybags Tom Steyer, among others, is window-shopping the seat. P.S. IPhil Trounstine, my partner at Calbuzz, and I wrote about this, with more of a state politics angle today, and have another piece for tomorrow. Also, I'll be writing more about the Feinstein-de Leon race in the "Capitol Letters" column for the Santa Barbara Independent this week. (Full disclosure: I am the author of a biography of Senator Feinstein, "Never Let Them See You Cry," published in 1994 by HarperCollinsWest). JR Images: Hannah Beth Jackson; Dianne Feinstein (San Jose Mercury News); Kevin de Leon (Los Angeles Times); snapshot of two Democrats competing in California's Jungle Primary. Email us news tips at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com or comment on our stories on our Facebook page - SB City Desk. Thanks for reading.

At 6:10 p.m. last Friday evening, a SBPD dispatcher sent two officers to 18 W. Victoria Street, responding to a telephone complaint about “a male trespassing in a meeting,” described by the caller as “5’6,” balding, blue checkered shirt.” C'mon, Jim Scafide's at least four inches taller than that. The previously unreported incident ended quickly, quietly and with no complaints filed, but nonetheless has fueled fervid rumors, excited gossip and whispered innuendo on the campaign trail for the past week, for three reasons: 1-Scafide is the Democratic Party’s candidate in the tight 4th District race for city council, making his actions a matter of public interest, especially when they end up in the police log. 2-A second key character in the episode is Margaret L. Cafarelli, aka Marge Cafarelli, the colorful and tough-as-nails Santa Barbara (and San Francisco) real estate investor and developer. 3-Their previously behind-the-scenes discord, which spilled into public view when the cops arrived (SBPD report CP 2017-62639) derives from a dispute over governance and finances at one of the city’s most high-profile mixed use downtown developments: Alma Del Pueblo, the 37-residential condo project which Cafarelli’s company built and manages along with The Public Market at the aforementioned 18 W. Victoria address. All the news that fits. Nobody wants to talk much about what lies behind the latest episode in Santa Barbara's civic soap opera, but in the interest of, harrumph, harrumph, Transparency and the Public’s Right to Know, we dispatched a crack research team from our Department of Fervid Rumors, Excited Gossip and Whispered Innuendo to get to the bottom of things. Alas, they found no juicy scandal, nor even a dusty, desiccated one. After we started asking questions about the dispute, both Scafide and Cafarelli sent us a formal statement, which you can read at the bottom of this post, outlining their perspectives. It boils down to this: Scafide represents someone who owns an Alma Del Pueblo condo, and he has accompanied that person to several previous meetings involving concerns about the management. Last Friday night was Alma Del Pueblo’s Owner’s Meeting; when Jim showed up with the owner he represents, Marge asked him to leave, citing a state law which limits attendance at such meetings to owners. Scafide, for professional and privacy reasons he can't specify, didn't want to leave, so Cafarelli called the cops, then got her lawyer on the cell phone to scold the attorney/candidate on speaker while the assembled owners waited. When the cops showed up, Cafarelli adjourned the meeting, to be rescheduled. She talked to the cops, Scafide talked to the cops, Scafide and his principal left, and Officer Thomas Diefenthaler wrote up the "Trespassing in Progress" complaint as a “No Action/Public Assist.” "Subject was attorney for client at meeting," he wrote. "Neither party requested a report. Meeting was canceled." There were no injuries.. A final point: Scafide suggests in his statement that Cafareflli is trying to embarrass him for political reasons. Marge, who lives in the 4th district, told me by email that she isn’t supporting anyone in the race. Old joke: Q: How many lawyer jokes are in existence? A: Only three. All the rest are true stories. JR Images: Jim Scafide; Marge Cafarelli. Email us with news tips at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com or comment on our stories on our Facebook page - SB City Desk. Thanks for reading. Here is Marge Cafarelli’s statement to Newsmakers: On Friday, October 6, 2017, the Alma del Pueblo Owners Association (“Association”) held a routine Board meeting which is only open to owners, not to members of the public or third- parties. Santa Barbara attorney James F. Scafide, who is not an owner in the Association, attended the meeting with an owner who he represents. Prior to Friday’s Board meeting, Mr. Scafide had threatened legal action against the Association. When asked by the Association’s Board of Directors to leave their meeting, he refused. The Board contacted the Association’s legal counsel, Jasmine F. Hale, a Partner at Adams Stirling PLC, during the meeting for advice. Ms. Hale requested Mr. Scafide leave the meeting, advised that his presence qualified as a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct and was contrary to well-established law, and recommended the Board contact the police in the event Mr. Scafide refused to leave voluntarily. Ultimately, the Board was forced to call the police and adjourned the meeting due to the disruption. The Association is a common interest development and mixed-use community in Santa Barbara consisting of 37 residential condominiums and 3 commercial units. Adams Stirling PLC is California’s premiere law firm dedicated to representing residential and commercial associations. Here is Jim Scafide’s statement to Newsmakers. I continue to be disappointed with the way that Margaret Cafarelli has chosen to handle a very delicate issue that concerns fundamental rights of privacy of my client, only causing my client further humiliation and stress. (Her) statement, which is full of inaccuracies and half-truths, is clearly intended to embarrass me because I am a candidate for City Council. I specifically deny that my presence at the meeting was a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct, or otherwise inappropriate. I have numerous clients and have been involved in various disputes on their behalf. This is the first and only time that someone has attempted to use the media as a tool to deny my client of their constitutional rights. While I am disappointed that Margaret Cafarelli has decided to take this route, I will not be deterred in continuing to defend the fundamental rights of individuals. Here is a PDF of the police report.

Less than a month before the Nov, 7 election, Angel Martinez draws the most interest among mayoral contenders from the “Newsmakers” online community, with Bendy White and Cathy Murillo close behind. Since the Labor Day launch of our website, nearly 6,000 sets of eyeballs have cast upon our video and written content, with our one-on-one, half-hour interviews with each of the five candidates the most popular feature. An arithmetically correct (if thoroughly unscientific, right-brained and just-for-fun -- emphasis ours) review of the data shows the Martinez interview has been viewed most often on our YouTube channel. This awards him the imaginary, de minimus honor of first place in today’s: Newsmakers Q-Score standings. Candidate YouTube views Angel Martinez 379 Bendy White 313 Cathy Murillo 302 Frank Hotchkiss 245 Hal Conklin 221 In real life, according to the Wikipedia Machine, a Q-Score measures the “familiarity and appeal of a brand, celebrity, company or entertainment product…The higher the Q Score, the more highly regarded the item or person is among the group familiar with them." For our purposes, the Newsmakers Q-Score is simply a diverting (if sneaky) way to mark our first month of publication and, more importantly, to thank everyone who’s checked out our shows or website online (we have no data about those who reject the Cut The Cord movement, but mega-thanks and plaudits also to loyal viewers of TV Santa Barbara’s Channel 17 on Cox Cable). Future forecast: Perhaps there will be a more scientific measure soon. Fun with numbers. The magnitude of local audiences attracted by our colleagues at the Independent, Noozhawk and EdHat, of course, dwarf our numbers. That is why we believe that identifying, curating and linking to the best of their stuff about the election is a key part of our mission. Based on feedback from the Newsmakers community, however, we also know that our viewers and readers are among the best-informed and most politically engaged folks in and around Santa Barbara (for the record, our since launch numbers: 3,325 page views and 1,860 YouTube views, including 5 blog readers in India, 4 in France, 4 in Ireland and 3 in Greece: Yo! Athens in the House!) and so value unique content. Here are the Top 10 best-read posts on our site, each one a piece of exclusive news, analysis, commentary or snark you won’t find anywhere else, or else was reported here first: City Attorney Fumes at Angel Sign on Balcony Round 1: Campaign Winners and Losers Excloo: SB Wannabe Mayors Talk in Depth Round 2: Campaign Winners and Losers Martinez Steps Down as Deckers Corp. Chair Angel: Key Bendy Backer Told Me to Stay Out Snarky Monday: In the 4th, It’s All About Das Can a Republican Be Elected SB’s Next Mayor? Why It Matters Who’s Elected SB’s Next Mayor TV Excloo: On Air, District 4 Rivals Sound Off So thanks to all for watching and viewing. Please send news tips, questions for the candidates and comments to us at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com. We’ll see you on the campaign trail. Warning: Self-serving plug ahead. Newsmakers is produced by a couple of retired, old coots with a jones for local politics and news. Our local, local, local media platform is a niche product for those who feel the same way, or want to hear more about the subject. Jerry, who writes our campaign coverage and hosts the show, has been covering politics in California and beyond for more than 40 years as a reporter, editor, blogger, radio yakker and TV talking head. Hap Freund, who produces the show and podcast and tries to understand the various young people who help us figure out this whole Internets thing, is former executive director of TVSB who previously ran Seattle’s government TV station. The easiest way to see our content is to subscribe by typing your name and email in the little box on the right at the top of our home page; or just send us an email at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com and we'll do it for you. You’ll get an email link in your inbox whenever we post. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel here and get an emailed link every time we have a new show, featuring plugged in journos and pols like Nick Welsh, Josh Molina, Kelsey Brugger, Laura Capps, Dale Francisco, Brooke Holland, and others. This just in: Newsmakers is now also a podcast- perfect for walks, runs, your car, or a non-prescription cure for insomnia. Our mayoral candidate interviews are available, as well as our October 5th panel discussion with Nick, Josh, Kelsey and Laura. Hosted on Soundcloud, here’s the link to six half hour Newsmakers with Jerry Roberts programs. Check back and we promise to keep it updated with interesting content. Don’t forget to vote. JR Images: Q-Score logo; Greece tourism logo; Hap Freund and Jerry Roberts, Paul Wellman photo. Email us at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com or comment on our stories on our Facebook page - SB City Desk. Thanks for reading.

Angel Martinez says his final decision to run for mayor of Santa Barbara followed a contentious private meeting with political consultant Jeremy Lindaman, who told him to stay out of the race because it was “Bendy’s turn” at City Hall. “It was all done in a threatening tone,” Martinez told “Newsmakers” in an interview about the April meeting, which he said was arranged by council member Jason Dominguez. “Jeremy said, ‘no one runs for office in this town’” without his approval, Martinez added. “He told me, ‘you don’t know anybody, you won’t be able to raise any money and it’s not your turn – it’s Bendy’s,” he said in a telephone interview last Friday. . “I was offended by it – it was offensive and ham-fisted,” Martinez said. “At that point I was on the fence (about running). I went back and met my wife and said, ‘I just decided I’m in.’” In previous campaigns, Lindaman worked as chief strategist, both for council member Bendy White, now a Martinez mayoral rival, and for Mayor Helene Schneider. Lindaman declined in an email to comment for this story. White, who had not decided to enter the race at the time of the meeting, also declined comment via email. Dominguez, who now is supporting White for mayor, confirmed in an interview Sunday that he invited Martinez to meet with Lindaman, at the University Club on Santa Barbara Street, on Earth Day, which fell on Saturday, April 22. The Third Man. The third person in the meeting, Dominguez acknowledged that Lindaman pointedly questioned the viability of a Martinez candidacy (“Jeremy was talking about strengths and weakness of different candidates”), but said he is certain that the consultant did not tell him “it is Bendy’s turn” to be mayor. “That’s completely ridiculous,” Dominguez said., “We (he and Lindaman) both hate that argument. We’re not the turn-taking type. If Jeremy had said that, I would have left, or slapped his hand, or something.” Dominguez also took issue with Martinez’s characterization that there was a “threatening tone” to the discussion: “It was very cordial,” he said. “Maybe that was the impression (Martinez) took away,” Dominguez added, allowing for Lindaman’s abrasive persona and emotional personality. Recalling the end of the meeting, Martinez said that after 45 minutes, he had grown angry at Lindaman's behavior – “I’m from the Bronx…and I’m Cuban,” he offered – and so rose and said he had to go. At that point, he said, Lindaman pointed to his own wrist, to indicate that time was passing: “You’ve got 48 hours to decide to get out,” Martinez said the consultant told him. “That’s beyond the pale, even for Jeremy,” Dominguez told Newsmakers, calling the allegation “ridiculous,” because Lindaman had no leverage over Martinez. What it all means. As a political matter, the previously unreported episode offers a rare glimpse of the kind of machinations that, behind-the-scenes, have shaped the current wide-open field for mayor. Making the story public also serves Martinez’s own interests, by feeding his campaign narrative, which positions him - in a race against three incumbent council members and an ex-mayor - as the sole contender standing apart from insider maneuvering and intrigue at City Hall. The officially non-partisan, citywide, winner-take-all mayoral contest is defined by a series of complex political crosscurrents involving an array of personal alliances, organizational politics and economic special interests. At this point, a plausible scenario for victory can be constructed for any of the hopefuls -- liberal Democrats White, Cathy Murillo and Hal Conklin, as well as conservative Republican Frank Hotchkiss and Martinez, a seasoned business executive but a political novice running as a registered independent. The incident also throws a spotlight on Lindaman, a prominent behind-the-scenes political figure whose personal temperament and roster of political and business clients have made him at times both a very influential and a very controversial figure in city politics. The former chief strategist both for White, during his previous races for council, and for Schneider, Lindaman in the past several years has lowered his profile while stepping back from paid, formal roles in their campaigns, both during White’s current bid and in Schneider’s failed effort for congress last year. Last week, Noozhawk reported that Lindaman was paid $190,000 in two years for serving as executive director/president of the nonprofit Bellosguardo Foundation. Schneider in 2014 appointed the majority of the board, to chart the future and administer the Clark Estate, when the 23-acre property is finally transferred, after years of tangled litigation over the estate of the late Huguette Clark. The article cited IRS documents showing that Lindeman worked approximately 10 hours a week on the project. However, an email circulated by the board’s CPA to its treasurer, after publication of the piece, took responsibility for an error on the filing, saying it should have shown him working 40 hours a week. “In Part VIII list of officers, directors and trustees, you noted that average number of hours for Jeremy Lindaman showed 10 hours when the actual hours per week are 40 hours,” said the email from the CPA to the treasurer. “This was an inadvertent error. Please accept our sincere apologies for any issues this may have caused.” JR Images: Angel Martinez; Jeremy Lindaman (Facebook); Jason Dominguez; the Bellosguardo estate. Email us at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com or comment on our stories on our Facebook page - SB City Desk. Thanks for reading.

Not since Clint Eastwood famously spoke to an empty chair in backing Mitt Romney at the 2012 Republican National Convention has there been an endorsement as self-referential as the one Das Williams just provided council candidate Jim Scafide. Number of mentions of Das, via “I” pronouns, in Das’s endorsement: 9. Number of mentions of Jim by Das in Das’s endorsement: 3. Among other things we learn, in an email treatise of Supervisor Williams on behalf of 4th District candidate Scafide: --Das spent a lot of time talking to the candidates. --Das thinks his 732-word endorsement should be read in full because “it is an important and informative one.” --Das lives in Carpinteria and is "priced out" of Santa Barbara. --Das must sit in traffic every day. --Das recognized housing as a major problem when he sat on the council years ago. As for the scarcely-mentioned Scafide, we learn….umm...exactly nothing….except: Das is “confident” that Jim agrees with Das on housing policy. Dem-on-Dem. In his defense, Williams faced a tricky political situation in delivering the endorsement. He earlier bucked the county Democratic Party in endorsing Hal Conklin for mayor, so it’s hard to imagine him also foregoing Scafide, who carries the Democrats’ seal of approval. However, Kristen Sneddon, Scafide’s insurgent rival, is making a bid for an upset in the 4th, and is endorsed all-but-unanimously by local Democratic women officials and influencers, mostly Williams allies, from State Senator Hannah Beth Jackson, Supervisor Janet Wolf and Mayor Helene Schneider to school board president and member Kate Parker and Laura Capps, planning commissioner Sheila Lodge and ex-supe Susan Rose. The old school Dem-on-Dem dynamic (which could benefit ex-Republican turned registered independent Jay Higgins in the 4th) came about because the local party, as per usual, prepared its endorsements in the spring, months before Sneddon decided to run. And along with several other surprise endorsements, it’s caused some bruised feelings this season, as Josh Molina reported over at Noozhawk last week. It’s also worth noting that Williams does ably lay out the case for the more, more, more housing partisans in this election. Here’s a link to Das’s full endorsement on Scafide's Facebook page. And, just because, here's the Clint Eastwood chair endorsement of Romney, in full: JR Images: Das Williams; Jim Sca fide; Kristen Sneddon; Clint Eastwood. Email us at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com or comment on our stories on our Facebook page - SB City Desk. Thanks for reading.

Author, lecturer and spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson keynoted first night for the Lois & Walter Capps Project, a new Santa Barbara non-profit that seeks to address the existential threats posed by the epic cultural and political polarization of America. “None of us are unaware of the critical times in which we live,” Williamson said at a small reception before delivering an address on behalf of the project at the Marjorie Luke Theatre. “None of us need to remind each other of the sense of critical threat to some of the things that we hold most dear." The new project is underpinned by educational, religious and civic ideas and values entwined in the teaching and scholarship of the late Walter Capps while at UCSB, and later in his brief career as a citizen politician. The Capps's son, Todd, will lead the non-profit; he said in a statement the group will "serve as a seedbed" for local events and actions that encourage and enable “cross-boundary dialogue among a diversity of perspectives on issues of public concern at the community level, .” Details about the project are still preliminary. Williamson, a long-time family friend, is the 65-year old, highly successful author, public speaker and synthesizer of varied religious, therapeutic and New Age spiritual ideas and traditions and, more recently, politically progressive civic engagement. In 2014, she finished fourth in a primary election for the Los Angeles congressional seat long held by Representative Henry Waxman, running as a Democrat in the liberal district and spending nearly $2 million of her own funds. The seat now is held by Rep. Ted Lieu. , At her pre-speech reception at the Capps home, Williamson warned that the new project would not succeed if it stopped merely at bringing together opposing, competing and crosscurrent voices for dialogue. "As I understand the Lois and Walter Capps project…I think of it as an incubator for something extremely important. And I tell you it’s not going to be enough that it’s just conversation among people who do not agree. And this is where I believe Walter’s religious orientation comes in. Because when Bill Clinton said we were going to have a conversation about race, we all remember it, but we also remember it didn’t really go anywhere ultimately. And I tell you why it didn’t really go anywhere. It didn’t go anywhere because when you have people with two or three hundred years of rage to express – if you don’t have therapists and religious and clergy and the type of people who know how to keep emotional safety in a conversation like that, it breaks down." About three dozen guests attended the reception, co-sponsored by philanthropist Anna Gortenhuis, a group that included mayoral candidate Hal Conklin, former county school district superintendent Bill Cirone, economist Lannie Ebenstein, producer Rod Lathim, as well as Lois and Laura Capps. Here’s a snippet from the private reception. JR