It was Supervisor Laura Capps’s moment to shine. On Tuesday morning, January 7, Capps took the ceremonial gavel befitting her new role as the board’s chair. Her mother — former Congressmember Lois Capps — was in the audience, taking it all in. And her son Oscar (Oskar), playing keyboards with the La Colina Jazz Band, delivered a respectable solo on a lesser-known jazz number, “The Lady Knows Her Cheese.” No wonder Laura Capps was smiling.
Capps, who was born and raised in Santa Barbara, initially cut her teeth politically working for Bill Clinton’s White House back when her father, Walter Capps, and then her mother represented the district in Congress. When returning to Santa Barbara, she served two terms on the Santa Barbara Unified School Board, and this year marks her second year representing voters of the 2nd Supervisorial District.
It’s a very different board than the one Capps joined a year ago. Gone is Supervisor Das Williams, a 21-year veteran of regional politics and standard bearer for environmental and progressive issues. He was defeated in a major upset by Roy Lee, a Carpinteria restaurant owner who served four years on the Carpinteria City Council.