Our 1st District needs an experienced community leader more
than ever, and you’d have to look pretty hard on your county ballot this year
to find a more experienced leader than Das Williams. January 9, 2018, was the harbinger
of a new era. In the eerie red glow of a giant gas main explosion, we witnessed
the hellish consummation of a climate tragedy right here in our sunny little
community. The largest wildfire California had ever seen joined forces with a
freak rain event to bring the mountain down on Montecito and Carpinteria in the
biggest natural disaster in Santa Barbara County history.
Our county was tested on all levels, from first response, to
our relief and recovery efforts, to the long-term recovery that continues
today. As a community we were also tested. Would we pull together and come to
the aid of our neighbors, or would the tragedy pull us apart and sink us in a
quagmire of blame, finger pointing, and grief?
It took leaders in all sectors to unite this community to
face what seemed like an insurmountable crisis. We had to depend on both
community and government aid networks to weave together a new safety net and we
had to lean on the 1st District Supervisor more than ever before in our county’s
history.