In deference to the maritime tragedy off Santa Cruz Island that claimed 34 lives, this year’s Labor Day event — the official start of political season for Democratic Party activists and their chosen candidates — was unusually reserved. None of the usual speechifying took place, and none of the drama expected between supporters of Supervisor Das Williams and his challenger, Laura Capps — both running for 1st District supervisor — transpired.
In fact, most Democratic candidates chose not to speak, and party heavyweights like Congressmember Salud Carbajal, State Assemblymember Monique Limón, and State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson never showed, appearing instead at Sheriff Bill Brown’s press conference on the boat conflagration. Williams did, however, call for a moment of silence, adding, “If we have to go on having such events, it’s good to do so together as a community.”
For a county relatively small in population, Williams noted, Santa Barbara had endured more than its share of mass casualty events. Alluding to recent mass shootings, Williams said Democrats responded to such tragedies by promoting policies designed to minimize their likelihood of reoccurrence. That was as pointed as it got.