Bruce Porter is running for the Board of Supervisors in
District 3. His slick campaign has blasted Isla Vista with expensive
advertising and glossy fliers, but we can’t trust him. Here’s why. Porter has
been implicated in voter suppression efforts through the fake get-out-the-vote
organization, Rock the Vote SB. Porter publicly boasted that through these efforts,
1,400 fewer students will vote in Isla Vista in this election. In 2016,
Porter’s campaign was supported by Big Oil which spent over $220,000 to get him
elected. Finally, Big Oil gave the Santa Barbara Republicans at least $100,000
in 2019, who in turn gave Porter’s campaign another $20,000 in early 2020.
Porters claims to be an environmentalist, a political
independent, and to care about young people. But before casting your vote, I
would urge readers to ask themselves three critical questions:
Can we trust a candidate who is backed by the oil industry
to make decisions with integrity when it comes to oil expansion and addressing
the climate crisis in Santa Barbara county?
Can we trust a candidate who claims to be politically
independent but whose campaign has received financial support from the Santa
Barbara Republican Party?
And, can we trust a candidate who would rather suppress
voter turnout in Isla Vista than trust young people to make decisions for
themselves?
If your answer is no to any of these questions, then you
can’t trust Bruce Porter. Don’t vote for him.