Two candidates stepped up this week for a seat on the Goleta City Council dais: James Kyriaco, who is a current councilmember, and Luz Reyes-Martín, the president of the Goleta School Board. Kyriaco will likely face Goleta Planning Commissioner Sam Ramirez, who has filed a Candidate Intention Statement for District 2, the Old Town seat. Reyes-Martin is challenging Councilmember Roger Aceves for District 1, the northeast quadrant of Goleta, who has also filed an intention to seek reelection.
Aceves has been elected to his council seat four times since 2006 and has served as mayor twice. His has been a pro-business, fiscally conservative voice — and responsive to Goletans who ask for his help — on a council with a more liberal inclination for environmental and quality-of-life issues that affect residents. Aceves, in law enforcement for 32 years before retiring in 2007, has not officially announced his candidacy, but media reports state he will run again. In 2020, he challenged Mayor Paula Perotte, who is now serving her second elected term as mayor. Aceves didn't return requests for comment.
District 1 residents will likely soon meet his challenger, who plans to bring her positive energy to a door-knocking campaign. Well-known as spokesperson for Santa Barbara City College for more than four years, Reyes-Martín is vice president of community engagement for Planned Parenthood of California Central Coast. She was appointed to the Goleta school board in 2014 and won her first race for the seat that November. The end of her second term coincides with the November 2022 election, and Reyes-Martín said she did not plan to run again for school board.