Three new Santa Barbara City Council members were voted into office Tuesday night from a field of 10 candidates.
Former UCSB student Das Williams, Planned Parenthood Human Resources Director Helene Schneider, and Planning Commissioner Brian Barnwell topped the list of candidates with Schneider receiving the most votes at 7,452.
Williams took 7,056 votes and Barnwell 6,915.
The City Council, which is composed of the Mayor and six Council Members, adopt resolutions and put forth City legislature.
Members of the Council are elected for 4-year terms.
Schneider, a native New Yorker, is a relative newcomer to Santa Barbara.
She has also served as Commissioner for the Santa Barbara Housing Authority, and President of the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee.
Williams, who has actively campaigned for Assembly member Hannah-Beth Jackson in the past, raised more than $53 000 for his campaign, more than any of the other candidates.
His platform included helping working families, an issue that he held close to his heart since he was raised by a single, working parent. Barnwell has been a local for over 40 years. His campaign was based on the idea of keeping Santa Barbara’s quality of life protected.
Barnwell served as Planning Commissioner and has pledged to make sure the city’s firefighters and law enforcement personnel have the resources they need to do their job well.
The only incumbent, Babatunde Folayemi, who battled cancer earlier this year came in fourth with a total of 6,058 votes and was ousted from office.