Jamie Baker, David Brown, and Denise El-Amin will be on the ballot this November in city’s only competitive race
Two years ago, Solvang’s mayoral race was a foregone conclusion, what with Mark Infanti being the only person to run for the office. Now, after a two-year term, Infanti has decided not to seek another term and instead put in his papers for the 1st District City Council seat, where he will run unopposed.
With that, three candidates have emerged to seek that seat for a two-year term. They are local business owner Jamie Baker, current Mayor Pro Tem Dave Brown, and County Behavorial Wellness Commission member Denise El-Amin (Candidate sections are organized in alphabetical order by last name).
Jamie Baker
Local author and business owner Jamie Baker is known by many in Solvang as the proprietor of the Space VR virtual reality lounge on Alisal Road, but he had designs and running for public back in 2020 before a bad diagnosis sent that off track.
“About four years ago, I was asked to run when we had some turmoil on the council,” Baker said. “So I threw my hat in the ring for City Council, and then two weeks later I found out I had cancer.”
“I went and had coffee with the other candidate who was trying to bring stability, and he was a perfectly fine candidate so I backed off.”
Despite dropping out of the race to concentrate on his treatment, Baker was able to pick up some votes.
“I still got 800 votes because every kid has been at my business, and I’ve worked with a lot of schools for educational and field trips,” he said. “Then COVID hit and it cut down on business, so I started writing novels while the pandemic was going on.”
But now, with the cancer and pandemic behind him, Baker was asked to run again, this time for the mayor’s seat. He would like to help make Solvang a town that doesn’t have to rely so much on tourism
“I think Solvang is fine, but our expenses climb as our revenue goes flat,” he said. “And our choices of dealing with that are slim: raise taxes or cut expenses. And, I think right now our economy is based on tourism; in fact, right now it seems to be based on hotel stays and alcohol.”
Baker thinks there are other streams of revenue the city can tap.
“I’m talking about, you know, arts and culture, recreation,” he said. “All these things will generate people coming and staying as opposed to driving by, stopping, and moving on.”
Before moving to Solvang in 2014, Baker had some experience with LA County recommending recipients for grants.
“We had $100 million worth of Prop 12 funds dispersed between the Parks and Rec department,” he said. “So I was pretty much entrenched in that, working with the county supervisors and attending my share of government meetings.
“I think we just need to find ways to diversify our revenue, because I think we have the opportunity. And, the potential infrastructure for that to happen is already here; it just needs to be reengaged.”
David Brown
Having been elected in 2022 as one of the first two district-based City Councilmembers in Solvang, and serving as Mayor Pro Tem during this term, Brown has been a notable presence in council chambers.
“When Mark [Infanti] decided not to run for reelection, I decided to run to keep the continuity there,” said Brown, who’s also a licensed mortgage lender and business owner. “I think the council’s been running well the last two years, and with me — I’ve been mayor pro tem for the last two years, I can just take the seat and go. I won’t need any practice, I won’t need any warmup.”
Being a business owner himself, Brown wants to start making it easier for businesses in Solvang.
“I want to improve and update the building codes, and make them more transparent,” he said. “I heard so many times of business put up a sign, or something else on the building and be told it’s against code. Then they’re saying ‘why didn’t you tell me that before.”
“We should institute a pallette of colors and kinds of signage where we could tell owners ‘these are your options’ and they pick from those,” he said. “And I want to keep the ordinances specific. Like the outdoor dining with the Copenhagen Drive restaurants. I don’t want to see a rule that pertains to a business on Copenhagen, but it doesn’t apply to one on Mission, for instance.”
Another idea Brown has is to step up job training and volunteer opportunities.
“I’d like to see the city sponsor some kind of apprenticeship program,” he said. “It can be a different person for each shop and storefront, learning things like stocking goods and point-of-sale skills. After they’re done they have retail skills and can work anywhere.”
Brown also likes the idea of a volunteer brigade.
“We could have people with buttons or stickers saying ‘Ask Me Anything’ and answer any questions about the down,” he said. “Or they could give directions to a certain place or shop, or manage the crosswalks on Mission, which can get hairy with the heavy traffic.”
In general, Brown just wants to keep the town a desirable one for tourists and residents alike.
“Solvang had a brand, just like Disney or McDonald’s,” he said. “I want to protect that brand and keep it a desirable place to come to.”
For more on David Brown’s campaign, go to www.solvangmayor.com
Denise El-Amin
Denise El-Amin, who serves as an appointee, on the county’s Wellness Behavior Commission, is no stranger to Santa Ynez Valley ballots.
“I ran for City Council in 2016, but didn’t get it,” El-Amin said. “Ever since, in every election cycle, I make it a point to exercise my right to run for office.”
And this year, El-Amin will be vying for the mayor’s seat.
“Well, we have district elections now and I would have run, but the current mayor, Frank Infanti, is dropping down to the District 1, which is my district,” she said. “So I decided to run for mayor, because that’s the only way for me to get on council, because if the mayor pro tem wins, they’ll appoint someone and I won’t get in because it’s not my district.”
It’s a setup that El-Amin called an “unfair advantage. And if I can win mayor, I take that away.”
It’s El-Amin’s aim to add a different voice to City Council.
“I’m running for unity for the community. I want to show that we all have the right to run and voice our opinions,” said El-Amin, who has done just that in Public Comment at a few City Council meeting this year.
“Real estate is extremely expensive. Government has changed the laws and you have to follow the laws, especially with the high-density, and if elected I’ll make sure we follow these laws.”
Another big issue has got with the city are the water bills
“Our water bills are the highest in the valley; we’re drinking the same water, why are we paying more?” she said, and she also had a problem with an ordinance change the council on July 9. “They changed a law so that the bills are in the landlords’ name and tenants are being behind in payments the city can put a lien on the property, and I think that’s wrong.”
And finally, El-Amin thinks the city needs to keep the younger residents in town.
“We can’t last here with the aging population, we need new young entrepreneurs,” she said. “We need to keep the kids here. We give so much money to marketing firms; why don’t we funnel some of that to internships to give them a reason to stay.”
Ultimately, El-Amin wants to be the candidate for those who want to shakes things up a bit.
“Solvang needs to change,” she said. “A lot of people here may not want to change, but I represent change.”
