Fellow City Councilmembers had ideas on housing, urban boundary, and keeping the small-town feel
After working side-by-side to govern the City of Buellton incumbent Mayor Dave King and Vice Mayor David Silva will run against each other for the city’s mayoral seat in the Nov. 5 election.
King was elected as Buellton’s second-ever mayor in 2022 after Holly Sierra termed out. That same year, Silva threw his hat in the ring and won the District 4 City Council seat as the council was transitioning into district representation.
No matter who wins the mayor’s race, the Buellton City Council will not look that much different. King and Silva are the only competitive race on City Council as Elysia Lewis and John Sanchez, whose terms will expire for the city’s last two at-large seats, happen to live in the districts that are open, but both will be running unopposed, Lewis in District 2 and Sanchez in District 3.
Dave King
King said he feels like there were some things accomplished during his first term, but there are also things he still wants to do, and he wants to be in the mayor’s seat for them.
“There are many things we’re still pursing as a city, and I’ve found during my time in the City Council and in the last two years as mayor, that I can get a lot more done when I’m mayor,” he said. “So, I just want to stay on this job and get more stuff done.”
One of the big topics in Buellton was, and still is, traffic along Highway 246, which is the main road through town, and that’s a topic King, a retired California Highway Patrol officer, feels strongly about. The city, however, has been able to reach agreement with the CHP to station some CHP officers in town to cut down on speeding. There’s also progress on narrowing the lanes on Highway 246 to control traffic on the east end of town.
“This is good because if we can get those lanes narrowed on the way out of, or into, town,” King said. “When people come upon a lane narrowing, they tend to slow down.”
King is also seeing signs of progress in capital projects.
“We’ve had the Waypoint bowling alley in the plans, and I’m hoping we can get that started in 6-8 months,” he said. “Also, the old movie theater was purchased and I’d like to talk to the owner about reopening.”
Those two projects are examples of what King wants for Buellton: More things to do for kids and families.
“I’d like to get some progress going on finding land for a baseball and soccer fields,” he said. “Good athletics facilities can brings in traveling teams for tournaments and the like, and bring more money into town.”
King has also touted the development of affordable housing to meet the state mandates, but worries that much of the housing demanded by the state may be incongruous with Buellton.
“I think affordable housing is a good and necessary idea — if it’s done right,” King said, and then referencing the housing complex in progress behind the Albertson’s “For instance [that complex] has apartments that will require way more parking than it has room for and it’s going to increase density and congestion.
“The state’s push for housing has unintended consequences when they try to forces construction in where it doesn’t fit.”
David Silva
For current Vice Mayor David Silva, the catalyst to pursue a run for the Buellton mayor’s seat came in the threat of Buellton’s Meals on Wheels program being taken away earlier this year.
“See the possibility that could happen really got my attention. Over 400 seniors depend on that and it was very possible it could go insolvent,” he said. “And I just thought of my mother-in-law, who is a senior and has dementia, and what if someone just pulled away the resources she has?”
The City Council and Santa Ynez Valley Outreach were able to keep the program afloat, but it gave Silva some thought.
“I thought to myself ‘we never should have let it get that close to being eliminated,'” he said. “We need to be proactively thinking of what the community needs, instead of being reactive, and I thought I would need to take the lead in that; and that’s what made me decide to run for mayor.”
During his time on City Council, Silva has claimed many accomplishments in addition to help keeping the Meal on Wheels rolling, such as funding a record number of inaugural community arts and cultural heritage events, securing funding for the Santa Ynez River Trail, investing in the library, and working to renew and preserve the city’s Urban Growth Boundary while providing thoughtful sites for future housing.
The Urban Growth Boundary is another important subject in the form of Measure C on the November ballot, which would extend the life of the UGB, and add 123 acres to it.
“I’m definitely for that, although it’s up to the voters whether it’s implemented,” Silva said. “We’re running out of space, so I think we can be proactive to add a small bit of land to the north.”
An additional goal he has is to balance the draw of tourists with local needs.
“I fell there’s a need to welcome the tourists, but with an investment and benefit to the locals,” Silva said. “That means creating things that both tourists and locals can enjoy, like splash pads and playground equipment.”
One last goal Silva has for this campaign is getting citizens more involved in the city.
“In campaigning I’m going door-to-door and have gotten some great ideas from people,” he said. “But I’ve also found a lot of people aren’t really engaged in the community.
“As an elected official, I feel I have to take on the responsibility of meeting this people and making them engaged.”
