by Rebecca Caraway, Noozhawk Staff Writer October 15, 2024 | 4:44 pm
In Isla Vista, six candidates are facing off for three seats on the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District Board of Directors.
The district focuses on maintaining parks and open space and providing resources and activities to the community
Isla Vista residents will choose three of the six candidates to serve on the board. The board directs the district policy, priorities, and oversees the budget.
This year, the candidates include two incumbents, a UC Santa Barbara student, recent graduates, and a housing commissioner.
The Incumbents
Ash Valenti is running for their second term on the board after four years. They study restoration ecology at Santa Barbara City College, which gives them a better understanding of native plants.
Valenti is proud of their work on the food forest at Estero Park and helping to get more restrooms available in the parks.
If re-elected, Valenti wants to get honest about the reality unhoused people are facing.
“It’s really important that everyone is welcomed in the parks, whether you’re housed or unhoused,” Valenti said. “Everyone’s welcome to this space, to be here in the parks and if you’re unhoused it’s even more important to have that refuge.”
Valenti said that the parks district has sent outreach workers to park to help the unhoused people staying in the parks but that those efforts aren’t always successful.
“It can sound good, but when you talk to the people about how they’re really affected, a lot of times, they’re in a much worse situation. They’re traumatized, they were not helped by that,” Valenti said. “So I want to be more honest and not just kind of sugarcoat it, it’s better to try than to not try, but also to be honest about the impact it has.”
Also running for a second term is Kim DuFore, an Isla Vista resident since 2011 and a customer service representative for Santa Barbara Airbus.
DuFore said she was drawn to the role because she thought it was important to have a long-term resident on the board. Dufore said she was excited about the work being done at Children’s Park and Pardall Gardens.
Pardall Gardens at 6514 Pardall Road will be renovated to include wooden decks, benches, picnic tables, giving residents a place to hang out and eat right by Isla Vista’s commercial district. The project is set to be completed by June 2028.
Dufore said she’s been thinking about this space since she first moved to Isla Vista and it was one of the projects she brought up when the board discussed renovations.
“There was something about Pardall Gardens, it’s almost like a pocket park, and it just just bugged me that it was just sitting there wasting,” Dufore said. “That’s one I’m really excited about. I think that’s gonna be super popular.”
If re-elected, Dufore said she’d like to work with the Isla Vista Community Services District to have more community events and live entertainment.
“I think people love to gather and realistically, people just need an excuse to gather,” Dufore said. “After the pandemic, everybody wanted to come out and reconnect.”
First-time Candidates
While there are two incumbents on the ballot, there are four newcomers hoping to join the board of directors.
Greg Ortiz has been an Isla Vista housing commissioner for the past five years and has lived in Isla Vista off and on throughout his life. As a commissioner, Ortiz oversees policies to make sure they’re fair and legal.
Ortiz said he got into public service and volunteering after having a heart attack five years ago.
“I made an agreement with God or myself that if I could walk out of this hospital, whatever years I have left, I’m going to give it to someone else, not me,” Ortiz said.
He was drawn to the position on the Board of Directors to help keep the parks well maintained and get resources to the unhoused people relying on the parks.
Ortiz has worked closely with the homeless community, and if elected, wants to help get unhoused individuals into housing and help those affected by recent state laws banning camping in parks and on sidewalks.
“There’s these groups of people that are trained to help in any way that they can with any social issues you might have, whether it’s a mental issue, a drug addiction or housing issue, or just want to talk to or a ride or something,” Ortiz said. “These are the things that we can do while they’re in the park, while they’re in the community.”
Ortiz said he’d also like to focus on safety by educating residents about the dangers of the bluffs. He’d also like to see more social and educational programs for the youth and elderly.
Recent UCSB graduate Robbin May Dominguez Balagtas is running to support small businesses, protect the local wildlife, and improve communication between the district and the community.
Balagtas was motivated after she found out people couldn’t sell items in the parks, unless they had a permit, in order to preserve the grass from heavy foot traffic. Balagtas had previously helped a friend struggling with homelessness sell their items at a park to make some money.
“My thing is that if you’re going to enforce permits, you might as well educate everyone about it, because otherwise, it’s not fair for us to figure out how to navigate this by ourselves, and it’s been hard,” Balagtas said.
Balagtas has her own small business where she sells thrifted clothing and jewelry.
