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Board installs new leadership; chair outlines affordability, Olympics planning and sister‑city effort
Summary
Supervisor Bob Nelson was elected chair and Joan Hartman vice chair for 2026. Nelson outlined priorities including affordability reforms, Operation Gold Medal for the 2028 Olympics, and a first sister‑community relationship with Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture.
At the opening of the Jan. 13 meeting, the Board of Supervisors reorganized its leadership. Supervisor Bob Nelson was nominated and elected chair for 2026 and Supervisor Joan Hartman was elected vice chair; the motion carried unanimously.
Outgoing Chair Laura Capps delivered an extended year‑end reflection, listing accomplishments including expanded mental‑health services for families affected by separation, action on affordable housing on county land, a decision to ban new onshore oil and gas development and an expansion of county solar capacity. "I am proud that Santa Barbara County has been a steady presence amidst that turbulence," Capps said, thanking staff and residents for civic engagement.
Chair Nelson used his opening remarks to outline 2026 priorities: an ordinance and administrative reforms to level permitting burdens to improve affordability, a pilot for affordable for‑sale housing in the 4th District, and an initiative dubbed Operation Gold Medal to plan for economic opportunities and impacts tied to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. He also announced a county effort to establish a sister‑community relationship with the Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan.
Board members acknowledged the leadership transition and offered support for the agenda items Nelson identified for the year ahead.
What’s next: Chair Nelson said staff and supervisors will return with ordinance language for permitting reforms and with further details on Operation Gold Medal and the sister‑community outreach.
