Background
Meet Spencer
I was born and raised in California’s Central Valley, the son of an elementary school teacher and a city planner. After graduating high school, I moved to Isla Vista to attend UC Santa Barbara.
I got involved with the Isla Vista Self Governance movement, which sought to build Isla Vista’s first-ever broad-authority local government. As a student, I became active in the Isla Vista voter registration drive, and led a successful campaign at UCSB to stop a tuition increase.
As a second-year student, I was elected to the Isla Vista CSD Board of Directors. During my 6 years on the Board, I have developed deep public policy experience, working collaboratively to improve services for Isla Vistans.
When I first moved here, many of my friends didn’t feel safe walking home at night. So I worked with regional partners to secure the installation of 40 new streetlights. As a student, I protested with activists fighting for more resources for survivors of sexual violence, and then worked to expand crisis counseling, and hired a detective to address the backlog of sexual assault cases.
Our generation can’t wait for climate change action. I’m proud to have led the effort to become the first local government in Santa Barbara County to offer compost collection services. Today, the Isla Vista CSD is working to reduce carbon emissions by creating a sustainable transportation plan that will make it easier to walk, bike, skateboard, and take public transit.
I’m very proud to have worked to open the Isla Vista Community Center, which provides artistic, cultural, and exercise activities and programming for students, youth, and families.
As an unincorporated community that is serviced by a web of government agencies, Isla Vista has been historically neglected. Over the next four years, I will continue my efforts to build power for our community, and tackle pressing issues head-on. We can build an inclusive, beautiful, and thriving Isla Vista, where everyone can afford to live a high quality of life.