Santa Barbara Mayor · Nov 3, 2026

Kristen W. Sneddon

Candidate for Mayor

15 candidates · 4 seats7 sourced positions

Kristen W. Sneddon is running for mayor of Santa Barbara in the Nov 3, 2026 election, against Eric Friedman, Wendy Sims-Moten and Matt Kilrain.

Vote-by-mail ballots mailed and ballot drop-off locations open · Mon, Oct 5, 2026

Today

Santa Barbara City Councilmember for District 4, elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2021. Teaches environmental geology at Santa Barbara City College.

Occupation (from candidate statement): Santa Barbara City Councilmember
Endorsed by: Lists endorsements including County Supervisors Laura Capps, Roy Lee and Joan Hartmann and former mayors Helene Schneider, Sheila Lodge and Marty Blum on her campaign website. Kristen Sneddon for Mayor
Campaign website: www.kristensneddon.com

Eric Friedman (District 5) and Kristen W. Sneddon (District 4) are both on the ballot for mayor, so the seats they hold are open. Noozhawk

Where Kristen W. Sneddon stands: positions on the record

Rent stabilization2 sourced positions

Voted for adopting the rent stabilization and rental registry ordinance (passed 4-3, September 2026).
Council voteSanta Barbara Independent · Sep 30, 2026
as reported by the Santa Barbara Independent; not a direct quote
Said at the Sept. 3 mayoral forum that rent stabilization was a necessary component of a holistic approach to the housing crisis.
Forum answerSanta Barbara Independent · Sep 4, 2026

State Street3 sourced positions

Voted for the State Street Master Plan (passed 6-1, September 2026).
Council voteSanta Barbara Independent · Sep 2, 2026
Moved, with Councilmember Santamaria seconding, to approve the draft master plan's vision and guiding principles and remove the sentence on private vehicle usage on page 88 (carried on a majority roll call vote, April 28, 2026).
Council voteSanta Barbara City Council minutes, April 28, 2026 (in the June 2, 2026 agenda packet) · Apr 28, 2026
as reported by SB Newsmakers; not a direct quote except the quoted words
Said that when State Street comes up, 70 to 80 percent of businesses or the public want it to stay closed to cars, and that she is not comfortable going back to 1997 until the new approach is tried.
“until we actually try it, I don’t feel comfortable going back to 1997.”
Own statementSB Newsmakers · Aug 17, 2026

Budget and reserves1 sourced position

as reported by SB Newsmakers; not a direct quote except the quoted words
Defended the council's 4-3 decision to move funds into the Local Housing Trust Fund as part of the promise of Measure I.
“As far as the money towards the Local Housing Trust Fund, it was basically on the ballot.”
Own statementSB Newsmakers · Aug 17, 2026

Ranked-choice voting1 sourced position

as reported by SB Newsmakers; not a direct quote except the quoted words
Said she "fully supports" ranked-choice voting and putting the question before voters.
“fully supports”
Own statementSB Newsmakers · Aug 17, 2026

In their words

Said at the Sept. 3 mayoral forum that rent stabilization was a necessary component of a holistic approach to the housing crisis.
Sep 4, 2026 ·as reported by the Santa Barbara Independent; not a direct quote ·Santa Barbara Independent · Sep 4, 2026

On the record

Voted for adopting the rent stabilization and rental registry ordinance (passed 4-3, September 2026).
Sep 30, 2026 ·Santa Barbara Independent · Sep 30, 2026

Every claim here links to its source and was checked against it before publishing. How this guide works →

See something wrong? Report an error

Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.