Kyle Richards, from Goleta, is running for the vacant Area 2 seat of City College’s Board of Trustees following council member Robert K. Miller’s stepping down.
“[The role of a public servant] isn’t just to know everything automatically,” Richards said. “It’s to be able to listen, to help find consensus, and to look for common ground on issues. That’s the role of a public servant.”
His career started in 2013 with the Parks and Recreation Commission, and today he works as a councilmember in the Goleta City Council. He also has 27 years of experience working at UCSB, as well as having been a student at City College.
“In 2016 I was elected to the Goleta City Council, and reelected in 2020, and I think what motivated me was just the desire to be involved in my community,” Richards said. “City College is a resource all of us benefit from; by having a well-run, efficient, productive community college, it benefits so many of us in many different ways.”
Surrounding City College’s budget crisis, Richards is one to admit that there’s no straight answer. He clarifies on the nature of Measure P and the benefits it seeks to bring.
“One of the primary benefits of Measure P is to address facilities,” he said. “We know that facilities are in dire need at the college–there’s a backlog of deferred maintenance and upgrades that we haven’t been able to afford to implement. We can do this and leverage those funds, and not just give those funds back to the state otherwise.”
Richards explains that Measure P is an extension of an old bond measure—that is to say, no new board money is being spent that hasn’t been already preselected.
He wishes he had a “silver bullet,” but really, nobody does. What he’s really focused on is community involvement, and the modes by which a community can propel itself in the right direction.
“It may involve pain,” Richards said. “But I believe that with the skills and experience that I have, I’ll be able to provide the leadership to address those changes.”
