Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina
Santa Barbara Talks: Goleta City Council Candidate Jennifer Smith
Jennifer Smith is running for Goleta City Council in District 3. In this podcast conversation with journalist Josh Molina, Smith talks about the housing proposal at the Glen Annie Golf Club, the county's Housing Element process, Old Town Goleta's re-striping efforts, traffic in Goleta, plans to close the Goleta library for two years, and variety of issues and challenges facing Goleta. Smith also talks about her work as a Legal Aid Foundation attorney and her background and the events that shaped her public service. Josh Molina is a journalist who creates dynamic conversation with people on the topics of housing, education, business, politics, culture and the issues facing our region. Please hit subscribe on YouTube and consider a financial contribution to support these podcasts at www.santabarbaratalks.com
- Broadcast on:
- 05 Oct 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
>> Welcome to Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina. It's a special Galita edition today, and I love Galita. It's the good land. It's where I live, and it's such a pleasure today to be here with Jennifer Smith who is running for Galita City Council in District 3. How are you doing today, Jennifer? >> Well, we're doing good. Thank you so much for having me today, and I'm thrilled to get to talk about Galita. >> Yeah, no, this is great. I'm so looking forward to this. I've talked to you a bit over the years in your role as a planning commissioner, but I haven't really had a real in-depth conversation, so this is going to be fun. You're kind of enigmatic to me in some ways because you're one of those people who I kind of know, but not really. So let's get to know you a little bit better and more importantly, let our audience and voters know who you are. So Jennifer, you're running for Galita Council in District 3. Let's start at the beginning. What made you want to take the job from planning commissioner and volunteer public servant in that capacity to serving on the City Council? >> Yeah, so I think fundamentally, I love living in Galita. I think that's what unites most of us is how much we love living in this special place, all of the natural beauty all around us, the mountains, the pluffs, the ocean, everything. We love about Galita, our open spaces. Then I also wanted to be sure that there was somebody running who shared my values, and really that was the main reason I decided to run because I wasn't seeing that. And so I think in terms of having somebody who is willing to stand up for our environment and fight for environmental protections, somebody who cares about our working families, so much of my work in my day-to-day life has been representing and advocating for families. And then at the same time balancing, protecting and preserving this beautiful space, so for all of those reasons, I really wanted to be sure that those values were reflected for District 3. So I decided to take this next step. And I think the other factor is that because I've been serving on the planning commission for the last seven years, and I also bring to the table the fact that I'm an attorney, have public service experience, that I'll be able to hit the ground running. I've had all the meetings, all the issues that we've dealt with in the planning commission over the years, our cannabis land use policy, accessory dwelling units, our zoning code, I got to dive in on a lot of those issues. So I think the other element that I bring to the table is that because I've done that before, that I'll have the skills and experience necessary to really hit the ground running after November. Yeah, I've always felt what I heard that you were running that you're sort of the prototype candidate because you've served on the planning commission and you do work in the community. And it seems like a logical progression next step for you to escalate sort of your public service, you know, with all your background and your experience and your connections and your endorsements. So it's exciting to see you taking this step. So let me ask you a little bit, you talk about planning commission and some of the issues. Let's just start with housing. When it comes to housing in Galita, and of course, we just got through the housing element certification in the county, the cities. So when we talk about housing, we can't just talk about it just within the city limits is what the county does affects Galita in terms of traffic because it's on the border. When we talk about your values, what are your values when it comes first to to housing and providing housing for the community? Yeah, and I think, you know, I'm I'm hearing a lot from from neighbors and residents both about concerns about the impacts from housing and and also concerns about affordability. And I think that's really the where I'm coming from. And what I'm what I'm concerned about is we really truly have an affordable housing crisis in our community and in our region. And and I'm concerned. I'm concerned about the the next generation of of Galitans having having the opportunity to stay here for those who grew up here to be able to have the opportunity to stay. And and right, it's just it's better. It's better for all of us to have right young folks, old folks, a good mix of people in our community families. And we suffer as a community when we when we don't. At the same at the same time, I think it's important, you know, that we don't just write this isn't about developer profits. This is really about our community and what works for our community. And because of my experience on the commission, I can, you know, get into the into the details into the into the weeds to be able to advocate on behalf of our community to ensure that we're having projects that work for Galita. Yeah, and and so that's important because if we all want more housing, particularly affordable housing for the generations that you mentioned, for the people that you mentioned, all different types of people. But then again, you know, developers are going to try to do the most they can and make the most profit. So it's up to the elected officials to balance all of those needs for for the public. Let me ask you a little bit on a couple of issues. A lot of Galita residents have raised concern about the housing proposal for Glen Annie, the Glen Annie Golf Club. And we know that's a county project, but there is concern, of course, that it's sort of on the edge of Galita impacts to a store in Glen Annie infrastructure, all of that. What are your thoughts on that housing project and and what it could mean for for Galita, there's there's obvious a lot of benefits that developers have already announced. But when you talk to, you know, some people in Galita, they feel it's too much for that site and that part of town. But what is your what are your thoughts on that project and its impact on Galita? Absolutely. Glen Annie is probably the number one thing I'm I'm hearing about when I talk to neighbors in my community. And and I'm very concerned about the impacts from whatever whatever comes forward with that project. We we all know, you know, the store Glen Annie exit gets backed up fairly regularly. We have people who need to write commute and drop off kids at at those Pueblos. Just right that that whole area gets really congested already. And and I think it's an example where I think that it's an example of like the state. The state mandates not unfolding in a way that I even think the state intended, right? It's it's creating it's going beyond our current urban boundary, right? It's pushing how potential housing into right higher fire risk zone. And so, right? I mean, it's not it's not the type of it's not the type of projects that we want to see. It's we're still going to need to see what happens. There's right at this point, it's really just been talk. There there's no actual proposal yet. So we need to see, you know, I understand there's some pending litigation, right? Like the property could sell tomorrow. And some new owner has some new idea. So we we do need to see what's actually going to be proposed. And then and then advocate from that from from what what actually comes forward. So that'll be a critical issue. Whatever happens there, I think we want to focus on, you know, maximizing the potential for affordable and workforce housing for our community. We want to focus on mitigating the impacts. One thing I spoke in favor of a submitted written comment about was the county had actually tried to circumvent its own circuit like circulation rules. They wanted to circumvent that for this particular property and analysis about traffic impacts. And so I wrote into the county to say, hey, that's that's not fair, and particularly for the city of Galita. So, so I think in terms of the skills that I have, having served on the planning commission, being a lawyer, understanding all the legalese and the mumbo jumbo, I can, you know, dive into the weeds there. But it's going to take an experienced advocate to be able to represent the the voice of Galita. It's going to be challenging. No question because of our setup. So I've been honest when I've talked to people at the door that it you know, it is county jurisdiction. But but we need to do what we can work with the relationships that we do have with the county to be able to make it the best outcome that we can for us. Yeah, that's interesting. That's the number one thing you're hearing. I'm still, you know, even after the sort of peak of the discussion at the county housing element discussions, let me just this will probably be the toughest question I throw out you today. What do you think of how the county has handled its housing distribution? We know when they first released the housing element, there were a lot of proposals to rezone Agland. It's certainly on the borders of Galita on the edge of Galita. Supervisor Capps pushed the county to look at its own sites, its own properties. There was a multi-step process rezone first and then, you know, projects or, you know, rezone first and then certify the housing element. And there was a feeling among the Alita that Galita's kind of getting pushed around a little bit. And then if you dive deeper into the weeds, Galita had wanted the Glen Annie side as part of its sphere of influence and, you know, LAFCO, it didn't really pan out. It was concerned Galita would develop that for housing. And then these other, the county comes in and it's housing. So, you know, can you talk a little bit about how the county sort of treated the city Galita through this process and where we're at now with that relationship? Yeah, I think, you know, I think there's a couple things there. First, both the county and the city did face certain pressures from the state. So the first thing is that the state housing and community development department wanted to see proposals, rezones of areas that had open space and that had willing property owners who were, you know, willing to be rezoned to housing. And so I think, I think there was some pressure both on the county and on the city to take that approach rather rather than a more of a focus on infill. So I think some of the county's approach reflected those pressures that came from the came from the state. But there's no question. I mean, right, we all we all know sort of the reality on the ground, right? They know they know that if it's in or around Montecito or in and around Hope Ranch, things like that, right? There's going to be a huge outcry, a huge, a huge pushback. And so, you know, that they're going to avoid those those try to avoid those confrontations. So I think, so I think there is a there is an element of that at play. It was no doubt a difficult process. I was a little bit surprised at how much there were all of these like kind of public presentations about all of the proposals because at this stage, it's generally just the rezone that like the formal projects, in many cases, haven't formally been submitted. So that was also a little bit, I thought, unusual to me because I think it can create confusion once a proposal actually comes forward. You know, the city has long had to right manage and deal with these right difficult issues. We have the county all around us. We have the city of Santa Barbara has the airport. We have UCSB. We have Isla Vista next door. So so we're going to have to continue to have both conversations and advocacy for for the city on our behalf. So that will remain ongoing. Yeah. Yeah. And we'll move on. But even the revenue neutrality agreement is something that is long lasting in terms of the tension between the county and galita. But but yeah, you know, I think you outline that that really well is sort of difficult and tense. But the county did kind of come along a little bit and, you know, change some things, look at its own properties. Let me ask you about a project that's not in your district, but you know, when most a lot of people in glita, you know, you kind of know your district person, but you know, it's the whole council represents everybody, not just your district. What do you think of the old town restripping project? We know this has gotten some attention in the media. We know that some of the businesses have complained and gone to the glita council. They've they've suggested that their business is down. We also know that there are many people who think it's safer, who'd like it, who believe it's a good direction for the city to go. Of course, there's the roundabouts that project connect that are also happening. But you know, I always tell James Cariacco, you know, you're lucky you're not running this year, because you know, it's it's like the person who represents that area. There's a lot of discussion going on. And so, you know, James would be fine, I'm sure, but it's just it would be a lot of stress for any candidate who is running in that district right now. But what do you think of the restripping project and what are you hearing from residents? Yeah, I'm hearing a lot of concerns, both about the restripping and the larger project connect. And and I know businesses are concerned. It's not easy to run a business. I know that because I run a nonprofit, I run the Legal Aid Foundation. And even though my business is not not for profit, I still I still know how hard it can be for businesses. And I think there's a couple different factors at play. I do think right now that some of the biggest impacts are actually happening happening from due to the bridge replacement. So in the far right in the eastern end of Old Town, right closer to Kellogg and then the 217, they're replacing the bridge over San Jose Creek. And that seems to be that area really does seem to be where a lot of the the congestion is happening. In that section. And so I think particularly on the the eastern end of Old Town, those impacts are really being felt. So I think it's tricky because some people say, well, it's the it's the striping, and I'm not entirely sure it's it's all this striping. I actually think that the bridge project may be having a bigger impact. On the one hand, that is temporary. It will end eventually, but but it will be ongoing for some time. It's an important project because it's going to create a better situation for flooding for Old Town. And in the long run, Old Town will have better improvements in terms of the insurance and and reduced flood risk. So so all of that is really critical infrastructure that the city is putting in. I think I think there's a couple things that are at play with what's been going on. The first is that a lot of the discussions that happened about the restripe in in particular, and the discussions about pedestrian safety, you know, reducing accidents and on all of that happened pre pandemic. There were meetings held. I went to them right at the Old Town Community Center. And all of these discussions happened some time ago. And then inevitably, right, we're all dealing with the with the pandemic. There's some degree of delay that happens because of that. On top of everything project connect that whole and that whole project has been a project pending since before the city even became a city. So I think that there was a disconnect, frankly, in terms of communication, some of the council deliberations even on on the striping to to follow up happened. I believe it was 2021. So still, you know, still write a lot of Zoom meetings and things. So I think that interfered some with sort of the communication piece. I think Galita generally has prided itself on the community engagement, community involvement, the process piece. And that got a little bit muddled, I think, with the delays. And then the other piece, I think that could have been handled better is the timing with the with the Caltrans work that's happening both on one on one and the two 17. You know, I understand that there were delays there too. And, you know, I know, there I'm sure that there was a lot of different factors at play. But could it have been possible to time it so that, right, like, or at least if part of that could have been finished, like could one on one have been finished first, even if two 17 was still happening. So that and then, and then I think the third piece would be, I'm not sure enough was proactively done to really, it's one thing to send a postcard notice, right? It's one thing to send an agenda with a bunch of jargon that no one really understands. But could there have been a more proactive discussion with businesses about, look, you know, not only do we have the restriving, but we've got these other projects pending, what what are different ways, and even if it's not a city solution, but community solutions and businesses coming together to say, how can we mitigate these impacts from what I've seen a lot of the issues relate to the commute times, particularly eastbound in the in the evenings, you know, so are there things that, you know, businesses and employers could do to incentivize, I don't know, you know, if you're not a public facing business, could you have alternative schedules? Could you incentivize carpooling during this period? So I think, I think all of those those things were, you know, potentially some some missed opportunities. That said, I generally support efforts to, you know, improve safety in the in the corridor, you know, to the other the other thing is that the restriving resulted in additional parking. And that was something that a lot of businesses had called for as well. And then on top of the striping project, the city has made available some public parking lots that when I talk to people, there's still people I know in my neighborhood that don't know about them. So, you know, continuing to get the word out about the public parking lots that are available. So I'm certainly committed. We need to, the other thing I've heard is also a disconnect. The city staff does really want to hear from people because there's no question that for residents of Old Town, for people who commute to work there, they have like, right, they have the boots on the ground experience. But it's not necessarily getting directed to the city staff. So there is a website where I know that people can email a project, the project connect website. There's a phone number and an email. I would certainly encourage people to share both with the city staff on any issues that they're seeing. And then also with council members as well, because I think that that on the ground experience is really important to be shared. So you, you know, we talked about Glen Annie Golf Club. We talked about the restarting. When you're knocking on doors, other than those two projects, what are you hearing people concerned about? Because I know that a lot of times, especially myself and the media and, you know, the insider baseball, a lot of this stuff gets a lot of attention. But then there are also just like little things that people bring up based off of where they live. So what are some of the other things that are coming up that you're hearing in your district? Yeah, a couple different things. One, I think we need to, you know, continue to have the conversation about safety for our youth who are attending Dose Pueblos High School, you know, how they're crossing 101, even and in and around the high school, staying safe, and continuing those conversations, I think is going to be really, really important. The fact that district three has the high school, I think makes us unique, right? We're the, we're the only district that, that has a high school. So I think that that's going to be, and again, in thinking about on top of, right, if we have these other projects at play. So that's one thing, and related, you know, related to that, definitely, you know, observations about e-bikes and safety in relation to the e-bikes. The other thing I'm hearing about is also just continued concern about, you know, basic infrastructure, and things like the road pavement, the crib wall and the plans for the crib wall and ensuring that, you know, the city is continuing to maintain its current infrastructure as well. So those are, those are some of the other issues that I'm hearing about. Yeah, and then I want to ask a couple of other questions, sort of, you know, about you and your background and legal aid in second, but just two more things. This week, it was announced that the, the council that the Galita Library is going to shut down for a couple of years. And, you know, this to me was, like, whoa, I can't believe this is happening. You know, I have a, I have two kids, you know, my youngest kid is 10, and we use the library all time. And I was like, this is one of those things like how do we not know about this until it's already a done deal. And I guess there's efforts to find other places, maybe the community center, maybe there's a partnership with a private owner somewhere where, you know, you could make that the library temporarily. But it's hard to imagine that that is not going to have significant impacts on people who use the library. And particularly, you know, people of color are low income residents, people who really rely on the library for services who may not be able to go to Chaucer's or any of these other places. And I know that's, I don't think that's your district, but what do you, you know, you have any thoughts or comments? What would you like to see happen there? Two years is a long time. I agree. You know, I think, frankly, that that caught, you know, everybody a bit by surprise. And, you know, yes, it is, it is important. And I understand why one of the biggest things with a lot of these major construction projects, typically there's issues with things like asbestos. And it wouldn't be safe for employees, residents, you know, so that I know is often a factor when you're talking about really any building older than even 1980. Those are things that are having to be considered. And that, and that actually, you know, came up with the City of Santa Barbara Library. The City, the City of the Library is just, is so critical. We have to find a way to continue, continue service. It appears, so the City staff, I know, is going to be coming back after doing some additional research. And so I look forward to hearing about that. But it is, it is a tight timeline. If there had been a little bit more notice on that, the question came up like, well, you know, could there be even, you know, some private space that's least during the period? But right, those conversations take time, whether or not the City can afford it is a real question and concern that the City's staff was not recommending that choice because of that. So, I don't know, we, you know, we have some really generous people in our community. I saw somebody throughout the idea of like, hey, what about Bed Bath, the old Bed Bath and Beyond Space? You know, I know yardy systems has been really active in our community. And we know that there's empty office space out there. But we have to find something that it's going to be an interruption. There's, there's no question, but we have to find something that works. It seems that if the third-party site is really not viable, from what I've seen so far, it seems like the community center may be the best space. But again, the challenge of the, the challenge with the community center is how old of a building it is, right, in terms of things like air conditioning and making it a space that's, that's, you know, viable for employees and others who use the space. So, it seems in some ways that there's no, there's no perfect solution. And I don't think that those costs had been factored into the current budget. So it's something that we're going to have to, you know, the council will have to look at very, very closely. And that's another item where I would continue, I would urge people to share feedback because it's such a critical community resource. Yeah, you know, I have my reputation as, you know, Josh, the journalist and tough, but I got to tell you, this, I mean, it almost brings tears to my eyes because from a personal standpoint, I mean, we're at the library for obviously books, audiobooks, but also shows, you know, whether it's the storytellers or it's the magic shows, you know, I'll read all the newspapers, I have my own, you know, stuff I do will do the puzzles. There's, it's such a like a real community and a lot of people in our little peer group, you know, with kids that age are also doing that. And then my daughter's 10, but there's always like five, six, like the really younger kids who are super, you know, who love the library. And I just sort of, I can't envision as like, you have to move all those books somewhere. That's not going to happen. Like, it's not going to be the same situation. And I worry about people who use the library after school, about families who need it on the live, on the weekends, you know, we can get books for battle of the books, you know, we can go to Chaucer's, we can do that. We can go to Barnes and Noble and Mentor if we want to, but not a lot of people can. And also it's not my preference to do that either. It's my preference to check it out. And so I don't know how this happened. I don't know if you should call up Mark Lanahan. I know that that space next to Alta over there in the community of reality has been vacant forever. I don't know what's going on. And maybe maybe a local person like that doesn't need to take a whole lot of money from the city because he's already, they're already very generous over there. And now you mentioned you already, I'm going to call Ben Romo now, like Ben, you got to save the day here, you know, again. So, so yeah, it's just, you know, and I feel like, and my role as a journalist, I have to be careful not to jump to conclusions, assume the worst. But I do feel like something happened in the process here if we're only learning about it now. And he goes to that thing. I know there's a grant and it needs to be done within two years. I wonder if you, I don't think asbestos is the thing, at least from what I read, I thought it was ADA and other changes. But I mean, maybe, maybe you don't take the grant and you figure out a better strategy. But but then I know you have free money, you got to take it. So it's a tough thing. But I, I feel like, oh, wow, if there's some way to save this, that would be amazing, you know. Yeah, I do get a sense. I do get a little bit of a sense. You right, we do have in the city, we have some newer staff, right? We have a newer city manager, right? Michelle Green with it had been with the city for years and years. And so I do think there's a little bit of an element of I think city staff is wanting to get things done and moving forward and trying to not be bureaucratic and and get things done for the community. But then, right, the flip side is, right, we face this, this kind of challenge. I know as a non-profit executive director, that grants can be challenging to administer because you are subject to the, to the funders parameters. And it may not always be the best fit for the organization and in the city's case for, for the city. So it is important for the city moving forward, right? It is great. We want to leverage other funding sources. We want to save our local taxpayer dollars where we can. But at the same time, ensure that the grants and funding that are, that are coming in, you know, make sense for us. And it's a, it's a hard, I know, I know in my role that it's hard to say no to funding. Because right then on the flip side, you'd be criticized for turning it down or saying, oh, well, it appears like there's no need or things like that. So it is, it is difficult. And I think something that the, that the city will need to kind of continue to evaluate in its, in its structure and operation moving forward. Yeah. Yeah. Well, good. Good. It's a good conversation. And maybe, maybe it won't be decided if you get elected and you can have an impact there. Um, let me, um, let me ask you a couple, just one last question before I ask you about legal aid in your background, but I had your opponent in district three, Ethan Woodell on the show. And I will take a step back and say, I think it's really cool that you have a local kid who's running for district election, you know, running for office through district elections. And he's not raising a lot of money. And he's, he's done work in the community. He feels a strong connection growing up here. And I think that's great that somebody who grew up here can run. Um, and so that's cool. Right now, now, whether you like him or agree with him or want to vote for him, that's up to voters kind of thing. Um, but it's, this battle is sort of interesting because you've got you who's, who's very successful or polished and, you know, an institutional candidate has a lot of support from a lot of people and they basically everyone, you know, who's elected or activist. I mean, they, they all are supporting you again. And you've got a, a local person. Um, but that local person is a bit of a rabble rouser. I don't think he would deny that, you know. Um, but, um, can you, do you have any thoughts? Do you have any comments on your opponent? Um, you know, how he's running his campaign. Um, you know, anything you want to say in terms of, um, your, your race and your contest, uh, in the context of, you know, he's, he's running an aggressive campaign, at least not through raising money, but at least verbally through words and, and some of his actions. Yeah, I mean, I, I think in terms of, you know, for many years in, in Galita, right? We had, we had uncontested elections. Uh, and, and that's not good for our community. So, you know, I think in terms of community engagement, um, you know, giving voters, uh, a choice, um, I think is a really, really good thing. Uh, you know, and I think overall, um, you know, everybody has been, has been civil, um, you know, focused on discussions about the issues and, uh, and hopefully, hopefully that will continue. I think in terms of, of the race, you know, I'm, I'm focused, I'm focused on, on what I'm bringing to the, to the table. Uh, and I think, I think ultimately what, what distinguishes me is my commitment and experience with public service. Um, and so, you know, when voters are looking and, and, and choosing, um, that's what they, what they see with me. Um, I've lived in the city of Galita for 12 years. Um, I've had the wonderful opportunity to recently become, um, my husband and I have recently become homeowners. So, so we're, we're here. Um, and I'm, you know, I want to be involved with, with the city and, in whatever capacity I can. Um, so, so I'm excited that, that voters, you know, are going to be able to have choices. Um, and I'm excited for that. Okay. Great. Let me ask you a couple questions about legal aid foundation. You were an attorney. I imagine, you know, when you're going to law school, you have many options, many paths, you chose a path where I know that you could make more money to being a different kind of an attorney. Um, but there's something about you that really wants to represent, um, individuals who may not have strong representation otherwise. And so, can you talk to me about your work at the legal aid foundation and why, uh, that is the career you chose it and the kind of things legal aid does. Yeah. So, um, so yeah, I've been, I've been committed to, to public interest and public service my entire legal career. I have a law degree from UC Davis with a certificate in public service. Uh, and then with the legal aid foundation of Santa Barbara County, I first started out as an attorney with the organization, um, representing people and all different kinds of areas of law, basically whatever I could be funded to do. Um, I've, I've done everything. I've represented survivors of intimate partner violence and their families, um, to help keep them safe and help them secure, uh, restraining orders and custody orders. Um, I've assisted, um, seniors and others who are at risk of foreclosure. Um, it's, it's hard to believe that our foreclosure crisis was not that long ago. Um, and that was a crazy time. Uh, I've represented, uh, tenants who were at risk of homelessness due to eviction. Um, and so in all these, in all these areas, it's, it's been, it's been such a privilege to, to represent people. And then now starting in 2018, I started in the executive director role. Uh, and so I'm entering my, my seventh year in that role. Um, and so, so now I've transitioned into, you know, leading the organization. Um, and so it's a county-wide organization. Some people don't know that we have offices in Santa Maria at Longpoke and Santa Barbara. So I'm exposed to, to regional issues. Um, and yeah, ensuring that the, the money is there to pay the bills and make payroll and, and all of that good stuff that any, any business, uh, uh, needs to deal with. We have over, over 20 employees and a three million dollar budget that I manage. Um, and so, uh, so I've also had, you know, that experience as well, which, which gives me insight into the, um, both important work that our, our, our nonprofits are doing across the regions and the, and the challenges that they face. Um, but we have an amazing team. Um, my attorneys on my team, they all have dedicated careers to, to serving our community and they're just amazing and it's every, every day I just feel lucky to be able to do the work. Yeah. Yeah. No, that work, no doubt is like among the most appreciated and important essential work in our community. When we talk about public service, there's elected officials and all of that. But when you're actually helping people on the ground and representing them and helping them access the legal system, that's to those people, that's the most important gift you can give them or, you know, help you can give them. Um, I looked a little bit on your background and I see your father was in the Navy. I'm sort of curious, where does your, uh, where does your, your art for public service and helping people come from? Can you talk to me a little bit about your upbringing and how you develop that sort of love for helping people? Yeah. And it was actually my grandparents that had been in the Navy. Uh, and so yeah. So my, my grandparents, uh, you know, were retired Navy. My, my grandfather had been an officer during World War II and my, and my grandmother was actually in the, in the waves. Um, so some of the first women to actually serve. And for both of them, military service was there, was their ticket out of poverty. Um, and so, so because of that legacy though, um, I grew up in San Diego. Um, many people know that, you know, San Diego sort of had long has had that kind of naval, um, connection. And so I think that that really got, um, instilled in me, my grandparents, uh, I grew up in San Diego. My grandparents lived in Chula Vista, which is just, you know, 20 or 30 minutes south. Um, so I got to see them a lot growing up and, um, you know, anybody knows who comes from a military family, that love of country and, and, and service is, is a message. I mean, even as a four year old, I mean, it just, it just filters through you. Um, and, you know, and I think, think that filter through, uh, you know, even as a little kid. I know that my grandparents always hoped, uh, sort of for better opportunities, both for their, you know, their children and their, and their grandchildren. They really valued education. And I know that they hoped, you know, that we wouldn't have to pursue a military career unless it was our choice. Um, so yeah, and then so growing up, um, my dad was a county employee. Uh, he was a county attorney in San Diego. Um, and, uh, my mom had been a stay at home mom for many years, and then my parents got divorced. And so suddenly she was, uh, after about a 10 year absence, thrown, you know, really had to reenter the, the workforce. Um, and it was, it was difficult there for a couple of years and, and that, that, that was sort of, um, the first time I could see that like, so, you know, sometimes life doesn't always go unfold as planned. Um, but she had her education to fall back on. My mom had a, uh, actually a master's degree in psychology. Um, and there was a training program for people to become a child protective service social workers. And the, and the difference there is that it was a paid program, it was a paid training program. And so she decided to do that. Um, and it really made a difference for us. She was able to become a social worker. Um, you know, we had stability. Um, and really it was, it was through a lot of the works, the her work that I, you know, her discussions at the kitchen table, um, the, the challenges she, she brought me, um, uh, what started out as, as take your daughter to work day. Um, she brought me one time when she knew that she was going to be in court. Um, and she knew she was going to be in court when there was a female judge. Um, which even then was, that's something that still being worked on, but was rarer then. Um, and it really, it really made an impression on me seeing, seeing the work that she did, um, for families and, and kids in the, in the community. So all, all of that really, um, uh, right. So it's funny that with my parents and their backgrounds, that I should become a legal aid attorney. Um, it, it makes sense. Um, but, uh, and then I, I'm so lucky. My parents co-parented really well. I have an incredible, um, stepmom, uh, step sibling and half sibling. So I, I really hit the jackpot there, frankly, um, in terms of my, my blended, my blended family. You know, we still have some, you know, two Christmases and, and all that stuff that, um, a lot of us who have been touched by a divorce deal with, but in the, in the scheme of things, I feel, uh, I feel really lucky. Yeah, you sound like sort of the perfect hybrid of your parents. Um, and then you found a mini Brady Bunch situation and blended family and, yeah. And, that's great. Uh, and so you, if you weren't, um, you know, if you weren't a, uh, attorney for legal aid, uh, you know, did you consider other careers? Did, you know, or did you kind of know from the start, you're going to try to do something that was helping people, representing people. Uh, my son, you know, he wants to be an attorney and he, uh, he's at Berkeley and he was a big mock trial star and he wants to be at 19 years old, a public defender. And he really wants to represent clients who he feels are at the huge disadvantage in the legal system because, you know, so many cases are majority of them are settled and the prosecution have such the advantage. And so many attorneys tell him, you know, go make money, go make some money first, you know. And so did you get those pressures at all that, you know, Jennifer, why don't you go, uh, be a litigator or go do something like that or, um, you know, just getting back to that idea that you're just this public servant, you know. Yeah, um, I, I had a pretty good sense going in, into law school, my, my vision and, and focus. Um, there's a lot of, um, there's a lot of really, frankly, uh, unhappy and attorneys out there who they make a lot of money, but they're not necessarily happy. Um, for a, for a short time, right before law school, I worked as a receptionist at a large law firm. And, and that became pretty apparent to me. Um, which is not to say, I mean, there's other people who, who love it. Um, the thrill, the high stakes, you know, millions of dollars in litigation, it's exciting. Um, it's just not what makes me, it's just not what makes me tick. Um, so, um, so I knew, I knew pretty, pretty early on and that's, that's one of the reasons, you know, why I, I, I pursued, you know, coursework and wanted to have that certificate in, in public service. Yeah, that's great. Jennifer, we're going to wrap up a little bit. I want to kind of just give you the last word to talk to the audience and, uh, voters about, uh, when they're making decisions about who to vote for, you know, why they should select you. So go ahead. Oh, well, well, thank you. Um, it's, it's been so great. I, I know people are still, you know, getting to know me, um, in the community. Um, and it's, it's been so great to, to talk to people at the door, neighbor to neighbor to neighbor. Um, but I've lived in the city of Galita for, for 12 years now. Um, and I've served on the planning commission for seven. And I think in terms of, uh, and before that, I'm a graduate of, of UC Santa Barbara, uh, UC Davis School of Law. So in terms of, uh, you know, my knowledge of, of, of, um, I was a student back when the, when the city became incorporated. Um, so I know, uh, I know the, the founding of our city, um, and, and how that came to be. And I really, um, I'm excited about the opportunity to continue to serve, um, in a new role. Um, I, I would be honored, um, to earn, to earn the vote of my community. Uh, and so folks can, if they want to learn more, they can check out my, my website. It's Jennifer Smith for Galita.org. Uh, and hopefully I'll see a lot of people, um, at the door, at the door soon. Um, so. Yeah. And as we record this on a Saturday, I know you have a busy day of canvassing. So you will be talking to people today. Well, Jennifer Smith, it's, uh, been a pleasure to have this conversation with you and talk to you. And, uh, I'll talk to you soon. Again, I'm sure. Good luck with everything. Take care. Thank you. Bye.