Hello Isla Vista!

My name is Spencer Brandt. I was born in the San Joaquin Valley, where I lived all my life, until last year. In 2015 I came to Isla Vista – and promptly fell in love with the place. I attend UCSB, where I’m a second-year student, studying History of Public Policy. Early on in my college career, I got a job working for the campus paper, the Daily Nexus, as a photographer. I began attending the weekly Isla Vista self-governance meetings as a member of the press, snapping photos of local activists and concerned citizens as they parsed through every detail of how Isla Vista self-governance was to work. It didn't take long before I found myself getting drawn in. I wanted to know more about our town's storied history. I wanted to be involved in building a government.

Flash forward to the present: I work with the UCSB Voter Registrations Volunteer Coalition, whose efforts contributed to the largest primary election turnout rates in Isla Vista history this June. I’m also an officer for the organization Students for Joan Hartmann, who I support for 3rd District Supervisor. 

I’m running because students in Isla Vista are routinely derided in the local political discourse as merely a bunch of transients. This kind of infantilizing rhetoric has no place in our politics. Students make up the vast majority of Isla Vista’s population – our interests are Isla Vista's interests. But all too often, it feels like our community is being treated as a problem to be solved. Plugging students into the local political process, and giving us a stronger, more focused voice, can help change this.

I’m running for the board because I see a world that is increasingly content with withdrawing from the political process and allowing others to make arbitrary decisions on it's behalf. Isla Vista is one of the most unique places on the planet. 'One-size-fits-all' won't solve the issues our community faces. Giving Isla Vistans more institutional say about the issues that face us is why I'm so passionately in support of IVCSD.

But above all else, I’m running because I truly love our little slice of paradise. I don't want to see Isla Vista transformed. I want to see it improved. I want to conserve the unique culture, the youthful optimism, and the beautiful environment that surrounds us. 

Let’s get coffee and talk more. I’d be honored to have your vote.