Hopeful to focus on environment

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

While other candidates choose to focus on housing, public safety, transportation, or even the now-defunct lightblueline project, Santa Barbara City Council challenger Dan Litten is setting his sights on an issue near and dear to many Santa Barbarans: the environment.
Although the 34-year-old doctor had something to say about other topics that are certain to come up during his bid for a Council seat, he made it clear that his campaign will carry a markedly green theme.

“I’m not doing this because I’ve always wanted to be a politician,” Litten said. “I’m concerned that there isn’t anyone who is focused enough on the environment.”
Arguing that the current City Council isn’t doing enough to support clean air, clean water and sustainable energy use, Litten offered up a number of potential energy-saving, cost-cutting and pollution-reducing solutions he plans to highlight during the coming months.
One suggestion he enthusiastically endorsed is the enforcement of the citywide ban on gasoline-powered leaf blowers. Despite a city ballot initiative banning their use in 1997, Litten said many people continue to use their gas blowers unchecked.
“It’s one of the single dirtiest things people can do,” Litten said, explaining that the leaf blowers cause five percent of particle air pollution statewide. Not only that, he said, they are sources of excessive and annoying noise pollution.
Litten said he even caught city workers using gas-powered blowers a few blocks from his home. City leaders need to follow the law themselves, he said, and get police to ticket people who break the law.
“They need to know that they are going to get a ticket,” Litten said, “and then they will stop.”
Santa Barbara should also stop using gas-powered yard tools as well, he said, ditching them for electric or manual tools that will greatly reduce air pollution. Landscaping tools powered by gasoline contribute about 10 to 20 percent of air pollution, he said.
Litten said his background as a doctor has played into his decision to cast a spotlight on air quality issues, as well as his focus on pesticide use in city parks.
“Why does our city still use toxic pesticides?” Litten asks on his campaign website. He said despite a program started in 2004 to reduce pesticide use, the city still hasn’t completely eliminated toxic herbicides and insecticides that cause neurologic disease and cancers.
“Meanwhile, Goleta is completely pesticide-free,” he said.
Litten said he would also like to see the city make serious steps toward mitigating climate change. While he called the lightblueline project an interesting idea, he said the city should be less focused on public art projects and more focused on reducing energy use.
“I think it’s time to do something concrete,” Litten said. “...[City leaders] do some things, but there is a lot more they could do.”
His suggestions include not limiting solar energy based on aesthetic criticisms, promoting bike use and not using air conditioning in city buildings.
“Energy use is tied up in the war now,” Litten said. “It’s related to war, human health, and global warming in the long run.”
He said he doesn’t have air conditioning or a clothing dryer in his home, adding that he rides his bike to Cottage Hospital where he works as an internal medicine physician. While he admits on his website that Santa Barbara alone can’t make a significant dent in worldwide carbon dioxide production, he said the city can serve as an innovative example for the rest of the nation.
Litten also highlighted a need for a more visible police presence as part of the solution for a number of problems facing the city, including gang violence and chronic homelessness. Police officers need to get out of their squad cars and onto bikes or travel by foot whenever possible, he said, which will foster greater contact with the community.
But as far as the gang issue, Litten said he didn’t think there is any one solution. The same goes for the homeless problem. He said having more police focused on quality-of-life topics is only part of the way forward.
“It’s not an easy answer,” Litten said. “...We’re always going to have a homeless problem. This is in many ways a good place to be a homeless person.”
Youth initiatives and and support programs will also need to play a role in mitigating those issues, he said.
As far as affordable housing and building density, Litten didn’t take a strong stance on the issue, but seemed to be leaning toward responsible building in the city’s core.
“Some people say there is too much density, others say there isn’t enough density,” Litten said. “I think overall we can’t be doing too bad if both sides are upset.”
Increasing density in the center of the city makes more sense than on the outskirts or areas such as the Gaviota Coast, he said, as long as projects plan for appropriate parking and water availability. Litten also said placing height restrictions on buildings is a difficult issue and should be handled case by case.
In development-related matters, Litten also called for increased benefits for using solar power and sustainable building practices. He said the City Council let some green building options slide for recent projects such as the new airport terminal design and Cottage Hospital renovations.
After growing up in Albany, New York, Litten went to medical school in Texas, attending Rice University and the University of Texas before moving to Houston. He stayed there for 10 years, working for a management consulting firm until 2002, when he moved to Santa Barbara for residency work at Cottage Hospital.
Currently, he splits his time between Cottage Hospital and Goleta Valley Hospital, and taking care of his 2-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son.
As far as his plans going forward in the City Council race, Litten said he will walk neighborhoods, participate in candidate forums and continue to speak out about the environment. He admitted that the last political experience he had was as an alternate for student council in 7th grade, but said he looks forward to providing an alternative voice for the community.
Litten also admitted that he believes the three incumbents — Brian Barnwell, Helene Schneider and Das Williams — have the race pretty much wrapped up. Instead of hoping for a victory come November, Litten said he is using this opportunity to bring environmental issues to the forefront of the public discourse.