SB HOUSING CRISIS: DEMS BLAME CITY… THEMSELVES?! SHOCKER!

It appears the fine investigative journalists over at KEYT NewsChannel 3-12 have stumbled upon a truly groundbreaking revelation: Santa Barbara’s housing crisis might, just *might*, have something to do with Santa Barbara’s policies. Yes, you heard it here first, folks, and apparently, also from the District 5 candidates themselves, who finally seem to be grasping the obvious.

At a recent forum, the usual suspects vying for council — Cevin Cathell, James Zurlinden, and Ian Baucke — reportedly pointed fingers at the city's decisions. A true 'eureka!' moment for those who've spent decades enacting draconian zoning laws, 'inclusionary' housing mandates that price out everyone, and environmental regulations so dense they could choke a sequoia. Who knew that limiting supply while artificially inflating demand with endless bureaucracy would lead to... less housing? It’s almost as if basic economics is a foreign concept in the People's Republic of Santa Barbara.

But here’s the real story that KEYT missed: The 'housing crisis' isn't a bug; it's a feature. These very policies, championed by the progressive establishment, serve a dual purpose: they consolidate power by controlling who can afford to live here, and they offer endless opportunities for 'solutions' that involve more government spending, more committees, and more 'consultants' — all funded by your tax dollars, of course. Rent stabilization, the latest progressive panacea, has a proven track record of reducing housing supply and making things worse, but don't tell these ideologues. They're too busy blaming 'the city' while simultaneously running to *be* the city.

The real angle here is the audacious hypocrisy. These candidates, deeply embedded in the progressive machine that created this mess, are now campaigning on fixing the very problems their ilk caused. It’s like an arsonist running for fire chief, promising to put out the blaze he himself ignited. Meanwhile, sensible solutions like reducing regulations, streamlining permits, and letting free markets work remain unheard, drowned out by the siren song of more government intervention. Perhaps they should try actual construction instead of endless studies.