South Coast community leader says he may run for California Legislature

KCLU | By Lance Orozco

Published November 19, 2021 at 2:36 PM PST

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A community leader on the South Coast says depending on the results of state redistricting, he may run for the California Assembly.

Candidacy dependent on how redistricting impacts Santa Barbara County.

The general manager of a community services district on the South Coast has announced he might run for a state assembly district seat.

Joseph Abboud heads the Isla Vista Community Services District. He’s also a Santa Barbara City College trustee.

Abboud says his plans depend on redistricting. In 2020, he ran for the 37^th District Assembly seat, which includes parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. He didn’t make it past the primary, with Democrat Steve Bennett of Ventura eventually winning.

The latest state redistricting plan calls for a new seat which would be mostly Santa Barbara County, and Abboud says if that happens, he would run. But, he says if Santa Barbra County remains combined with much of Ventura County, he won’t challenge Bennett.