Snapshot: Charles “Carlos” Quintero
Age: 54
Occupation: Barber, real estate investor, actor
Background: Marine Corps. Veteran; Community volunteer for arbitration/mediation (State and Santa Barbara Bar Associations), Civil Service Commission, Latinos for Better Government, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Fire and Police Pension Commission, Mexican Museum of Art, Latino Peace Officer Association, Latino Advisory Crime Committee, Oakland Private Industries Council, Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation, Merchants Association, Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, Carriage and Western Art Museum, Marine League

LD: Why do you want to be on the City Council?

CQ: I think with all the years of experience I have under my belt, my life experiences, I am a son of elder parents, I’m a brother, I’m a dad, I’m a grandfather. I know what it is to return a salute. I know what it is to be compassionate about our former heroes and current heroes. I understand what it is to deal with kids and issues, where they feel they’re separate or disjoined from this community; I want to make sure they don’t feel that way.

LD: What issues would be your priorities if elected?

CQ: I want people to see things happen. We keep blowing smoke about cleaning up creeks, cleaning up the waterways, etc. ... Firefighters, and police officers, those are very special people. You’ve got to look out for them and make sure they have all the equipment they need. I know we don’t have EMTs that are going to protect lives in this community. I know the firefighters need more equipment to help them do their jobs. I want to make sure they get that equipment. I’m not worried about $1 million dollars; $1 million is pits compared to lives.

I want to take people out of county jail and go in creeks and the riverbeds, I want to go to the judges here in town, the probation department and I want to take these guys … We’re going to make them (guys from public works) now supervisors and assign them 25 people under them … clean up (and) separate the rubbish from the recycling, get the trucks and get them to where they need to go, and we’re going to make that happen. We’re going to clean up this community. And I want to see people feel good about doing their time rather than sitting behind bars because that’s very degrading.

… You’re going to teach kids to read, write, and keep up with their peers. Children in grammar school, in kindergarten, they don’t see color differences. If you live in a house with one or two families or more, there’s no place to study, there’s no place to get the help and attention, especially if your parents don’t speak the language. I understand that, I lived it. … I know what that feels like and I know where that stems from.

LD: What do you appreciate most about Santa Barbara?

CQ: Its environment, the feel, the look, the smell, this is chocolate cake, but you’ve got to take care of it too. You don’t leave it out, you don’t let it spoil.

LD: What would you most like to see change?

CQ: I’d like to get rid of some of the squalor. I see people living in these horrible houses, terrible; landlords are pulling big rents out of these dumps. I want to make sure that our building inspectors, they see a code violation you better clean those things up, fix ‘em up, if you don’t we’re going to come and find and shut you down. … Going to help with low cost housing and that’s going to have people have a little dignity around here. … I don’t want anybody to walk on a broken or a missing sidewalk.

If it’s a matter of issues and dollars, we fight landlords about not enough open space. Compromise, the money that would have gone to that open space or landscaping … it doesn’t have to go to that property, it can go to public improvements. There are all kinds of ways to solve issues; you’ve got to think outside the box for the better good of the public, for the better good of the city. … I want I want every gateway to Santa Barbara to look like its just greeting people saying, “welcome to Santa Barbara pal, this is our community, and say we’re proud.”

LD: How would you describe your political views?

CQ: I think I’m a moderate. I’m more interested in what’s happening in my community and my neighborhood.

LD: What about your views on spending?

CQ: I think the city’s pretty much in good stead. … If I think it’s an outlandish expense I’m going to question it. I’m going to say if we’re going to do that, why can’t we do that. What are the tradeoffs, where are we putting that dollar? Are we addressing the neighborhoods? Are we just getting a little bit out of our realm here? I won’t go over the top with anything. I’m going to be very responsible for the dollars that we spend. I want to drag people out of incarceration because I can give you an army of manpower, … to get into those creeks and stuff.

LD: Where does the environment factor in your values?

CQ: Any new construction in this community would have to go through the green programs where we look at double-paned windows, we have to look at solar, we have to look at the northwest setting of homes and apartments. We have to look at vegetation on planting of strategic landscape. We have codes in the books that have a requirement for two-car garages, we going to eliminate that. If it’s one bedroom, one car, if it’s two bedrooms, two cars. We’ve got to stop accommodating the car.

And if we do new buildings, I want them to be classy buildings where the parking is underneath the structure. ... Giving less priority to the parking, therefore we can improve public transportation. If you have to make them use it, then you have to make them use it.