Santa Barbara Santa Maria San Luis Obispo, CA, October 19, 2026 —

Santa Barbara mayoral candidates Wendy Sims-Moten, Eric Friedman and Kristen Sneddon participated in a youth-led forum hosted by the NAACP Santa Barbara, where students from local high schools and colleges raised questions about racism, e-bike regulation enforcement and transportation access.

The topics included how the candidates would address racism, how to prevent e-bike rules from being enforced in a way that targets youth of color, and how to improve transportation accessibility. The forum placed students in the role of asking candidates about issues affecting young people and the broader community.

The information provided about the event does not include the candidates’ specific responses, so their positions on the issues cannot be detailed here. It also does not identify the date or venue of the forum, the participating schools, or whether the candidates made any commitments during the discussion.

The questions brought together concerns about equity and transportation policy. In particular, students asked about the potential for enforcement of e-bike regulations to affect youth of color disproportionately. No details were provided about particular enforcement practices, existing rules, or proposed changes.

Further information about what each candidate said, and how their approaches may differ, was not included in the event summary. The forum’s reported focus was on student questions about racism, fair enforcement of e-bike regulations and transportation accessibility.


Story summarized from the original created by Rebecca Caraway, Noozhawk Staff Writer on www.noozhawk.com, see more information here.

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