About Jason Dominguez

Santa Barbara is where my wife and I are raising our daughter, and becoming a dad has given me an even deeper appreciation for what makes this community so special.

Like every parent, I think about the kind of place my daughter will grow up in - whether families can afford to stay here, whether our neighborhoods are safe, whether we protect the parks and public spaces she'll grow up enjoying.

Standing Up for People Who Need a Voice

I've spent my entire career in service — not because it was the easy path, but because it's the right one.

I began my legal career working with people who often had nowhere else to turn, serving as a legal aid attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance and the Legal Aid Foundation.

Later, I served as a legal officer with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal, working on cases involving genocide and crimes against humanity.

My career has been shaped by fighting for and advocating for people of many different communities.

I've also had the privilege of teaching law at the Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law, because I believe the next generation of advocates deserves mentors who've been in the trenches.

Serving Santa Barbara

When I ran for Santa Barbara City Council in 2015, I won by showing up — knocking on doors, listening to neighbors, and refusing to treat the Eastside as an afterthought.

Some of my most valuable memories from that campaign aren't from speeches or meetings. They're simply conversations on people's doorsteps — hearing what families were worried about, what they loved about their neighborhood, and what they wished City Hall understood better.

During my term on the City Council from 2016 to 2020, I worked on issues ranging from housing and transportation to parks and city finances.

I co-introduced the inclusionary housing ordinance that created workforce housing pathways for nurses, teachers, and first responders. I advocated for the Alisos Street bike lane. I championed improvements to Ortega Park, Cabrillo Ball Park, Eastside Park, and Dwight Murphy Field.

And when the city presented a $401.6 million budget that I believed prioritized the wrong things, I was the only vote against it — because my constituents deserved honesty, not applause.

I lost my 2019 re-election by eight votes. But losing an election didn't change how I felt about Santa Barbara or my desire to contribute to the community.

Since then, I've continued serving in other ways.

I joined the board of New Beginnings Counseling Center and became involved in its work addressing homelessness. I was appointed to a National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, where my colleagues elected me Secretary. And I became a tribal judge for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, an experience that has deepened my appreciation for community-centered approaches to justice.

Ever since the Bisno Schall Clock Gallery Foundation added me to their board of directors, time has flown…

I'm grateful for the many ways Santa Barbara has allowed me to serve over the years - as an attorney, teacher, councilmember, volunteer, judge, neighbor, husband, and father.

Family Changes Your Perspective

Somewhere along the way, the most important title in my life became a much simpler one: Dad.

My wife, a pharmacist, and I are raising a daughter who is the pride of our lives.

Parenthood has a way of making questions about the future much less abstract. I think about whether she'll be able to build a life here one day. I think about the safety of our neighborhoods, the threat of wildfire, the quality of our parks and public spaces. And how Santa Barbara can grow and evolve without losing the qualities that make people fall in love with it in the first place.

District 4

Today, my family and I are part of a different area of Santa Barbara from the Eastside I previously represented.

District 4 includes neighborhoods such as the Upper East, Riviera, Mission Canyon, San Roque and Eucalyptus Hill, along with Coast Village Road, Foothill, and portions of the State Street corridor.

I've been spending time listening to people throughout these neighborhoods and learning more about what matters to them.

Every neighborhood has its own history, personality, and concerns.

These are beautiful neighborhoods where people have deep roots, high stakes in decisions made at City Hall, and a right to a council member who will be straight with them - about fire risk, about development, about where every dollar goes.

I am not a partisan candidate. I answer to constituents, not to political machines - and I have the voting record to prove it. My opponents in this race have résumés. I have results.

District 4 deserves someone who has done this before, who has stood alone when it mattered, and who will always put the neighborhood first.

That's why I'm running. I hope to earn your vote.