The Daily Nexus endorses second-year political science major E.J. Raad for External Vice President for Local Affairs. 

The Nexus endorses E.J. Raad for External Vice President for Local Affairs. Sherine John / Daily Nexus

The External Vice President for Local Affairs (EVPLA) acts as the liaison between the Associated Students (A.S.) and county organizations, including Isla Vista government agencies and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. They also represent the student body in relation to local affairs and address larger systemic issues in Isla Vista, such as the housing crisis and quality of rentals.

The Nexus endorses Raad for his experience in the A.S. Attorney General’s office and believes that his robust plans for EVPLA, which highlight housing safety and accommodations, make him the best fit for the position over his opponent, second-year political science major Neha Kumaran. 

“There are big issues in this community, and you need solutions. You need someone who understands what those problems are, understands how to get them done. And that’s exactly what I want to do in this role,” Raad said. 

Raad is currently a research associate in the A.S. Attorney General’s Office and the internal liaison for the Committee on Committees. As a research associate working on The Blue and Gold Project, which is researching policing in I.V. and on campus, he requested and compiled police reports from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. In his position as internal liaison, he talks to campus Boards, Committees and Units (BCUs), or student-led groups under A.S., and connects them to each other.

He is running on a platform of addressing housing issues, putting A.S. rollover funds to use and addressing over-policing in I.V. His long-term housing goal is to create a lease pre-qualifier program to make it easier for UC Santa Barbara students to sign up for housing. Under this proposal, UCSB students would upload their information to a website and be pre-approved for a lease. Raaz said this was to incentivize leasing companies to “fast-track” applicants from UCSB students. 

The Nexus believes this plan has little potential to fundamentally aid the housing crisis since approximately half of I.V.’s population is already UCSB students and other populations, such as Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) students, local families and university faculty and staff rely on local housing, which may cause divisions amongst the populations. In response to these concerns, Raad said the pre-qualifier would only be for certain areas, “because the majority of non-student residents tend to live on 68 and past there.”

Despite the Nexus’ disagreement with this project, Raad’s initiative toward trying to find ways to alleviate the housing crisis demonstrates a clear understanding of local issues and a drive for helping his constituents.

Raad’s short-term goals, like distributing water filters and mold kits, are a step in the right direction toward improving quality of life for I.V. renters. His long-term goals vary in scope, as the pre-lease qualifier project may take longer than the term limit allows if it has to get approval across multiple channels and have landlords get on board. But another project to rate I.V. landlords and connect renters with mediators when dealing with landlords seems achievable in one term as it could be done inside the EVPLA office.

“It’s gonna be a longer project. It would definitely take my entire term to get done. That isn’t something that’s super easy, but the way I envision it, the pilot program would be one leasing company with maybe a couple select properties, and then we’d have students be able to go in through that portal,” Raad said.

His opponent, Kumaran, is running on a platform of increasing inclusivity, reducing sexual assault and improving the housing situation in I.V. While the Nexus believes these issues are just as imperative to the community, Raad’s experience has made the Nexus more confident in his ability to enact long-term change. 

Both Kumaran and Raad rightfully prioritize addressing housing issues as the EVPLA, and the Nexus believe Kumaran’s ideas to lobby for better, safer housing with local officials are commendable. However, Raad’s plans to improve the housing situation are more robust and show better feasibility.

Kumaran’s goals for housing included streamlining the process for second-year students and increasing awareness of housing resources in I.V. The Nexus felt that her platform points were rooted in her own experience as a second-year student, but did not expand beyond that, with plans to help renters with differing struggles and experiences.

Raad’s connections in the Attorney General’s office and with BCUs could work to his advantage if appointed as EVPLA. Raad said he has worked with nearly every BCU in the Association and wants to make a Slack channel with all of them to streamline communication among them. He also wants to create a Slack channel with representatives from the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) and Isla Vista Recreation & Park District (IVRPD). 

Both candidates have strong research backgrounds, with Kumaran currently researching how landlords take advantage of tenants in Isla Vista alongside Asian American studies professor Diane Fujino. Kumaran could not share details about her research because it is not complete, which potentially limited her ability to position it as evidence for her platforms.

Raad’s research on policing in I.V. aligns with his ambitions to address policing in I.V. He says once the results of the research are posted, he wants to speak to county officials to show there is an issue with police overly targeting minority communities. 

“We know that the police are necessary to some extent, for safety, but they can have the tendency to encroach upon student rights in some instances,” Raad said.

He noted the nearly 500 citations issued on Deltopia 2025 as an example of over-policing in I.V. Raad also believes there is a need for more medical resources next to fraternities and near the Santa Catalina Residence Hall. 

“Those are areas where we see a need for medical attention and a need for resources, I think that will absolutely help, and especially when presenting towards A.S. … We want to expand [University of California in Isla Vista (UCIV)] out to those areas,” Raad said. 

He wants to pick up on the efforts of UCIV to bring tents to Greek fraternity row. The current EVPLA, fourth-year history of public policy and law major Owen Meyers, made it a point to add another tent to the area but told the Nexus he reallocated priorities to focus on more staffing. 

Raad hopes to accomplish this by setting up a stipend program for UCIV volunteers to incentivize more people to work the tents. Currently, volunteers have to submit a request for honoraria, which they may or may not get based on approval from A.S. 

Kumaran’s platform of increasing inclusivity and using the Pardall Center to host events that promote multiculturalism is a great evolution of what the space is proposed to be. Raad also wanted to use the Pardall Center for events, but the Nexus hopes he will take this focus in his planning. 

Though Raad’s status as a second-year leaves him with less experience than previous EVPLAs, he says this could be advantageous. He says that because of this, his loftier projects could be carried on if he runs for a second term. Typically, since executive candidates are entering their fourth year, they can’t run for a second term.

Both candidates have attended EVPLA meetings and talked to the current EVPLA. However, they have not attended any IVRPD meetings or to the county Board of Supervisors meetings. 

Both candidates also woefully misunderstood a function of the impending Rental Inspection Pilot Program. While it is still not fully formed, the idea of the program introduced by Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Laura Capps is that tenants can report when there are health violations at properties such as mold or insects.

Raad and Kumaran said tenants who live in garages would receive a fine because of the Rental Inspection Pilot Program, based on a misconception regarding the program. Though there is no draft language at this point, Capps said the fines would go toward landlords at a senate meeting last month. This oversight — given both candidates used it as a significant platform point — is concerning and the Nexus hopes that they both will be more careful with their messaging, given that the EVPLA has to hold working relationships with local officials.

The Nexus hopes Raad continues to familiarize himself with I.V. government, as he has not attended an IVCSD or IVRPD meeting. This is the case for both candidates. However, the Nexus believes Raad has shown a better understanding of each office’s purview. 

While both candidates have a sound understanding of the needs of students and their relation to I.V., Raad’s institutional knowledge and ability to translate research into projects has prepared him to more effectively take on local issues on behalf of students. 

A version of this article appeared on p. 9 of  the Apr. 24, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.