The Daily Nexus endorses unopposed third-year economics and philosophy double major Noah Luken for External Vice President for Local Affairs.
Noah Luken is running on a platform of pursuing I.V. cityhood and improving local housing conditions. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
The External Vice President for Local Affairs (EVPLA) serves as a liaison between the Associated Students (A.S.) and local governing bodies, such as the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Additionally, the EVPLA represents the student body on local issues such as housing and safety resources. The position does not exist at any other University of California campus.
The Nexus endorses Luken for his strong support for Isla Vista cityhood, tangible plans to improve housing conditions in I.V. and his experience as part of the Associated Students (A.S.) Senate.
“I want to run for EVPLA because I want to be able to look around at my friends walking on [Del Playa Drive], people going down to the beach and know that somehow I had made an impact in their life, and that their living situation, or their interactions with government in I.V., might be a little bit better because of some of the work that I had done,” Luken said.
Luken is running as the sole candidate of the Save Isla Vista Party, which he created to advocate for cityhood, an idea the Nexus believes is worth considering. He has also attended Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) meetings to further this goal by offering a student perspective. He believes cityhood would allow I.V. to be more effectively governed and attentive to residents’ needs.
The Nexus appreciated that Luken demonstrated a clear understanding of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) financial viability process, which will be beneficial for an EVPLA pursuing cityhood. He also emphasized his commitment to decreasing police presence in I.V. and continuing the current EVPLA and third-year political science major E.J. Raad’s opposition to the 72-hour Deltopia weekend noise ordinance.
“There’s no reason that anyone in any neighborhood should see the cops every single day, just in their community, and you should be able to walk outside your house and sit on the curb without having the government come up and talk to you about that,” Luken said. “The way to finally and ultimately address [Deltopia] long term is to have a city in I.V. because then the city would be the one making decisions about the community, and that would resolve it.”
Despite Luken’s admirable resolve, I.V. cityhood is a long-term project that will likely extend beyond his term. The Nexus hopes that he will not neglect other relevant projects during his term as EVPLA.
Beyond his main platform of I.V. cityhood, Luken shared concrete plans to address housing conditions in I.V. that the Nexus believes are worthwhile pursuits. Luken said he will work with the county and the University to get “people in authority holding landlords accountable.” Secondly, he is considering pursuing legal action against landlords if elected and is actively working on a project collecting evidence for a possible future case.
The Nexus also appreciated Luken’s acknowledgment of the difficulties “marginalized students” may face when looking for housing. If elected, he said he plans to work with University administration to create resources and tools for marginalized groups, such as for the transition from University to off-campus housing.
Luken has exemplified his ability to follow through with tangible projects through his work in the A.S. Senate. Luken authored a bill creating a textbook grant support program, began implementing Generation Conscious sustainable laundry detergent dispensers and advocated to administration on behalf of students when library hours were cut last year. The Nexus believes Luken’s experience as a senator and member of the Outreach Committee further qualifies him for the role of EVPLA.
“I think that within the Association, there are a lot of ideas that get spread around … but there’s a lot less action taken to implement those ideas. And something that I think I’ve been very good at is taking action on the ideas that I hear,” Luken said. “There will be things that I hear from students that will give me an idea, that will give someone in my office an idea … and then I’m going to take those and continue to turn them into action just as I’ve done as a senator and as I’ve done just kind of as someone who cares about this school and the local community.”
Outside of his experience in A.S., Luken serves as editor in chief of the UCSB Undergraduate Law Journal, where he oversees a staff of more than 35 people. He articulated his ability to organize people both “interpersonally” and “intrapersonally,” which the Nexus believes will aid Luken in managing the EVPLA’s office staff.
Luken said he would work on turning the Association into an enterprise by creating revenue sources, similarly to other candidates interviewed by the Nexus. He hopes that this may one day result in A.S. becoming “self sustaining” and no longer needing student fees.
While Luken is running unopposed, the Nexus still views him as a strong candidate for EVPLA because of his commitment to I.V. cityhood, leadership experience and the tangible benefits for students his legislation has accomplished.
