Hello, I'm Lauren Hanson.  I serve on the Goleta Water District board and am running for re-election this year. 

In my time in office, our community has faced a number of challenges:  multiple wildfires; the longest drought in South Coast and California history; the Covid-19 pandemic; and the "atmospheric rivers" that have drenched us the past two winters. 

Through these times, the Goleta Water District has been the  steady, reliable provider of safe drinking water---a lifeline service---for everyone in the Goleta Valley.  The District is a designated Essential Service Provider, and  it makes me proud that the women and men of the District provide that service every day, through every challenge.  As a board member, working with my board colleagues to set policy for the District, I've been able to see that hard work and dedication up close.

Like other government boards, the District's board holds regular public meetings where we hear from the staff and the public and then provide policy direction to move the District forward in a good way.  "A good way," to me, means a way that is efficient, economical, and protective of our environment.  The District's job, every day, is meeting the service expectations of the community.  It also has to be looking ahead and preparing a large, complex water system for a future that is more unknowable than anyone might have thought.

I feel very lucky to live in the Goleta Valley, which has been my home for over twenty years.  I  was born and raised in Hawaii, then went a long way away for college and grad school on the East Coast. Luckily, I made the excellent choice to get myself back near the Pacific Ocean, to this beautiful spot.

Before being elected to the District board, I served on the Eastern Goleta Valley Vision Committee, which  worked to envision a sustainable, "gentle on the earth" future for the area. I co-wrote the committee's vision document.

As a concerned citizen, I remain active in numerous community efforts to protect our natural resources and to prepare for an uncertain climate future.

I'm eager to continue working with my Goleta Water District board colleagues.

I'm proud to be running on a record of solid achievement, in this time when experience and a steady hand are more important than ever.