The County of Santa Barbara Redraws its Districts with Help of Tripepi Smith
In April 2021, the County of Santa Barbara’s Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission called on Tripepi Smith’s community outreach expertise to support their redistricting effort. As a result of a countywide ballot measure passed in 2018, the County of Santa Barbara formed the Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission composed of 11 residents throughout the county. Tripepi Smith worked alongside the Commission, its outreach subcommittee, demographic expert consultants (NDC) and County staff to ensure that residents were aware of the process and their participation opportunities. The Commission unanimously adopted its map on December 13, 2021.
The Tripepi Smith team, consisting of Principal Ryder Todd Smith, Director Jennifer Fitzgerald and Business Analyst Clare Burgess, strategized and worked to inform the Santa Barbara County community about the redistricting process. Tripepi Smith leveraged many tools and strategies to execute that plan, including:
- A Dedicated Redistricting Website
- A redistricting website (drawsantabarbaracounty.org) served as the central hub for all resources and educational materials related to the redistricting process. The website included all information required by the Secretary of State about redistricting and provided a preview of the process in the County.
- Press Release/News Article for Website and Media
- Bilingual press releases were utilized to announce the kickoff of the redistricting process and unveil the public hearing dates, encourage the community’s use of the mapping resources and tools and inform the County of the adoption of the new district lines.
- Social Media Support
- Dedicated Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission Facebook and Instagram accounts were established and utilized to further connect with the County’s online audience. Bilingual social media posts were published to each of these platforms on a regular basis throughout the redistricting process. The County reshared many of the Commission’s posts to further amplify the Commission’s message. Additionally, 22 boosted posts (paid advertising) on Facebook were used to help spread the word about public hearings and solicit public commentary.
- Flyers
- Flyers advertising the Commission’s public hearings were created to be posted online and distributed to local community groups/members via email. Flyers were also printed and displayed on County facility counters.
- Community Groups Direct Contacts
- Contacts that were collected during the last Census outreach process as well as community groups that signed up for redistricting notifications were emailed/telephoned to notify community members about the redistricting process and point them to the website where resources could be accessed. They were also given the option to be included in the press release and flyer distribution.
- Radio Advertisements
- Tripepi Smith coordinated with local, multilingual radio stations to advertise the Commission’s redistricting efforts. The various radio advertisements encouraged residents to get involved at the Commission’s public hearings, submit comments, draw maps and provide feedback on submitted draft maps.
- Digital Ad Placements
- Tripepi Smith created an informational animated video in English, Spanish and Mixteco to explain the redistricting process, encourage public participation and urge the public to learn more on the Commission’s website. This video was posted to the Commission’s website as well as to YouTube as an advertisement, which was geo-targeted towards residents of Santa Barbara County. For the month of its placement, the County’s video had over 200,000 impressions and visitors from YouTube accounted for over 14% of the County’s website visitors from social media.
- Mapping Tools and Community of Interest Workshops
- Several of the Commission’s public workshops were facilitated, recorded and attended by Tripepi Smith. Tripepi Smith President Ryder Todd Smith led discussions about the local communities of interest while also assisting National Demographics Corporation with meeting engagement.
As a result of the expansive process, the Commission’s commitment to hearing from broad segments of Santa Barbara communities and the County’s substantial investments in outreach tools and platforms, the Commission heard from hundreds of residents and saw 109 maps submitted by the public.
“Our Independent Commission was dedicated to fulfilling the mission that the voters called for when they adopted Measure G. I thank my fellow Commissioners for all their hard work, and I thank the expert consultants like Tripepi Smith who worked side by side with us to connect to Santa Barbara County communities. The results speak for themselves. Everyone has a voice at the table,” noted Commission Chair Glenn Morris.
“The County of Santa Barbara went above and beyond their duty to inform the public,” said Jennifer. “It was a pleasure to work with a Commission and local government who was truly dedicated to soliciting feedback from all corners of the County.”
About the County of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara County, often branded as the American Riviera, is home to a beautiful landscape and great climate for living, playing and working. The County is well known for its strong sense of community, prime agricultural land, award-winning wineries, and attractive cultural and tourism opportunities. However, Santa Barbara County also touts its talented and highly skilled workforce, and growing business sectors, from high tech to health care to design. Quality institutions like UC Santa Barbara and Vandenberg Airforce Base continue to attract high-quality individuals to the County.
About Tripepi Smith
Tripepi Smith is a California-based marketing, technology and public affairs firm that serves for-profit, nonprofit and public agencies. Its unique mix of marketing and technology prowess provides a competitive advantage to agencies seeking to leverage the internet to achieve their communication goals. The firm provides full content creation services, including: ghost writing, collateral development, photography, video production, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing campaigns and website design and execution. Tripepi Smith clients include: City of American Canyon, City of Culver City, City of Cupertino, City of Daly City, City of Duarte, City of Grover Beach, City of Santa Paula, City of Indian Wells, City of La Cañada Flintridge, City of Lake Forest, City of Livermore, City of Napa, City of Paramount, City of Martinez, City of Tracy, City of Vallejo, CalChoice Energy Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency, Santa Clara County Fire Department, Costa Mesa Sanitary District, Rowland Water District, California Contract Cities Association, California City Management Foundation, Renne Public Law Group, Bob Hall & Associates and Climatec.