Meet Supervisor Bob Nelson

Raised in Orcutt and a graduate of Righetti High School, Supervisor Bob Nelson and his wife, Jamie, continue to live in the community with their three children. After leaving the Central Coast for a short period of time to earn his degree in Business Administration, Nelson returned as a teacher and water polo coach— earning recognition as Teacher of the Year by the Santa Maria Sun in 2003.

In 2013, he decided to further his public service and accepted a position as Chief of Staff for Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam. Now as a representative for the Fourth District and Chair of the Board, Nelson plans to use his experience to benefit the residents and business owners of the County by ensuring government efficiency and prioritizing a number of issues such as public safety, campaign finance reform, and homelessness.

“These are unprecedented times, and every business throughout the region and country has been dealing with the economic impacts of COVID-19. Some of those businesses have been forced to shut down, some have decided to move out of state and others have found ways to endure. I’ve been working with all of these businesses throughout the pandemic and over the duration of my career.”

“I think we can all agree that attracting businesses and making it easier for families and entrepreneurs to start, run and expand their operations for the overall benefit of our County is critical.  In my opinion, the most direct path to making this happen is creating more certainty within the business community; whether that’s time or cost, and then get out of the way.”

Boards and Committees
Child Care Planning Council
Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County (CommUnify)
Debt Advisory Committee (DAC)
First Five Children and Families Commission
Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC)
Law Library Board of Trustees
Psychiatric Health Facilities Governing Board
The Funders Collaborative of Home for Good
Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG)
Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD)