Santa Barbara, California, is often called "ground-zero of the environmental movement" because of the 1969 Oil Spill. Nonetheless, two Republicans on the County Board of Supervisors persuaded a third Super to vote for a resolution to withdraw the State's ban on offshore drilling.
This is to be expressed as a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
It's a trivial symbolic gesture, but it demonstrates how far down into local politics the Rebublican's current "Drill Like There's No Tomorrow" campaign can reach.
The two dissenting Supervisors intend to write their own letter to the Governator - who, so far, opposes offshore drilling in California.
SB County is currently in a financial hole. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the Republican Supes would like to increase oil production to balance the budget. California is the only state that does not tax oil extraction (like Texas and Louisiana) but there must be benefits to local government from increased employement and business fees.
News Story from Santa Barbara Independent
UPDATE: The CITY of Santa Barbara quickly voted on and sent a letter to the Governor strongly opposed to offshore drilling. I'm still curious as to why the Supers did it... and how local 'Pubs get tied into national campaigns this way.