Santa Maria District 1 City Council candidate Carlos Escobedo has received more campaign contributions during this calendar year than anyone else running for city elected office.
According to a campaign finance statement filed with the city Clerk-Records’ Office on Sept. 25, Escobedo has received a total of $26,799.38 in the calendar year to date. More than half of those contributions came in during the most recent filing period from from July 1 to Sept. 19. District 1 candidate Osvaldo Sotelo, has reported $13,935 to date, while candidates Christopher Diaz and Brian Billones haven’t reported any campaign contributions.
Incumbent Mayor Alice Patino, has raised the second most for city races, bringing in about $19,121 so far this year. Her opponents, Will Smith and Alberto Ugalde, haven’t reported any donations so far, according to the Clerk-Records’ Office.
One of Escobedo’s largest contributions, $2,000, came from Bonita Packing Co., also known as Bonipak, a Santa Maria-based grower. In July, Bonipak had a COVID-19 outbreak among its contracted H-2A farmworkers, which resulted in one death and more than 90 infected.
As a result, local advocacy organizations—particularly Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)—successfully pushed for increased county regulations in H-2A congregate living settings during the pandemic. Now, the CAUSE Action Fund is asking that Escobdeo answer where he stands on agricultural regulation after accepting the Bonipak contribution.
While CAUSE is a nonpartisan 501c3 organization, the separate CAUSE Action Fund is a 501c4, meaning it can engage in political campaign activities. The Fund officially endorses Sotelo, Escobedo’s opponent, for the City Council seat.
“I don’t think it can be a coincidence that a company involved in a major outbreak, which led to the increase in government oversight over the H-2A program and the growers who use it, that they’d like to see a City Council member elected that would be less likely to vote for oversight over the agricultural industry,” said CAUSE Action Fund Organizing Director Hazel Davalos, who is also CAUSE’s community organizing director.
Escobedo did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment on the Bonipak contribution. When the Sun interviewed Escobedo in July, he said he first came to Santa Maria as a field worker employed at a local broccoli farm. His platform, he said, is focused on youth, jobs, and housing.
Bonipak could not be reached for comment before press time.
Escobedo also emphasized during his July interview with the Sun that he is stepping outside of party lines to run as an independent. According to a Sept. 17 screenshot that CAUSE Action Fund shared with the Sun, he was endorsed by the Santa Barbara County Republican Party, which also endorsed City Councilmember Mike Cordero (who’s running unopposed) and Mayor Alice Patino. As of Sept. 29, Escobedo’s name no longer appears on the party’s endorsement webpage.
The Santa Barbara County Republican Party did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment.
