A closer look at the county supervisors, farmworkers, pay raises, and hypocrisy

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 I admire the Santa Maria Sun Canary. Truly!

The Canary is one straight-from-the-hip-shooting commentator, heavy on the acerbic humor. The bird’s bite definitely hurts more than its chirp. 

And I am flattered the Canary referred to me in the bird’s commentary about the Santa Barbara County supervisors giving themselves a raise—which I support (“Eyebrow Raise,” March 6). 

The Canary mentioned me mentioning Andy Caldwell, executive director of the nonprofit COLAB, at the Feb. 25 county supervisors’ meeting (see the Supervisors’ meeting video, beginning at 8:51:43).

Andy is no big fan of government spending. He especially fumes over Santa Barbara County’s Social Services, Public Health, and Behavioral Wellness departments’ expenditures.  

Andy also strongly opposes the raise in the county supervisors’ salaries.

While I have no personal gripe with Andy, I did indicate during the public comment session at the supervisors’ meeting, that according to a recent COLAB Form 990, he received enormously more compensation than the supervisors’ current salary. 

I also note Andy doesn’t have to scramble to keep his job every four years, or take public complaints every time a hot issue surfaces in Santa Barbara County, like the supervisors do.

One might see a bit of hypocrisy in all that. The Canary caught sight of it immediately, like a vulture diving on a carcass on the highway. 

But there was another and more significant hypocrisy I referred to in my comments on Feb. 25 that the Canary did not point out. It had to do with essential laborers who hold up our regional economy—folks who work hard as hell but constantly struggle to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads.  

Imagine that, hardworking folks trying to survive. This reminds me of a song from a Depression era musical play, Americana. The song is titled, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime.” Bing Crosby made the song popular. The lines in the first stanza, go, in part:

“They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob,/ When there was earth to plow, … I was always there right on the job./ They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead,/ Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?”

I wish the Canary had written about this other hypocrisy—the one that I was more concerned about. So I’ve asked the Sun to let me state exactly what I said to the supervisors about their raises. I trust the Canary won’t mind, but if it gets all pissed off and starts flapping, so what. 

Here’s what I said at the meeting:

“I support the 48.8 percent raise that brings our county supervisors’ annual salary to approximately $171,000. Here’s why:

“First, I’ll comment on the opposition by Andy Caldwell, executive director of COLAB. 

“I refer to the 2022 Form 990 for COLAB. On page 7 of the form, Mr. Caldwell is listed as working 40 hours weekly with a compensation totaling $215,673. I don’t begrudge him this compensation, but I note the supervisors have far greater public responsibilities than Mr. Caldwell.

“Secondly, a typical supervisor meeting agenda is crowded with items with reports and related studies that are often highly detailed and technical. To do their job, county supervisors need to examine and become familiar with these materials and the issues they refer to, which certainly require an average of 40 or more hours per week over the course of a year.

“But I see hypocrisy by our honorable county supervisors, who are financially secure.

“This morning, as I do most Tuesdays, I volunteered at a food distribution program in North County that served approximately 170 farmworker families. Farmworkers—who are essential to our regional economy—and who have heavy physical jobs with limited career tenures—and face seasonal layoffs—do not earn a living wage. Our farmworkers are food challenged, extremely housing challenged, and even clothing challenged. 

“Two highly respected organizations—CAUSE and MICOP—have presented to our supervisors a compelling study on the pressing need for a higher minimum wage for farmworkers. I strongly criticize our supervisors for putting the study aside and for looking away from the full needs and injustice our farmworker families suffer.  

“With all due respect, thank you.”

All that said, I’ll always admire the Canary. There’s nothing like a caged, smartass bird that never hesitates to speak out.

Scott Fina writes to the Sun from Santa Maria. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Mar 13-23, 2025.