Ross Mayfield has been the Sun’s political cartoonist for almost 24 years.
Ross Mayfield claims that his almost 24-year tenure with the Sun fell into his lap, but really, it’s because a reporter saw his sketch of a former county supervisor shooting herself in the foot.
Literally.
The first time Mayfield appeared in the paper was on July 4, 2002, as the subject of a story. Arts Editor Abraham Hyatt saw Mayfield’s drawing of former Supervisor Gail Marshall, sparking a story on the quiet, largely unknown cartoonist. Mayfield was working with his father at the family blueprint shop across from the Santa Maria Public Airport, where the back-office walls were filled with sketches.
Don’t miss Mayfield
Look for Ross Mayfield’s political cartoons in the Sun every other week. To check out more of his work, visit ifthishadbeenarealemergency.blogspot.com.
Hyatt’s article described the Santa Maria resident’s love for sketching aircraft (one appeared alongside the story), making Christmas cards featuring his dog Dave, and battling for rights over his infamous drawing of the California Highway Patrol.
His humble origins remain true, but many more people know his name today than they did back then. It’s synonymous with his political cartoon, Mayfield, that’s been published in the Sun every other week for nearly 24 years, amounting to hundreds and hundreds of cartoons.
Mayfield’s work sent waves through the Sun office in 2002, which, like the blueprint shop, was also located by the airport at the time. One day, then Editor Ryan Miller presented the illustrator with a job proposition.
“I never thought that I would do this,” Mayfield told the Sun one afternoon in March. “In fact, when he asked, I thought, ‘I don’t know how to do this.’ I didn’t feel very prolific at it.”
No matter how modest he is, it’s hard to deny that Mayfield has a knack for making observations about society and using pen and paper to comment on it.
Though these days, there’s a little less pen and paper involved with the advent of Photoshop. Gone are the days when Mayfield hand delivered a hard copy cartoon to the office. Today he emails a digital file.
His first thought accepting the gig was, “How do you think of ideas?” It’s still a pain point, but most of the time they rush in at random moments.
“I guess the brain is churning in the background,” he said.
For example, in 2002, the idea for Supervisor Marshall shooting herself in the foot came to him while he was driving down the freeway. In a recent March issue, the idea for a smashed piggy bank was sparked by a phone call with his sister about high gas prices.
“It seems like all the really good cartoon ideas come from nowhere. All of a sudden, boink! There’s an image in my head, and I go, ‘Yeah. That would be really good.’”
When the weekends come around and he’s without an idea, it’s not a good sign. With a Monday or Tuesday deadline, he ideally has a solid grasp on the premise before Friday. Otherwise, the cartoonist will stay up until 2 or 3 a.m. for a couple days straight until he’s satisfied with his submission.
“Usually, it takes longer than I think it should,” Mayfield said.
He’s a longtime listener of The Andy Caldwell Show, which gives him ideas from time to time. Back when he was interacting with customers at the blueprint shop, it was easier to generate cartoon ideas. People love to talk, and they especially love to complain about what’s going on in the world.
Though a political cartoonist, Mayfield said he doesn’t know if he’s all that interested in politics. What he likes to do is create scenes about people who make dumb decisions.
“I try to have funnier stuff than serious stuff,” Mayfield said. “It’s cartoon. Generally, cartoons are supposed to be fun.”
Mayfield’s been in the habit of doodling since he was young. His family was full of creatives, too. The artist made it official with an associate degree in art. After taking classes, he believes he can teach anyone how to draw if they’re willing to overcome beginners’ frustrations.
“My mom told me I used to get in trouble because on homework the teacher would come back and say, ‘Don’t draw airplanes,’” he remembered.
People are the most difficult subjects for Mayfield. Sometimes he spends days trying to get the likeness of a person down but still isn’t happy with it.
One of his best likeness drawings, in his mind, was of Joe Biden as Uncle Sam in the era of student loan forgiveness.
“He’s saying, I want you to pay the college tuition for people that you don’t even know,” Mayfield said, pulling the hard copy out from his briefcase. “That is one of my favorites for the process of drawing a cartoon that looks like who it’s supposed to.”
A lot of his work centers on the local political arena, commenting on the county’s biggest names. The illustrator knows that many residents see his work even if they wouldn’t recognize him out and about in town, which he “somewhat” likes. A little recognition wouldn’t kill him, though.
Once he was paying a tax at the county government building and heard that then Supervisor Gregg Hart had a large-scale copy of a Mayfield cartoon in his office. Hart was out at the time, but Supervisor Steve Lavagnino greeted Mayfield with enthusiasm, praising the commentary.
“Those are surprising moments to me that I don’t think about, but all these people in county government, … they see these things that I’m drawing about them,” Mayfield said.
People across the whole country have seen Mayfield. The cartoons have earned top awards from the National Newspaper Association starting in 2008 when Mayfield won first and second place for Best Original Editorial Cartoon in the non-daily division.
He may not scream it from the rooftops, but Mayfield is proud of himself. He concluded that he keeps political cartooning “for the satisfaction of being able to do it.”
Reach Staff Writer Madison White at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in March 26 – April 2, 2026.