There are some folks in the Santa Ynez Valley who have been digging a hole for years. They keep trying to put a fence around it with a sign that says “Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Keep Out.” While they’ve filled their hole with racism, contempt, a little bit of anger, and a lot of lawsuits, the sign and fence usually don’t last very long.
But now they’re really pissed.
You see, the county jumped down the hole with them on that whole Camp 4 situation (you know the one: that 1,400-acre parcel of land the Chumash want to put homes and a cultural center on that essentially became reservation land in January 2017). The Chumash tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the county over it for years. And now, the county is trying to claw its way back out of the dirt.
One particular hole-dweller is determined to stomp the county back down where it belongs. Karen Jones, a Santa Ynez resident who ran for 3rd District Santa Barbara County supervisor in 2016 and lost, is very unhappy with the person who won, current 3rd District Supervisor Joan Hartmann.
There are rumors—which Jones said may or may not be true—of an attempt to recall Hartmann because of the tentative agreement recently reached on the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Santa Ynez Valley Band of Chumash Indian Matters, which Hartmann serves on with 1st District Supervisor Das Williams.
“I’ll do anything to protect my home,” Jones told the Sun. Apparently she’ll do anything but be reasonable. She also said that if the Camp 4 issue was really about culture, the Chumash “would build some huts.”
Wow, lady. Do you even know what you sound like? Don’t worry, as it sounds like you don’t have a clue, I can fill you in. For one, you sound like a sore loser who lost an election. For two, you sound like an absolute bigot.
Jones, channeling her best inner Trump, said the county is getting a “bad deal” with the tentative agreement, which specifies that the county will get $178,500 annually in lieu of property taxes among other things. I’m not sure how long you’ve spent in the valley, Jones-y, but in 2013, the Chumash actually offered the county $1 million annually for 10 years in lieu of taxes. But the county refused to even look at that offer.
That was before the federal government approved of Camp 4 becoming fee-to-trust land, when the property was still under county jurisdiction. That was before Hartmann ran for office. That was before Congress forced the county to talk to the tribe.
Even radio show host Andy Caldwell with the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture, and Business thinks the whole resistance is ridiculous. In a Facebook post, he said, “The vitriols in the valley are so beside themselves, they are considering launching a recall against Joan Hartmann for merely suggesting what Congress has demanded.” Not sure “vitriols” means what you think it means Andy, buddy, but we get the picture!
Maybe if the county wasn’t so busy shoveling dirt, it would be $10 million richer.
The Canary prefers a bird’s eye view to living in a hole in the ground. Send comments to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 26 – Nov 2, 2017.