Do elected officials have the right to be upset about their salaries, or should they live with it because they knew what they were getting into when they signed up to run for the job?
If you’re outgoing Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley, apparently you throw a fit because you make a few thousand dollars less per year than appointed department heads. In 2020, Dudley’s total pay and benefits (according to Transparent California) totaled a little more than $364,000—with salary of $243,000—while then Santa Barbara County Counsel Mike Ghizoni’s total pay and benefits was $361,000—with a salary of $248,000. Doesn’t seem like that big of a difference, salary-wise, and she actually makes more overall, when you look at the big picture.
So I’m trying to understand why she made such a big show of being discriminated against at a recent Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting regarding salary increases for elected department heads. She accused supervisors of playing favorites with appointed heads like the county counsel.
The district attorney—aka Dudley—deserves more money because she has 32 years of experience, has been in office since 2010, and has advanced degrees! Wait, is this a private company she’s lobbying for a raise from? I’m confused.
Didn’t she opt to run for the position? Didn’t she opt to campaign in every cycle since 2010 knowing exactly what salary she was going to make? Isn’t she in public service? Isn’t she making way more than each of the supervisors she’s basically scolding into giving her more money?
I wasn’t alone in getting a throbbing headache from listening to her complain and hearing the ensuing conversation that the board had: 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino also got one.
“We all took these jobs and said yes, but something else goes with these jobs and that’s the idea of public service. We know you could make fortunes doing this elsewhere,” he said.
Yeah, so why didn’t she leave to go make her fortune? Not that a quarter million dollars per year leaves Dudley in poverty or anything.
I have so many questions about this sudden indignation and grandstanding.
And that brings us to Orcutt resident Scott Fina, a very vocal activist who’s good at taking a grand stand on the things he believes are important. For some reason, the guy is targeting a city he doesn’t live in to do something that it probably should do eventually anyway—but it’s ultimately up to city residents, which he isn’t.
He just really hates ships.
Well, he hates Christopher Columbus and the ships associated with him, like the Santa Maria, which the city of Santa Maria decided to make its logo 50 years ago. Is it unfortunate that we have to see this symbol of a man with a questionable history on almost every city-related person, place, or thing? Yes.
Is it any of Fina’s business? Not really.
Even the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians believes it’
s up to city residents to decide what’s best for their city. And they have lost more and have more skin in the game than Fina from Philly does.
So let city residents be the ones to speak out. Don’t speak for them. That’s a show I don’t want tickets to.
The Canary grandstands every Thursday. Send show ideas to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 1-8, 2022.
