The term "racial equity" either raises hackles or hopes — a divide that was clear during public comment at the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Six organizations in Santa Barbara County received grants totaling just less than a quarter million dollars to raise the profile of minority communities, further civic leadership and participation, and change the outcomes left by histories of slavery and racism — a large lift for a relatively small amount of money.
In Andy Caldwell's view, "The gauge of success is the ability to raise money from the private sector," he said, not patronage from taxpayer funds disbursed by "woke" supervisors. "Hold a fundraiser, call your donor list," suggested Caldwell, who heads the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture & Business, based in Santa Maria, adding that the people's money should be saved for the people's business at large.
Steve Lavagnino, supervisor for the district anchored by Santa Maria, thought it was important "to give volume to some of the voices that have been silenced in the past." He said he was glad to see North County organizations included among the six recipients, which had been vetted out of a group of 16 by a volunteer grant-making group at the Fund for Santa Barbara.