Four years ago, no one observing the Board of Supervisors meetings would have guessed that the county leaders would become such good friends. Peter Adam, an archconservative rancher, had just been elected 4th District Supervisor, joining 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, a moderate Republican from Santa Maria, and the three South Coast liberals — Salud Carbajal, Janet Wolf, and Doreen Farr.
But now, Carbajal is jumping to Congress and Farr is retiring. Though the Board of Supervisors often splits 3-2 on ideological issues such as oil development, social services, and spending, the five distinct personalities seemed like they would actually miss each other. Their farewells were convincingly kind, and many packed the hearing room on Tuesday to listen to their lengthy remarks.
Salud Carbajal
In his 12 years on the dais, Carbajal has embraced the phrase “win-win,” and on Tuesday, his colleagues endlessly teased him for it. Sometimes, they noted, he has gone so far as to proclaim, “win-win-win-win.” They had no problem heckling Carbajal; he is usually the jokester.