Does O.C. Supervisor Sarmiento now regret giving himself a huge pay raise?

Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento appears to be having second thoughts after voting himself a huge raise even as his constituents in Central Orange County continue to suffer amid inflation and ICE raids.

The Orange County supervisors recently voted to pay themselves a new salary of over $244,000 a year. That’s about a $50,000 pay boost that is a higher salary than California Governor Gavin Newsom is paid.

The raise, starting in October, links their pay to what Superior Court judges earn – even though those judges have to first go to law school and generally practice law for years before putting on judicial robes. Supervisors just have to get elected – they may not be the best and brightest among us.

Sarmiento at first argued the raises were needed to continue attracting talented people to run to be a supervisor. 

However, Sarmiento appears to have now changed his mind as today he posted this comment on his Facebook page:

This October, members of the Board of Supervisors will receive a salary increase. After thoughtful conversations with my family and reflecting on the stark contrast between this raise and the ongoing hardships faced by our immigrant neighbors, I have decided to donate 100% of my salary increase to support immigrant families in crisis.

At a time when immigrant families face vicious abuse from unjust federal policies and an absence of due process, it is more important than ever that we stand together.

So now we are to believe that Sarmiento thinks the pay raise is not warranted so he is donating it? WTH?

Could it be that Sarmiento looked awful giving himself a huge $50K raise to $244K a year while the hardworking people of Santa Ana have an averagle annual household income of approximately $108,847. The city also has a poverty rate of 11.09%.

Sarmiento’s family gained their wealth through bars and dance halls that targeted Orange County’s immigrant community. Later they made more money suing police departments and cities when criminals were killed by police.

According to a 2014 study cited by Alcohol.org, approximately 43% of first-generation immigrants in the U.S. reported struggling with alcohol abuse.

The study also found variation by region of origin:

• European immigrants: 57%
• Latin American immigrants: 81%
• Asian immigrants: 98%
• African immigrants: 73%

Sarmiento’s family helped to ruin Latin American immigrant lives by plying them with alcohol. Now he wants to donate his unmeritied huge pay raise to them? A day late and a dollar short as they say…

Santa Ana’s crappy bars and nightclubs are a constant source of crime in our city. Here is a recent example related to us by a pajarito:

At 230 W. Warner, on Sunday at 4:20 a.m., SAPD police officers showed up after a man was stabbed in his arm at an illegal after hours nightclub. A female was detained as well as several males who resisted the officers. The officers tried to identify the stabbing suspect. Several suspects were arrested for obstruction.

Later on the officers found that the suspect was a couple blocks away and he was detained.

We are not sure if this address is owned by the Sarmiento family. They use proxies on the liqour licenses at their bars and dance halls to keep their names out of the headlines…

Needless to say Sarmiento can donate his overpay to immigrants but the damage done to this community by his family’s bars and dance halls is real and cannot be ignored.