Public safety, not politics, should be focus

12/28/05

Voice From Santa Ynez: Vincent Armenta

It has become commonplace for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and our business enterprise, the Chumash Casino Resort, to be the whipping boy of local pundits.

We know that tribal gaming is a hot topic, so we try not to take it personally when we hear or read comments, usually based on emotions rather than facts, regarding our tribe or our resort.

But I was surprised to read and hear comments made recently by former Sheriff Jim Thomas regarding the Sheriff's Council and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

It began with a Wednesday article in the News-Press. The disturbing passage was at the bottom of the article and it was only two small paragraphs, but it was powerful:

"And he was offended when he learned that the Sheriff's Department planned to put Chumash Casino stickers on patrol cars in thanks for donations to the Sheriff's Council.''

" 'This has nothing to do with the Chumash, but you just don't do that. You don't put stickers for organized gaming on patrol cars,' Mr. Thomas said. 'That's not right.' ''

For the record, we never asked the Sheriff's Council to place Chumash Casino Resort stickers on patrol cars. Our interest was in obtaining recognition for our generous donation by placing decals of our tribal government seal of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

To some, that may be a minor detail, but to us it's a major distinction. We are very proud of our tribe's commitment to the local community.

We want our neighbors to know that we support organizations that are dedicated to public safety and that we do our part in making our community a better place.

To our dismay, Mr. Thomas also went on television and compared the Chumash Casino Resort to a strip club. Why he found it necessary to downgrade our legitimate business enterprise for the sake of raising visibility for his personal cause is puzzling to us.

Our Chumash Casino Resort employs some 1,500 Santa Barbara County residents. In 2004 alone, $58.3 million was paid in labor costs -- including $4 million in payroll taxes. Last year, more than 11,000 people applied for a job at our resort, demonstrating that it's the most popular place to work in the region. We received a coveted Four Diamond Award from Triple A of Southern California for both our hotel and our restaurant, The Willows.

To compare our award-winning resort to a strip club is akin to comparing Tiffany & Co. to a plastic bead factory. It's preposterous, degrading and totally unnecessary.

However, what is really disturbing about this entire soap opera is the fact that all the bullies in the yard are ignoring one important fact:

Those of us who donated to the Sheriff's Council did so because we want to help ensure the safety of Santa Barbara County citizens and also help ensure the safety of the men and women who serve in the Sheriff's Department.

Whether a donation was made to the Sheriff's Department or to the Sheriff's Council, it was all for an important cause: equipment that will help protect the deputies and help protect the community. Unfortunately, some people are more concerned about whose name was displayed where. They have taken something good -- a donation to a worthy cause -- and turned it into an ugly political battle.

When the equipment purchased by the donated funds saves lives of citizens and deputy personnel, all the politics and drama will be forgotten. As it should be. The goal of saving lives and making our community safer should have been the focal point all along -- not the petty politics that have unfortunately surfaced.

We are proud of the role we played in donating funds to help ensure the public safety of our community. Regardless of whether we received recognition with a decal, our goal was always to help ensure the public safety of our community.

Vincent Armenta is the tribal chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.