Residents protest Ron DeSantis’ fundraiser visit and call out agricultural leaders.

The loud, continuous sound of horns disrupted the daily routine on Main Street in downtown Salinas on Sunday, Sept. 24, as a caravan of about a dozen cars carrying colorful anti-Ron DeSantis signs stopped outside Taylor Farms’ headquarters. They were there to protest the Republican presidential candidate’s visit to the Salad Bowl of the World on Thursday, Sept. 28.

Several local agricultural leaders – including Linda and Bruce Taylor (Taylor Farms); Sandy and John D’Arrigo (D’Arrigo Bros.); Shelly and Steve Barnard (Mission Produce); Susan and David Gill (Rio Farms); Steve Church (Church Brothers); and Pam and Bardin Bengard (Bengard Ranch) – are listed among the event hosts. The fundraiser caused shock and anger within the community.

Jessica Almanza, 19, a Salinas resident and Cabrillo College student, says she thought it was fake news at first. “I thought there was no way these huge companies whose workforce is all made up of migrants and Hispanics are representing this man, and what this man stands for,” Almanza says.

“We don’t know what Big Ag thinks about us, about our community. If they’re thinking about bringing someone like him here, that raises even more concerns,” says Luis Xago Juarez, one the organizers of the protest.

As governor of Florida, DeSantis has signed several controversial bills, including a tough anti-immigration law that makes it harder for undocumented workers to live and work in the state, and which increases penalties for employers who hire them.

The governor also signed bills restricting reproductive rights, transgender health care, and discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in schools. DeSantis also backed controversial school guidelines teaching that enslaved people learned skills that brought them “personal benefit.”

For several people who participated in Sunday’s protest, including Jose Larios, a Hartnell student, the protest was personal. “It’s like a spit in the face to us, because these are our parents,” Larios says, highlighting the conditions farmworkers work in – through rain, heat, wildfires and the pandemic. “They deserve more than this.”

Sam Gomez, a queer, nonbinary Latine, drove from Soledad to participate in the march. “He’s not welcome in the city that stands for inclusivity and acceptance and welcoming,” Gomez says. “He has shown time and time again that he does not believe we have the right to exist.”

The protest started at the Salinas Amtrak station, stopped on Main Street, then turned down East Alisal Street, ending about a mile-and-a-half later at Foods Co. where about 25 people, including Salinas City Councilmember Orlando Osornio, rallied at the corner.

The group was scheduled to do the same route again on Sept. 27, after the Weekly’s deadline. And on Sept. 26, Salinas City Council was set to consider a resolution denouncing DeSantis’ visit.

The brunch with DeSantis takes place Thursday, Sept. 28. The cost to attend is $3,300 per person or $5,000 per couple, as a campaign donation.