Simon Salinas

Simon Salinas was a sixth-grade teacher at Bardin Elementary School in the mid-1980s, and he loved the work. But there was a movement afoot. The voting rights attorney Joaquin Avila was advocating for redistricting city councils in Latino-dense communities like Salinas to give Latinos a fair chance to get elected to represent their neighborhoods, rather than running at-large.

“I never dreamed of getting into politics,” Salinas says. But then a couple of students complained about the lack of recreational facilities, and Salinas decided to look into how the city’s resources were allocated. “I said, you either can complain or roll up your sleeves and do something.”

He became a plaintiff in Avila’s Voting Rights Act lawsuit, won, and then became the first Latino elected to Salinas City Council in 1989. A student came up with his first campaign slogan: “A vote for Simon is a vote for Salinas.”

Salinas was born in Texas and grew up in a farmworker family with 11 siblings before moving to Watsonville, then Salinas. After four years on City Council, he served two terms as a county supervisor, six years as a state assemblyman, then another three terms as supervisor. Salinas, now 63, retires next week.

Weekly: What are you planning post-retirement?

Salinas: I want to know how it feels to not have a schedule. I want to watch TV and have coffee until 10. I need at least six months to decompress. I can take naps now – I don’t have to nap through a meeting.

When does your day usually start?

I’m always up before the sun rises. I get up at 5:30 or 6, since I was a kid. When you have 12 members in the family – I would smell my mom making tortillas at 5 in the morning and I would be the first to get up.

Now that you’re transitioning to being a member of the public, do you have any insight to give?

They don’t realize the impact they can have. You’ll hear from the side that is well organized, but not from working families, for example.

What’s different in local government versus state or federal government?

It gets too partisan in Sacramento or Washington. Here at the local level, we have the ability to make real headway. I get frustrated when we talk about homelessness and affordable housing. We don’t need to study it anymore – the solution is, you build more housing.

Interesting examples. Both remain unresolved challenges as you retire.

How can any politician who knows what’s at stake not support this? Yes, it might cost you some votes. But that’s what defines leadership.

We’ve been talking about this for 20 or 30 years. North Salinas folks [who oppose a plan for a joint county-city shelter] said, “Simon, why bring those people here?” I said, “What people? Those are families, children. Go visit those shelters. If there are children there, invite them to play with your children.”

What’s something you would tell your younger self that you wish you’d known?

Don’t try to do everything, and don’t try to please everyone, even your friends. You have to be able to make decisions that are good for the collective. Be willing to change your way of thinking.

What’s an example of an issue where you changed your thinking?

When I first started, I represented East Salinas, my mind was set: “I do not want high-density apartments.” The mindset was everyone deserves a single-single family home with a yard. But high-density housing is the only way we’re going to house everyone. I started to tell CHISPA, bring more projects, and we will deal with the pushback.

You were recently on the receiving end of a threatening and racist phone call from a constituent who told you to “go back to Mexico.” Is the climate worse now than it was when you started out?

It seems different now. We’ve always had people say things like “You’re a bunch of idiots,” but it never became personal and hateful. But I dealt with it back in ’88 and ’89 when I first became a plaintiff. There were accusations that we wanted something for nothing. But we just want to use the legal processes in place; that’s what America’s about.

For crying out loud, I was an elementary school teacher. I did the same Pledge of Allegiance as you. If you’re gonna deport me, you’re gonna deport me to the panhandle in Texas.