Editing Santa Maria, California (section)

==Government==
[[File:NAACP George Floyd protest in Santa Maria, California - 2020-06-06.jpg|thumb|right|Santa Maria City Hall]]
Santa Maria's government is split down the middle of the [[political spectrum]], in contrast to Santa Barbara, which tends to be more liberal. Due in part to this political division, plus irrigation and water-supply issues, many attempts have been made to divide the county, the northern portion from [[Point Conception]] upwards to become Mission County. Thus far the movement has been unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://sbcvote.com/elect/resources/results6_2006/results-1.htm|title=Direct Primary Election June 6, 2006 Certified Results|work=sbcvote.com|date=June 29, 2006|access-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref> Santa Maria is a reliably [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] stronghold, having voted for the Democratic candidate{{clarification needed |reason=For which office(s)? |date=January 2025}} for the past six elections, {{as of |2020|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bestplaces.net/voting/city/california/santa_maria |title=Politics & Voting in Santa Maria, California |access-date=June 30, 2021 |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630202357/https://www.bestplaces.net/voting/city/california/santa_maria |url-status=live }}</ref>