The phrase “success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan” usually is attributed to John F. Kennedy Jr., but it has ancient origins. The sentiment is easy to understand: When some policy goes well, many people claim credit. When it goes awry, no one wants to accept responsibility.

We thought about that quip after the VoiceofOC’s Norberto Santana Jr., sought the origins of the Orange County Board of Supervisors’ latest embarrassment. Who, exactly, came up with the idea of giving county supervisors a 25% pay hike? It passed on a four-to-one vote as part of the recent budget, but its origins are murky.

Finding its father isn’t just about dunking on supervisors. Santana pinpointed the first problem: It smacks of a coordinated effort “to place the item on the agenda without any fingerprints.” That suggests the board hasn’t learned lessons about transparency after the Andrew Do corruption scandal. If supervisors believed they deserved a big raise, they should have been transparent.

Second, the raise has emboldened the always self-interested public-employee unions, who have condemned the move. By using their political capital to secure a boost in their personal budgets, supervisors undermined their position in future salary negotiations. How can they oppose rank-and-file demands against this backdrop?

Third, supervisors undermined public confidence in their leadership. Since taxpayers learned about the vote, the blowback has been intense. Two supervisors—Vicente Sarmiento and Doug Chaffee—even said they’ll donate their extra pay to charities in response.

The only “no” vote came from Katrina Foley. She speculated to Santana that the board’s two Republicans, Don Wagner and Janet Nguyen, sponsored the plan. They were cagey. Nguyen reiterated her support for the measure in a sentence. Wagner said it came from the board—but didn’t say which particular supervisor initiated it—and (true to form) defended it in the context of other cost savings.

Perhaps it’s a moot point, but inquiring minds would like to know the details. Supervisors can start to make amends by fessing up—rather than just leaving the idea an orphan.