For the first time in the city’s 60 years, Morro Bay is having an uncontested election for City Council and mayor despite polarizing public opinions and activism over renewable energy issues.
Incumbent Mayor Carla Wixom, first elected in 2022, has secured a second term as mayor because no one is running against her this year. With terms ending for sitting City Councilmembers Jennifer Ford and Laurel Barton and neither running for reelection, their two seats on the all-women City Council now belong to the only two candidates running—Bill Luffee and Jeff Eckles.
Current City Councilmember Ford told New Times that she wasn’t running for reelection so she could focus on her family and professional career. Barton didn’t reply before press time.
Morro Bay’s only seen one other uncontested mayoral race in 1976, when former Mayor Dale Mitchell was elected, and the city’s never seen such an election for City Council, City Clerk Dana Swanson confirmed.
In a time of political polarization and residents engaged in the issue of renewable energy, why aren’t more Morro Bay residents running for city government?
Mayor Wixom attributed this to two factors: First, the city is doing a good job at engaging with the community and being transparent. And second, the city’s unique issues may feel too large to commit to.
“You’re asking for a four-year commitment, and I think there’s a lot going on, so I don’t really know the answer for sure. But I think there’s just a lot of factors in that right now,” she said.
Those factors include renewable energy, as the city grapples with the potential development of projects like the offshore wind farm and battery plant.
“Our community is very passionate and very engaged, and which is why I ran. Because I love my home, I love my community, and I really feel that that’s what motivates most of us to do it,” Wixom said, “but it is a commitment.”
Residents and organizations such as the REACT Alliance have argued against offshore wind farms, saying that the structures would harm existing wildlife and ecosystems, while proponents assert that such farms could provide the city and county with more renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The potential Vistra battery energy storage plant project has some residents nervous about ruining the beauty of the coastline, disrupting wildlife, and causing potential fires. This prompted ballot measure A-24, asking residents to take away City Council jurisdiction over 103 acres of land near the power plant property, aiming to block its approval and construction and rely on voters to decide what to do with the land.
With just these issues alone, Wixom said Morro Bay is seeing public disputes and issues at a scale it’s never seen before.
“We’ve always had [environmental issues] because we’ve had the power plant, and there’s always been our fishing industry, which is different from any other municipality in the county,” Wixom said. “No one else has a harbor that they have to contend with, with Coastal Commission, environmental issues, and estuaries, so it’s a lot.”
On top of that, the City Council must ensure that the city is running smoothly on a daily basis.
All of it together could seem daunting, and Wixom suggested that residents may not run for city office because they prefer to dedicate themselves to a single cause.
“I think that they can allow their focus to be on that one item, that’s what’s going on,” she said. “Grassroots groups that have started up where they’re just single focused. You know, the Vistra project, the battery storage project, and A-24, even though they’re two separate things, one’s about process and the other’s about the actual facility, they still tie together.”
Wixom said that even though residents hold opposing views, they all have one thing in common: where they live.
“As we participate in what renewable energy looks like in the city of Morro Bay, we certainly want to be at the table for all those conversations as decision-makers and policymakers for our community,” she said. “But at the forefront of all that is about balancing our pristine coastline that we have—our estuary. And you know, it always has to be at the forefront of the decisions we make.”
Wixom said she believes that both Luffee and Eckles are up for the task of serving on the City Council.
Luffee, a 50-year resident of SLO County and a Cal Poly graduate, owns two local businesses and has served on the Harbor Advisory Board for seven years.
“So, I got a little taste of politics in the city and how it runs, and I just really wanted to give back on a full-time basis, so I decided to run,” he said.
When it comes to serving on the City Council, Luffee said he sees it as no small gig.
“It’s a full-time job. I mean, anyone who takes this job on and thinks they’re just going to go to City Council meetings twice a month, they’re going to be very surprised,” he said. “There’s a lot of work, there’s a lot of things going on, and we need to have eyes to make sure that we’re fiscally responsible for everything.”
Luffee said he attributes the lack of candidates to the Vistra battery plant and is voting no on A-24.
“I don’t think anyone wants to get involved because the community is very, I say, fractured to a certain extent, and very passionate about whether the battery facility should go in there or not. So I just don’t think people really wanted to have to deal with that over the next four years,” he said.
Despite believing that the plant will be approved whether A-24 passes or not, he said he worries that if the measure does get approved, decisions about the plant will be out of the city’s hands.
“I think the state wants this battery facility. And if A-24 passes, they’re just going to put it in, and we will have no say. We will not have a seat at the table,” he said.
Eckles believes differently.
“I support A-24. I think it’s a good initiative, and it affirms the people’s voice,” the longtime Morro Bay resident said.
Eckles is the SLO County Housing Trust Fund’s CEO and has also served on the Harbor Advisory Board. He felt the time was right to finally run for council, he said.
While he was surprised about the uncontested election, he said the reasons could be political divisions and having three qualified candidates.
“I attribute that to the divisive political environment that we face, particularly at the national level, and to a degree at the local level, as well as the fact that we had three suitable candidates,” he said. “So I think it’s a combination.” Δ
Reach Staff Writer Libbey Hanson at lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 10, 2024.
