I found myself in the unusual position of largely agreeing with the editorial by Aaron Ochs (“Politics over policy”) in the June 18 edition of New Times. For those unfamiliar with Mr. Ochs’ political history in this county, he was pretty much the same as the people he is now criticizing.
However, he is pretty much correct now in his evaluation of the state of the SLO County Democratic Party. I do not know if all the details of his critiques are correct, but their substance is. (Both Paulding and Verdin turned me off with their intensive ad campaigns with excessive attacks on their opponent.) The question for me is whether or not Ochs has undergone a dramatic growth in maturity over the past decade or has he just latched onto a political narrative he perceives to be advantageous at the moment. I guess only time will tell.
As far as the local housing crisis goes, I am not sure that there are any good solutions. This is a classic case of supply-and-demand economics. While it is steadily declining, the Central Coast still has a quality of life that will continue to attract people who have made their money in less desirable places. That will keep prices too high to allow many blue-collar workers to get ahead even if they can afford local housing at all. (It is the biggest factor in my decision to move away soon.)
But Ochs is right about the tendency of politicians to rely on the blame game instead of offering solutions. That is driven by the fact that most voters tend to be more influenced by simplistic fearmongering than by nuanced policy debates. We have only ourselves to blame, and most of us are too intellectually lazy and/or too proud to take a critical look at our own long-standing beliefs.
Ron Holt
Pismo Beach
This article appears in June 25 – July 2, 2026.
SLO is being sued right now for maintaining the elevated costs of building permits despite an outside consultant recommending they be reduced 35 percent, and then “redirecting that revenue.” The SLO city council are a bunch of hypocrites.
Thank you for reading my viewpoint and for engaging with it seriously. In a county where too many people respond to criticism by retreating into their partisan bunkers, I appreciate anyone willing to say: I don’t know if I agree with everything here, but the substance is worth discussing.
That, frankly, is where local politics should begin.
You wrote that, for those unfamiliar with my “political history,” I was “pretty much the same as the people” I am now criticizing. I’m not entirely sure what “history” you’re referring to, unless it’s the version circulated for years by CalCoastNews and Karen Velie, with whom I’ve had a long and very public disagreement after fact-checking and challenging many of her claims.
But let’s put the record plainly.
I left the Democratic Party in 2018. When I volunteered with the SLO County Democratic Party, my involvement was minimal. I was not a power broker. I was not directing strategy. I was not sitting in some smoke-filled room deciding whose reputation should be shredded next. I was, at most, a low-level volunteer in a political environment I eventually came to see much more clearly.
If that is a scandal, it is a remarkably boring one.
More importantly, I have never belonged comfortably to any political tribe. That may frustrate people who prefer clean labels, but it happens to be true. I have always been my own person, sometimes clumsily, sometimes imperfectly, but sincerely.
You asked whether I have undergone “dramatic growth in maturity” or simply latched onto a political narrative I perceive to be advantageous.
That is a fair question. But here is my answer:
If I were chasing political advantage, criticizing the people who once assumed I was on their team would be a strange way to do it.
The easiest path in politics is not independence. The easiest path is applause from your side. Repeat the slogans. Attack the approved villains. Ignore the rot in your own house. Pretend your team’s dirty tricks are “strategy” while the other team’s dirty tricks are “threats to democracy.”
My evolution has not been some cinematic conversion. There was no lightning bolt. No grand revelation. What changed is that I became less willing to excuse bad behavior simply because it came wrapped in the right partisan colors.
That is not “dramatic growth.” It is basic intellectual hygiene.
And yes, I have grown. I hope everyone has. I have grown enough to believe political objectivity matters. I have grown enough to listen to people I disagree with. I have grown enough to understand that loyalty to a party is a poor substitute for loyalty to the truth.
The great disease in local politics is not disagreement. Disagreement is healthy. The disease is the belief that every issue must be reduced to heroes and villains, that every candidate must be either saint or monster, and that every policy debate must end with someone being morally exiled.
That is exactly how housing became a blame game instead of a problem to solve.
You are right that the Central Coast housing crisis is, in part, supply and demand. People want to live here. Wealth from elsewhere flows here. Wages here do not match housing costs here. Blue-collar workers, young families, service workers, and even many professionals are being priced out of the communities they keep alive.
But “supply and demand” should not become a shrug. It should be the beginning of an honest conversation.
Scarcity is not just a market condition. It is often a policy choice wearing a disguise.
You wrote that most voters are more influenced by simplistic fearmongering than nuanced policy debates. I agree. Painfully. The public says it wants solutions, but often rewards performance. We punish complexity. We mock compromise. We demand courage from elected officials and then attack them the moment courage inconveniences us.
So yes, we have only ourselves to blame. But blame is not enough either.
The real test is whether we can stop treating politics like a permanent grudge match and start treating it like a responsibility.
I am not asking anyone to accept my motives on faith. Time will tell, as you said.
But I will say this: I did not leave one political script just to memorize another.
My criticism is not rooted in bitterness. It is rooted in exhaustion — exhaustion with candidates who substitute attacks for ideas, parties that demand obedience instead of thought, and voters who complain about the circus while buying tickets every election cycle.
If that makes some people uncomfortable, good.
Comfort is how we got here.