I’ll explain this mess, so you don’t have to suffer through it.
The SLO Tribune’s Sept. 27 editorial tells Paso Robles’ 2nd District voters that Chris Bausch is “disgraced,” “reckless” and “unfit” for office. It says he put Paso Robles “through hell” and “went rogue.”
By the end, you half expect Bausch to be tying somebody to the railroad tracks while The Tribune editorial board races in on a white horse carrying a public records request. As political commentary, I found the piece surprisingly juvenile: heavy on loaded adjectives, light on distinctions, and written as though indignation could substitute for truth.
There’s another bit of irony here. The Tribune made candidate endorsements in the June primary, but after layoffs that included Opinion Editor Stephanie Finucane, it canceled endorsements for the general election. Apparently, there’s still time for a counter-endorsement. The editorial piles together separate disputes, allegations, settlements, legal fees, and investigative findings, then presents the result as though a jury had returned one sweeping verdict. No jury did.
I have my own theory. The Tribune has lost a lot of what it once had, but it still wants to influence local politics, and taking out a council member it has spent a lot of ink on would be one way to prove it still can. This community needs good local journalism:
Give people the facts, explain what happened, and let them make up their own minds. Anyone waiting for The Tribune to rediscover that tradition may want to bring a chair.
For months, The Tribune pursued former City Manager Ty Lewis’ allegations that Bausch, Karen Velie, and others conspired against him. I know because I was pulled into the circus myself. While I was a guest on KPRL’s Sound Off, hosted by Velie, a Tribune reporter called in to question her about the alleged conspiracy. I challenged the reporter on the air, and she acknowledged there was no established conspiracy.
My opinion remains the same: There was no conspiracy.
The Tribune’s favorite number is $841,000, which it says Bausch cost the city by not turning over thousands of records. Paso Robles’ accounting lists $250,000 to The Tribune’s attorneys, $27,000 toward Bausch’s own legal fees, and $365,954 for the Lewis settlement, split between the city and its insurer. The remainder appears to include other legal expenses from the disputes. Somehow, by the time The Tribune finishes the math, the entire bill winds up on Bausch’s desk.
What it did find was political coordination and campaign strategizing. That isn’t a conspiracy. That’s Paso Robles. Around here, it barely requires a Tuesday.
The California Public Records Act gives agencies 10 days to decide whether records are disclosable, not to produce every page. A judge ultimately ordered the city and Bausch to provide the records, and they were produced. That order did not establish a conspiracy. When the first batch was released, The Tribune reported that “none of the documents confirm or deny any of the allegations” in Lewis’ claim. Read that sentence again. The convenient part is “or deny.”
Nearly 4,500 emails and text messages were eventually reviewed. The Tribune’s own June 2025 editorial acknowledged there was “no smoking gun,” said the records “revealed little about the darker allegations,” and conceded, “We still don’t know how much of those claims were true.” What it did find was political coordination and campaign strategizing. That isn’t a conspiracy. That’s Paso Robles. Around here, it barely requires a Tuesday.
Lewis’ separate claim against the city sought nearly $2.3 million and alleged harassment and a hostile work environment. The city’s insurer initially denied it, and the city later settled for about 16 percent of what Lewis sought. Paso Robles’ independent investigation sustained or partially sustained some allegations but described the conduct as “limited and sporadic.” The Tribune turns all of that into one neat verdict against Bausch. The record is more complicated.
Bausch can be a pain in the ass. I suspect he would accept that finding without consulting counsel. Sometimes that is exactly what taxpayers elect people to do. He questions staff, presses for answers, and asks what something costs, why it’s necessary, and who pays. There’s a difference between making people uncomfortable and committing misconduct.
His record gives voters examples. Bausch was one of two council members who voted against expanding downtown paid parking, and he voted no again on the $1-an-hour plan. After plenty of public opposition, the council unanimously killed the program. He also opposed joining the Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority and objected to putting another charge on smaller groundwater users. Another authority, another fee, another hand in the property owner’s pocket.
I am a member of the Republican Party of San Luis Obispo County, which endorsed Bausch. We believe he fights for his constituents, watches their pocketbooks, and challenges City Hall instead of nodding along.
My opinion is hardly a secret, and neither is The Tribune’s.
The Tribune can resort to name-calling. I can call its editorial a surprisingly juvenile retelling of a complicated story. A settlement is not a verdict, an allegation is not a finding, a public records order is not proof of a conspiracy, and legal bills from several parties do not become one council member’s personal invoice.
When the facts get thin, the name-calling gets thick. The Tribune gave its verdict on Chris Bausch. Fortunately, Paso’s 2nd District voters still get to reach their own. ∆
Erik Gorham is a member of the Republican Party of San Luis Obispo County. Write a response for publication by sending it to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Pets 2026.
