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.
The Tribune appears to be in its death spiral, and like a desperate, frightened wounded animal is lashing out and biting anyone nearby. As a reliably leftist voice, this includes include a nip or two of any conservative bystanders.
Mr. Gorham’s recent New Times viewpoint might carry more weight if it didn’t come from the same voice that once peddled baseless conspiracy theories about this writer being on the payroll of a former county supervisor. No “smoking gun” ever materialized for that fantasy, either. So forgive me if I find his latest lecture on journalistic standards somewhat rich.
Let’s stick to the brass tacks, because Mr. Gorham seems determined to miss them.
In March 2025, The Tribune filed suit against the City of Paso Robles and Councilman Chris Bausch for violating the California Public Records Act. The issue was never a Hollywood-style hunt for a “nefarious plot.” It was about settled law: Bausch refused for months to turn over public records stored on his personal devices — records pertaining to the $2.2 million harassment claim filed by former City Manager Ty Lewis. The lawsuit existed to enforce the kind of transparency that California law guarantees every resident, every taxpayer, and yes, every newspaper of record.
Mr. Gorham is technically correct that a settlement is not a verdict, something The Tribune newspaper never claimed otherwise. But he wields that distinction like a magician’s cape, hoping the audience won’t notice what’s actually happening underneath. If there was truly nothing to see, why did Councilman Bausch delay compliance long enough to drag the City of Paso Robles and its taxpayers into costly litigation? The absence of a “smoking gun” in the released documents does not excuse the refusal to follow the law in the first place. Bausch obstructed; the city paid. That is the story. Everything else is deflection.
Then there is the bizarre attack on our editorial page. Yes, The Tribune has experienced layoffs — painful ones, shared by newsrooms across the country. Yet we remain fully entitled, like countless newspapers of record, to publish editorials through our Editorial Board. It is genuinely strange that people like Mr. Gorham act “blindsided” when a legitimate newspaper runs an opinion they dislike. Disagreement is not deception. An editorial based on verifiable facts is not a “crossing of the line”; it is actually the exercise of a basic democratic function.
What strikes me as far more telling is the double standard Mr. Gorham applies. He holds The Tribune to some imaginary, stratospheric code of conduct while giving CalCoastNews — his preferred outlet — a free pass. This is the same website that published baseless claims about Paso Robles’ former city manager, ran an old photograph of him in a hot tub with a woman labeled “topless,” and tried to conceptually link it to a 2012 police department sexual harassment scandal. It alleged extramarital affairs and “sex parties” without the rigor or accountability expected of actual journalism. Yet Mr. Gorham suggests a fact-based editorial in a legitimate newspaper is the real offense? The hypocrisy is staggering.
We did not enter this fight to uncover a conspiracy. We entered it because public officials in San Luis Obispo County are not exempt from the California Public Records Act. Councilman Bausch refused to comply. The taxpayers of Paso Robles deserve to know why.
That’s not a settlement. That’s not a verdict. That is journalism.
Well, now, that’s certainly an interesting perspective. Trouble is, it seems to have wandered so far from reality that even a seasoned cowboy couldn’t find his way back to the ranch.
Let’s unhitch the wagon from all this drama and stick to a few facts, shall we?
Mr. Bausch took the oath of office, which meant he became a public official, complete with all those pesky legal obligations that come with the job. One of those is complying with the California Public Records Act. Apparently, Mr. Bausch wasn’t particularly fond of that part of the deal, repeatedly pushing back on his responsibility to provide public information. And for those not keeping score back at the bunkhouse, failing to comply with the law isn’t exactly an optional perk of elected office.
This wasn’t some campfire rumor whispered over a bottle of cheap whiskey. The disputes were documented in public records and media coverage. There’s a paper trail long enough that you’ll need your horse to follow it.
And then there’s Velie. Calling her a journalist is a mighty generous stretch of the imagination. Her publication strikes me as more of a scandal sheet, and her history of litigation over published stories raises legitimate questions about her reporting practices. Seems to me that checking the facts before saddling up and riding into print might be a worthwhile habit.
Now, I can’t help but wonder whether the author will be riding to Gaea Powell’s defense next. She’s been convicted of multiple felonies, and the consequences of that conviction are a whole lot more serious than losing a popularity contest at the county fair.
Here’s a little wisdom from the old corral: Just because somebody wears your party’s brand doesn’t mean they’re a prize-winning steer. Sometimes they’re just a bull making a mess of the barn. And that goes for both political parties, thank you very much.
At some point, folks need to recognize that political loyalty doesn’t excuse poor judgment, misconduct, or a refusal to accept responsibility. When somebody makes a mess, they ought to own it, not expect the party faithful to come running with a shovel.
Mr. Bausch appeared to believe the rules were meant for everybody else. Turns out, the law doesn’t come with a special exemption for folks who think they’re the sheriff of their own little town.
We don’t need more elected officials who put themselves ahead of the communities they swore to serve. We’ve already got enough folks riding high in the saddle who seem to have forgotten which end of the horse does the work.