Many SLO County residents are struggling to pay their bills amid our current financial crisis. Instead of fighting for those on fixed incomes, San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Bruce Gibson votes for special interests.
Gibson’s votes support consultants, nonprofit administrative staffers, and friends of Gibson while others in our community suffer under the higher costs of food, gas, and now trash rates.
With his close friend Paavo Ogren at the helm of the SLO County waste agency, the IWMA, Gibson fought to keep the overpriced agency from going. He also fought against an audit of employees, which led to fraud charges.
In the end, several county areas were able to leave the IWMA and work directly under the county, a move Gibson voted against.
The IWMA charges more than double what the county charges. In Cambria and Cayucos, trash collection rates are going up between 40 and 60 percent. Compare that to 3.5 to 22 percent increases in trash rates for those living in Creston and Santa Margarita, areas no longer working with the IWMA.
Gibson supports closing Diablo Canyon Power Plant, which would lead to higher electric bills. He also supports adding a fee to housing construction, to give to an influential nonprofit.
Please vote Bruce Gibson out of office; our community deserves better.
Greg Grewal
Creston
This article appears in Nov 3-13, 2022.
In order to have a functioning government, we need to have an educated electorate. When people either out of ignorance or cheap partisanship, accuse people of things they have no control over, there is a problem.
Neither the BoS, nor specifically, Bruce Gibson control gas or food prices. Neither do they have any impact on inflation, prop 13 or gas prices. As a matter of fact, inflation is a worldwide recessionary problem and gas prices are controlled by OPEC and the oil companies.
With respect to the IWGA, the BoS with a conservative majority voted to depart a system that kept prices low because there were many participants. Obviously, a service is going to be higher with a series of one-offs. Additionally, there are now state mandates for sorting garbage which is much more labor and time intensive which is obviously more expensive.
In summary, we have federal, state, county and city governments, all of which have different functions. To cite a BoS supervisor for discriminating against seniors is completely bogus.