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The race for fourth district supervisor in San Luis Obispo County has my attention. Turns out candidate Michael Zimmerman recently accepted a $10,000 campaign donation from H. D. Perrett, who in 2008 attempted to move 5,000 acres of land from San Luis Obispo County to Santa Barbara County. Perrett twice tried to get Santa Barbara to annex his prime farmland, some say to convert it to residential development, under that county’s growth-friendly climate. Santa Barbara County’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the annexation, but thankfully San Luis Obispo Supervisors balked.
In September, 2008, under a deluge of public opposition, the SLO supervisors learned that a huge amount of revenue from property taxes, road impact fees, and building permits, could be lost, along with significant school funding, if Perrett were allowed to transfer his land to the next county and then develop it.
So now Perrett donates $10,000 to Zimmerman, a local candidate for San Luis County Board of Supervisors. Even if we could believe Perrett expects no favors in return, this donation creates a cloud of suspicion over candidate Zimmerman’s head. What was he thinking by accepting this donation?
-- Ethel Landers - Nipomo
-- Ethel Landers - Nipomo