Not a team player 

Serving on a government board is a team sport. It demands leadership, compromise, and civility. Oceano has a Community Services District board member who is the antithesis of this and shows a pathological need for attention. To Charles Varni, it does not matter what sort of attention he is getting. Good or bad, as long as the spotlight is on him.

Take the recent criticism of him in New Times. In the Nov. 2 issue, the Shredder suggested that given that most of their issues began after Varni started, maybe he is the problem on the Oceano Community Services District (CSD) board ("Learn by don'ting"). Varni pounced on that and took the Shredder on in his commentary "Shredder is mean" (Nov. 9). The gaslighting he presents in the response is just too much.

Nearly all of his comments are countered by information you can get from watching the CSD board meetings.

First, he notes that the directors are a "liberal majority." Oceano CSD is responsible for managing water, sewers, garbage, lights, and fire. What does being liberal have to do with those things? Republicans and Democrats probably agree that having safe water and sewer is a good thing for everyone—unless you want to use your position on the board as a "bully pulpit" for a political agenda.

Varni is the one who proposed the annexation to Grover Beach right out of the gate, then proceeded to attack the residents who spoke out against his proposal as "thugs, know-nothings, and bullies." He wasted hours of meeting time changing the bylaws to weaken them so he could get what he wanted on the agendas. Varni is a leader against vehicles on the beach and a proponent for closure and redevelopment of the airport into shopping centers and condos. Varni has injected his views into a nonpartisan board. He called for debate and is now upset that the public shows up and engages in it.

Second, Varni's antics led the Oceano CSD's contracted law firm to resign. There was no pending "performance review" for that firm when they quit. What happened was as clear as day to anyone watching. Their attorney tried to stop Varni from violating the Brown Act, and Varni ignored him. This happened multiple times at two different meetings. No law firm is sticking around with a client who blatantly and publicly ignores its advice. It is clear that Varni—and the board's inability to get a grip on him—is why the firm quit.

Third, Varni keeps complaining about a cover-up of embezzlement in the office. Three of the current board members knew about it and told the general manager to investigate it before sending it to the SLO County DA's Office. The general manager did not cover up anything. Varni isn't mad about embezzlement. He is mad because he didn't know about it. Again, it's all about Varni. He had to croon about doing the right thing, making closed session private matters public. Wrong, Mr. Varni. While you are talking about the theft and defaming staff, board members, and legal counsel, whoever did the stealing should send you a thank you note for giving them a head start against the police.

Fourth, Oceano's General Manager Will Clemens kept the district running smoothly and kept meetings short before Varni got there. Varni has been grinding an ax against him and set him for several performance reviews several times before Mr. Clemens had enough. What was Mr. Clemens' offense? Seems like it is just refusing to cater to all of Varni's whims. It is interesting to note Mr. Clemens had the full support of every staff member and an overflow crowd of community members who showed up to support him at the last meeting. Oh, and what did Varni call these ratepayers, residents, and property owners of Oceano? "MAGA-mad locals" and referred to our citizens as dogs who answer to the call of a dog whistle. It is a very sad day for Oceano when we have people like this in a position to serve the community degrade its citizens this way.

Fifth, Varni called 911 during the Oct. 25 meeting. This was a joke. I was at the meeting, and if you watch the video, you see a crowd that is fed up but it's nothing close to an emergency. Varni has no problem browbeating and verbally attacking women but calls 911 because he feels afraid. The sheriff's deputies have better things to do than stand around watching Varni provoke people and then act threatened when these same people respond. Talk about "the little boy who cried wolf."

Charles Varni is not cut out for this type of service. He tries to intimidate the female board members, chased away a skilled general manager and legal counsel, and forces the board to talk about whatever he wants to talk about. What happened to water service? He wants to eliminate anyone who disagrees with him. The writing is on the wall. If Oceano doesn't give Varni the boot, then we only have ourselves to blame. Δ

Kellie Myrick has lived in Oceano for 64 years. Send a response for publication to [email protected].