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What's the biggest issue in the Bruce vs. Bruce race for SLO County 2nd District supervisor?
If you ask 5th District Supervisor Debbie "Election Fraud" Arnold, who (no surprises here) endorsed Bruce "I Don't Talk to the Press" Jones over her current colleague Bruce "I Don't Vote with Debbie" Gibson, it's pulling SLO County out of the toilet it's been flushed down.
"Dr. Bruce is the only candidate in this race who can revive San Luis Obispo County," she said in a recent press release, which is the only way Dr. Bruce communicates with the public outside of his Facebook page.
Who killed SLO County, Debbie? Was it the conservative majority on the Board of Supervisors? Because that's who her Bruce would vote in lockstep with, and they've been in charge of the county for years, a county "with skyrocketing inflation and highest-in-the-nation gas prices," according to Debbie.
"Dr. Bruce will stand up for the taxpayer and fight to protect Proposition 13," she added.
Proposition 13, huh? Last I checked that particular measure wasn't a county decision, but a state one, and Dr. Bruce is running to vote on county things. But don't worry, he will vote to "protect Proposition 13," just not on the Board of Supervisors—because they have no say on state-level decisions like this 1978 proposition that California voters passed to lock in the property tax rate at 1 percent.
Another recent press release from Dr. Bruce lamented high inflation. Don't worry though. He's going to vote to protect Proposition 13 and law enforcement. Great! Wait a minute. Since when did law enforcement have any impact on inflation?
Hey Dr. Bruce, if you bothered to return New Times' requests for comment, you could tell us how you would vote on the dais.
Just in case you were wondering what issues the board you are running for is in charge of, here are some recent topics: the potential economic impact of wind development off Morro Bay, ways to increase affordable housing development in the county, the terrible state of mental health care in the county, recreational cannabis regulations, the five-year plan to reduce homelessness, the safe parking site on Oklahoma Avenue (or is it Kansas Avenue), development projects that massacre thousands of oak trees, and the ordinance that could increase pumping out of the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin.
Also, fairy shrimp in the California Valley. Very important stuff.
So, not Proposition 13.
Why don't you send out a press release about how you would vote on any one of those relevant items, Dr. Bruce? I'll await your relevance to our county with bated breath. But I'll try not to go without air for too long, I could be waiting forever.
In the meantime, the county Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to allow a cannabis cultivation project to move forward! Wow. Even Debbie and Bruce Gibson agreed. There's a first.
I guess it's good that not everyone on the SLO County Board of Supervisors votes in lockstep with one another. It's good to air out all of the points of view in a debate—even if you're wrong.
Let's take Darcia Stebbens, who forced (and paid for) a vote recount on SLO County that didn't change a single vote and is still convinced that voter fraud happened.
Stebbens, who watched the county count ballots during the primary and then watched them recount some of those very same ballots, stood up during public comment at the Sept. 13 supervisors meeting and held up a fake $10 bill. This fake bill, she said, is proof that ballots are fake. An airtight argument if I've ever heard one.
And it's all the reasoning she needs to continue on believing this thing she believes even though all of the evidence she sought out showed her different.
Now, that's hardcore.
Debbie, you got any thoughts?
You know who might have a thought? James Papp, who's running against City Manager Derek Johnson for SLO City Council (quick note for those of you not in the know: Johnson is not actually a council candidate, but Papp really doesn't like him) and is sick and tired of everyone on the council agreeing with each other all the time. Yeah. Where's the fire and brimstone?
"Let people dissent," Papp said.
I hear SLO residents dissent all the time. No one in this town is shy about giving anyone their opinion. Bike lanes and buildings more than a handful of stories tall are prime examples.
Besides, if you ask candidate and current city Mayor Erica Stewart, she and her colleagues do disagree on things, they just do it in places the public can't see. And by the time the issues come to a public discussion before City Council, they've been ironed out.
Nothing to see here!
Um, hey Erica? Papp the pessimist has got a point. Those discussions should 100 percent be aired out in a public meeting. That's how government should be conducted. We shouldn't have to send a Public Records Act request for emails, text messages, and closed door meeting notes between elected officials and city staff to see how a project was vetted by elected officials before everyone voted "yes" on it during a City Council meeting.
Otherwise, what's the point of having public meetings? Δ
The Shredder types its views in private before airing them in public. Send thoughts to [email protected].
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