SLO councilwoman calls it quits 

San Luis Obispo City Councilwoman Kathy Smith announced that she will not seek re-election and will retire from her seat effective Dec. 1.

Smith first served on the city council as an appointee in 1994, and she was elected to a full term in 1996. She ran and won again in 2010, but this term will be her last, she said in a letter to local media.

“My vacated seat paves the way for younger minds and new approaches to grapple with an increasingly intense and heavy workload,” she said in that letter.

Smith went on to discuss her achievements, as well as some gripes with SLO city politics. In addition to backing pension reform and opposing binding arbitration, Smith said she also opposed projects—such as Garden Street Terraces, Marsh Commons, and a skate park—that she feels “are detrimental to the spirit of what remains a small community.”

She further pointed to “increasing legal considerations” of fire and police staff “indiscretions,” and turnover of city department heads.