The most progressive, most experienced elected official on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors is retiring in 2026. He who can’t be beat is going to beat feet!
Bruce Gibson, who held onto his reign over the 2nd District in spite of conservatives’ best efforts to unseat him, is not going to run for reelection in 2026. It will be the end of an era, and he’s also one of the last vestiges of the bitterly divided board of the Adam Hill era.
The remnants of that acrimonious board are among the reasons why Gibson had to run in a 2nd District he didn’t recognize to win a fifth term in his seat—campaigning in Atascadero and Templeton instead of Los Osos against a fellow Bruce, Bruce Jones. A gerrymandered map solely adopted by the Republicans on the board pushed the normally reliably blue district into dangerously purple-tinged territory. He campaigned against Trump, MAGA, and the residual slime that was left in local politics after the current president’s first term.
Gibson won by a slim margin: 13 votes.
A squeaker! It was the slimmest win of his political career.
And then he faced a recount thanks to a very vocal North County few who believe elections are rigged, which resulted in the same outcome: Gibson ahead by 13. And then he faced recall attempts. Both failed to gain enough signatures to make the ballot.
Then, a new liberal board majority in 2023 dumped the crappy mappy in favor of something a little more status quo.
But the point remains. Those Trumpy zealots who believe the 2020 election was fraudulent simply because their candidate lost put a target on Gibson, who’s as anti-Trump as they come and a reliably progressive vote on what’s becoming an increasingly more moderate board than what it has been in the past.
Gibson hasn’t left the campaign against Trump and MAGA behind him. It comes up a lot and has littered his comments since the Orange One was reelected, including as he looks to stepping off the county government dais.
“The values of the people I represent are they believe in supporting every member of our community,” he said. “They believe in taking on issues with facts and science and good information, and they care deeply about protecting environmental values. … Those values are completely in opposition to the Trump administration.”
In his newsletter, Gibson said “chaos, corruption, and cruelty” have come out of Donald Trump’s presidency. I’m sure the next person to represent his district will also be anti-Trump. I can’t imagine anyone who that reliably blue bastion of voters elects will believe otherwise.
Unless Jeff Eckles—the brains behind Morro Bay‘s crafty (maybe not-so-crafty?) way out of the Pride flag debate—decides to run. Him, I’m not too sure about.
The dais has definitely shifted.
Dawn Ortiz-Legg, a pro-business, common-sense moderate liberal, was appointed into the always-combative Hill’s seat after he killed himself. Jimmy Paulding, a liberal who obviously likes to play politics and wants to keep his seat in a contentious district, took the revenge-filled Lynn Compton‘s spot. Ãœber-Republican Debbie Arnold retired after what she considered a very unfair last term where she lost every battle she ever won and basically handed the seat to a reliably red North County politician I think is fairly level-headed—Heather Moreno, who seems logical (Fingers crossed!).
I guess we’ll see if Paulding can hold onto his seat for a second term after the Dana Reserve got approved in Nipomo and Oceano‘s weirdly contentious political ways dragged him down. God. What if Gaea Powell runs? Ugg. What about Debbie Peterson? Double ugg. Adam Verdin? Charles Varni? Groan.
Oh man. The options are dicey. Let’s hope that Paulding hangs on. If he can, then the mystery politician who steps up to take Gibson’s seat won’t matter as much.
That person will likely be a liberal, but will that person be competent? That person probably already has a campaign chest started and Gibson’s approval.
You know what else has Gibson’s approval? Pride Month!
So let’s keep those rainbows high in the sky and celebrate a community that continues to be the butt of a national political conversation that many lefties have a hard time believing is actually happening thanks to MAGA and Trumpty Dumpty. Groan.
I’m ready to grind my gears and make confetti in celebration of the LGBTQ-plus community during their month!
Arroyo Grande‘s City Council proclaimed Pride Month as part of its last meeting in May, and thankfully, it was uneventful and supportive. However, I haven’t seen them have a flag conversation yet. Maybe that’s coming up on June 10? Hopefully other cities won’t follow Morro Bay‘s lead in attempting (pretending?) to stay out of the political fray over Pride and what it represents.
Pride is about uplifting those who were once criminalized by law enforcement, and those who continue to battle against disenfranchisement and erasure.
All we really need to do is look to Arroyo Grande High School to see how important it is to support the underrepresented populations in our midst. It’s crazy that one trans female at a school can inspire so much hatred. She needs all the support we can give her. That way, others know that it’s OK to be who they are as well. Δ
The Shredder is proclaiming 2025 as Pride Year. Support by emailing shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Pride 2025.
He also cheated on his wife with his assistant. Trump approved
Over my 16 years with the County, I worked with a LOT of members of the Board of Supervisors. The cautious Katcho, the fierce Shirley Bianchi, the brilliant and funny Jim Patterson, the ridiculous Lynn Compton, but there was never a member smarter than Bruce Gibson. He always reads the material, understands the issue, and is honest about his appraisal. Just as is said about some judges, one was well-advised not to appear before Bruce Gibson without being fully prepared. I will miss him as a Board Member, but look forward to learning where his path takes him next.