San Luis Obispo has come full circle. After being resurrected with a progressive and enlightened majority in the 1980s, making it a unique community, it now finds itself returned to its regressive and reactionary past. It has become common and indistinguishable from other Republican-controlled, for-profit enclaves.
As the city continues its financial and communal downward spiral, the stigma of the recent election will be another reason for the erosion of the esteem of days past. Even the low voter turnout is an indication that the community cohesiveness that created “happy town” has all but disappeared.
This article appears in Sep 8-15, 2011.
