LOCSD President Ochylski Decides to Run Against Gibson for 2nd District Supervisor’s Seat

UPDATE: Marshall's $30,000 Parting Expense. As first reported March 16 on The RAZOR (http://www.rockofthecoast.com/razor), "If (Marshall) Ochylski were to win and abandon his seat, the district would have to pay at least $30,000 to hold a special election -- and that would be incurred while the district continues to resolve its bankruptcy. 

Los Osos Community Services District President Marshall Ochylski announced Thursday, March 11, that he is tossing his hat in the regional political ring and running for 2nd District Supervisor on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors. The 2nd District, which covers the North Coast, including Los Osos, Morro Bay and Cayucos, is currently represented by Cayucos rancher Bruce Gibson.

Ochylski, 61, an attorney with an office in San Luis Obispo, was elected to the LOCSD on November 4, 2008, partly due to the fact that he backed Gibson and supported the County's sewer process for Los Osos. Since late 2008, Ochylski has shown no disagreement with Gibson, which begs the question: Why is Ochylski challenging Gibson for the seat he supported Gibson for when they are basically mirror images?

By announcing his bid to run for 2nd District, Ochylski has effectively put himself at odds with his supporters, many of whom aggressively backed Gibson in his first election and will back him again because of his role as board whip for the Los Osos wastewater project.

According to analysis conducted by The ROCK, Ochylski's bid will likely split the vote of Los Osos supporters of the two candidates. If Ochylski were to lose in the upcoming supervisorial elections, he might have a problem trying to get enough votes to be re-elected for the LOCSD.

Ochylski’s announcement came as a surprise to most local observers considering that he has virtually no political track record, ran on the coattails of his competitor, and was only named LOCSD president late last year.

Since the County took over control of the wastewater project, and Los Osos declared bankruptcy, the LOCSD has functioned primarily as a utility/fire district and debt shell. In that capacity the LOCSD has raised water rates and recently announced its intention of billing CSD water customers $35 each for water meters to measure water usage and gage the effectiveness of conservation measures.

Gibson’s term in office has been marked by a series of County-wide corruption scandals and his own failed leadership of the Los Osos Wastewater Project, currently awaiting a de novo hearing by the California Coastal Commission to review “substantial issues” with project details.  Gibson has said that the delay for the hearing – caused by the negligence of Public Works and Gibson himself as project ramrod – could cost the project and the community millions in lost stimulus dollars.

The object of anger for his abusive behavior toward Los Osos residents protesting his mismanagement of the wastewater project, Gibson, who carried Los Osos in the 2008 election, will be hard-pressed to carry Los Osos against Ochylski in 2012.

Ochylski practices civil law specializing in land use, zoning and real estate law. He is also the attorney for a housing development abutting the infamous Tri-W site, the original voter-rejected midtown location of the sewer project – for which Ochylski happened to be attorney on the sale of the property to the CSD. Ochylski’s housing project, situated in the heart of the “Prohibition Zone,” is said to legally use septic tanks, which are banned in the “Prohibition Zone,” because the lot sizes exceed the minimum required to hook up to the proposed County sewer system, even though the new septic tanks discharge in a no-discharge zone.