Tribune Endorses Gibson Too Early

Last Sunday, The Tribune endorsed Bruce Gibson for supervisor, the incumbent for San Luis Obispo County’s 2nd District. Though it’s not surprising that Gibson was endorsed by a newspaper that has Gibson on their speed dial, the timeliness of the endorsement was.

Both LOCSD President Marshall Ochylski and Gibson have yet to square off in a debate. Neither candidate has made an effort to detail their positions enough for voters to compare and look for differences. Neither candidate has unveiled their campaign strategies. By endorsing Gibson so early in the campaign, The Tribune has shown their readers and subscribers unprecedented bias as they value loyalty over competency.

Next Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors will host the first Los Osos wastewater project update of 2010. County staff will be asking the board to approve a budget increase of $200,000, which would cover staff consideration of due diligence issues. Under Gibson’s leadership, the budget for the LOWWP has ballooned to $7.25 million, which has easily surpassed early budget estimates from Public Works ($2 million for the project in late 2006) by more than 300%. Before accepting the project pursuant to AB2701, the County is mulling the idea of issuing Obligations (selling assessment bonds). In other words, the County is considering the reimbursement of the $7.25 million in the event that the project is accepted by the County or if they reject and abandon the project. This is the first time the County has introduced the possibility of abandonment in the context of project cost reimbursements. As an indication that the County intends to pursue this new provision, staff is recommending the hiring of special legal counsel to provide bond counseling services.

Prohibition Zone homeowners will be — once again — facing the probability of having to pay for the County’s mistakes and erroneous judgments. Under Gibson’s leadership, the LOWWP has been rife with costly mistakes and poor judgment, and yet he wants to convince us not that more expensive mistakes won’t be made, but rather ensure that PZ homeowners will continue to pay for them.

What would Ochylski have done if he were in Gibson’s shoes? The same thing?

The Tribune lauds Gibson for being a “calm, steady and capable leader” when he has proven without a shadow of a doubt that he is anything but. The Tribune fails to take into account his shortcomings except for the fact that he’s too strict with upholding County rules involving the imposition of fees and fee increases. Though he was endorsed by The Tribune in 2008 for the LOCSD seat that he ultimately won, Ochylski’s leadership traits and 25+ years worth of qualifications are summarized in three short paragraphs on his Web site (http://www.marshallforsupervisor.com). Ochylski is dismissed by The Tribune for not differentiating himself from Gibson. In reality, making the judgment call to endorse someone usually comes after both candidates present their arguments in a series of public debates and events.

The Tribune stands in the way of letting voters know about Gibson and his poor record. The Tribune chose Gibson for his experience, but not for his judgment — and his judgment has cost nearly 5,000 homeowners $7.25 million for a project report that would cost 22 times more than estimated… so far.

– Aaron Ochs

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