SLO County Supervisor Race

Analysis of SLO County politics. SLO county supervisor races and candidates.

Election Updates (click link to jump):

1. Welcome & Introduction (if you’re new read first so you have context)
2. Republicans vs. Democrats in SLO County, Initial Assessment
3. 2016 SLO County Supervisor Race Candidates as of April, 2015: Debbie Peterson, Dan Carpenter, Adam Hill
4. Update 05/2015: We Have Another Candidate for Supervisor: Shelly Higginbotham
5. Update 06/2015: Mud Throwing, Glam Photos, and a Productive Board of Supervisors
6. Update 07/2015: All Quiet, Except The Angry Candidate
7. Update 07/2015: Nevermind Supervisor Candidate…
8. Update 08/2015: Financial Filings, Peterson Hits the Airwaves
9. Update 10/2015: Pot Calling Kettle
10. Update: 12/2015: Masked PAC Hides in the Dump
11. Update: 01/2016: Enter the Circus: Kevin P. Rice SLO County Supervisor “Debate” in Avila Beach
12. Update 04/2016: SLO Tribune Becomes Gossip Column and the Battling Boys of District 3
13. Update 08/2016: Presidential Election Mirrored and Idiots with Email
14. Update 09/2016: Ooops. I meant City Council, not County Supervisor
15. Update 09/2016: Dan Carpenter’s Nativism Campaign Reflects Dark Side of SLO
16. Update 10/2016: If you can’t get endorsed, fake it: put yard signs everywhere
17. Update 10/2016: Way down ballot: Dan Carpenter has a new, $20,000 friend
18. Update 11/09/2016: What Do We Do Now?

We don’t get many readers from the San Luis Obispo County nook of the world, but since a SLO County supervisor race is happening in our back yard a preface is necessary. First: it’s safe to assume we’ll offend everyone involved, including those we support. Criticism should never be limited only to the opposition, and there’s always plenty to go around. We rant, we stereotype and we mock. We are not PC (strictly Mac). POLITUSIC is opinion buried in sarcastic metaphor, laced with research, driven by music, and written as if to be spoken aloud. We don’t claim to be a political news source as declare unqualified-many, but we do give people something to chew… spit or swallow is entirely up to you. Whatever is said on POLITUSIC is personal opinion, and this message is most definitely not approved by any candidate.

That being said, it’s no secret that POLITUSIC leans democratic, and we strongly encourage anyone left of the extreme right wing to fight against the acid reflux verbalized belchings of the Tea Party and generalized angry voter. Yes, poliARC, who owns POLITUSIC, does some work for Adam Hill who is running for re-election – but this is neither – so don’t waste time attempting to discredit by wagging fingers and shouting, “BIAS!!!” as a meager reply to every sentence here written. Such things are tiresome, trite, and unproductive. If you have a legitimate argument: make it. The most biased people in the world are those who claim they are not, and in turn spew the B word as an endless hope-filled rebuttal to counter arguments to which they have no valid response (hello, Fox News). Being ignorant of one’s own biases is a core condition of those who accuse it most often – it is quite literally neaner-neanering, “I know you are but what am I?”

As always, visitors are encouraged to debate, but please be smart about it. Life it too short for my grandfather’s talking points and primate-like chest pounding in the form of an op-ed with pockets full of 50-cent words. This post will be updated as often as is interesting to give impressions on all candidates as the 2016 SLO supervisor races progress. Facts are facts. Accomplishments are accomplishments. Shortcomings are shortcomings. So get over your allegedly objective self and read on.

SLO County Supervisor Race: March & April 2015 District 3 Campaigns Launch

The 2016 race for a seat on the SLO County Board of Supervisors (yes, they desperately need a better website) has begun in the Spring of 2015. The residents are already forced to hunker down and face the campaign noise. That a supervisor race in San Luis Obispo has already started is somewhat mystifying. Initially, because more than a month after the announcements for District 3 candidates we can’t figure out what the challengers, Dan Carpenter and Debbie Peterson, want to uniquely accomplish. Maybe they’re trying to recreate the Hillary Clinton “Listening Tour” (though I highly doubt it).

We’ve seen the expected talking points, but nothing thus far sets either challenger apart from the average used office chair. We do know, however, that they hate Adam Hill. Ok, hate is a strong word. They’ve been well behaved thus far, but the first month hasn’t been more than Adam Hill jabbing coupled with the same old, throw-away verbiage people have been using since the invention of television (1927, Philo Farnsworth, San Francisco ) in order to maintain a state of political non-commitment (1291, Switzerland ).

[  …Primer for non SLO County residents: it’s important to note that for the angry voter wings in San Luis Obispo County, hating Adam Hill is like the Tea Party hating Eric Holder: it’s hard-wired into their brains. It’s how they get their mojo on and rally the troops. (“Troupes” if they’re rallying for rallies, or comment time at the BOS meetings. The characters who enter the ring can be quite entertaining.) Whatever CalCoast”news” hates (the local right-wing starting pistol, that also is stuck in a libel lawsuit) is generally a good thing. CC”n” targeting a person is a smoke signal to the outside world that a person is doing something constructive and in-line with the overall desires of California residents (you know, “Real Californians”)…  and also to all people who don’t live in SLO County: please don’t move here. we hate traffic and don’t have enough water for anyone else… ]

Since the blathering has already begun on this election from the black helicopters end of the political spectrum, POLITUSIC has been forced into the fray long before we desire… and so we write and rant along with the rest.

The State of the Debate: Right vs. Left in SLO County

The Democrats

Article: Change in civility coming to SLO County government. “Hope” from the left is the only way to label this one. Personally, I don’t agree with the premise, but that’s not to say it’s wrong. However, it unfortunately dives headfirst like a Buster Keaton movie into a stereotype of liberals: most “influential” SLO democrats only speak to the the more… shall we say well-to-do dems who aren’t concerned about food, fuel, or utility bills on a regular basis. Left-leaning writers tend to literarily amble down the same, well-trodden ego-battle path they claim to never travel, rather than staying focussed on aggressively promoting good policy that can benefit, you know, people who need it. The lucky few who actually have a platform from which they can advocate change waste it on finger wagging and self-defense parentheses. SLO County has a lot of very smart people in positions with inherent public reach, yet they bloviate rather than advocate. Finger wagging isn’t advocacy. Theorizing isn’t policy. Democracy requires do.

I have to give some leeway, because this is a small town sort of county. If a person gets blasted in the paper, there’s a good chance the author lives next door. Everything is personal, which is why the blame game is cyclical and most end up accomplishing little more than the occasional black eye.

It’s sad, though. To earn a vote from its base the GOP will kill their own grandmother (2009AD: death panels, Sarah Palin), eliminate abortion state-wide (AGW: trap laws, the South), and make climate change against the freakin’ law (2011: House Bill 819 in North Carolina, Gov. Rick Scott in Florida) – yet 95% of democrats don’t even know how to talk to theirs. It’s amazing. Sad and amazing. Like December sunsets in Iceland. Like seats in the House and Senate being lost…. one… after… the… other. Lost for years to come; uncertain if we’ll ever get them back.

Most suburban democrats I know treat politics more like a wine tasting club during which their noses are only not upturned in times of sniffing a new pour. Yes, they care, but who doesn’t? Local liberal politics is more an event than it is a vehicle of action to move policy – and the people who could benefit from that policy into a better zip code. The biggest event of the year seems to be “Dining with the Stars”  – when it should be a county-wide, door-to-door voter registration day.

Are there no unions? Are there no organizers? Seriously… are there!?! None have knocked on my door. I’ve lived in SLO County for 3 presidential elections and 5 mid-terms. During that time every evangelical denomination known to man – and many not known to Jesus –  knocked on my door. (more than thrice. each. they even share notes.) My door has been short-stature-knocked-upon for countless school fundraisers (some real, some scams) – but not a single democratic activist has worn a knuckle or rung a bell. Not one. Who cares about a change of civility? I want to see a change of organizational skills.

The type of rhetoric we see publicly arguing on behalf of democrats is also why republicans gain traction mocking democrats for being elitist, out of touch, and generally too disorganized to accomplish anything when in groups larger than can fit at the Edna Valley wine tasting bar (about 19; 22-24 if they’re fit – I’m talking the tasting bar, not further down where you buy the over-priced olive oil). This sort of stuff doesn’t speak to the general public – it doesn’t even speak at them like most national democrats do – it estranges them.

Here’s a tip: WE DON’T CARE!  We don’t care about petty ping-pong battles between people talking about things that have no impact whatsoever on our daily lives. We work hard, worry quietly, have just enough to pay the bills, think about water, retirement and car payments – we HATE pot holes – and we find ourselves tired most of the too-long day! … That’s how most people exercise Life in SLO County... … …

We don’t ask for much. We just want our kids to be happy. And maybe the occasional moment without worry for ourselves. Show us how you’ll do that – write about that – tell us how you’re going to do that… and then you’ll get us to the polls. Everything else is high-roller, gated-community balderdash that – this is not hyperbole – carries no meaning for 75% of your voters. You might as well be Charlie Brown’s teacher. Democrats need to get back to their roots: the coalition that is The People. Re-educate yourselves how to have a meaningful conversation with them – drop the rest of the bull pucky and you might actually win some seats rather than barely holding onto them.

The Republicans

Whereas democrats gather to bury their noses in vintages that the majority of their constituents could never afford, SLO republicans gather to chant, chug, and go “Whooo Hooo! America!!” ( …now who’s stereotyping? … don’t look at me… wine gives me a headache…. like Dan Reeder, I drink beer… and Whoo Hooo feels pretty damn good if you do it right. )

Since SLO County is so homogenous you can apply much of what I said about county democrats to the SLO County GOP as well. Beyond republicans generally having better organizational skills, the core differences between the local political parties are:

1. Active democrats ride bicycles, while active republicans ride horses (both sides dress up in the fashionably applicable clothing, so republicans win that issue in my book: anyone over 25 should never wear spandex);
2. Republicans actually know how to speak to their base, and;
3. As is the case nationally, the hard-right uses anger as mortar for its party headquarters.

Article: Change in civility has come. This article is the Tea Party-ish retort to the above, authored by the very person it criticizes. (small town, big egos. you know how it goes.) It’s basically a list-based method of, “Oh yeah? Well how about…” which personally I don’t find effective because it reads too hyper-sensitive defensive. The best rebuttals never require more than a paragraph. Plato was short. What we see here is common. It’s more like a junior high, insult-your-mom schoolyard battle of egos by two people who are smart enough to be better.

What I like about this response, however, is how it sites Parliament as an example. Since Mr. Brown bought it up, let’s explore the UK Parliament in a way that might be productive in relation to the long-standing battle with open comment time at Board of Supervisors meetings that the über-right-wing in SLO County view as a venue for constant protest.

First, what’s referenced is called Question Time. It happens all the time and consists of questions that are submitted a few days in advance and published for everyone to see. That process alone would stop about 50% of what we see during public comment at Board of Supervisors from ever happening. These are also not open comments, they’re specific questions with opportunities for a follow-up as allowed by the Speaker. The questions also have to be specific to the area of governance overseen by the person being asked (i.e. it cannot be a paranoid 15-degrees of separation oratory about how a pre-k children’s program will lead to a U.N take-over of America). But wait, there’s more: these questions are from the MPs... not the general public releasing pent up anger by shouting at elected officials. And finally, if the questioner is off topic: the Speaker can shut them up so as to move the discussion forward to something that is actually productive! Mr. Brown mentioned it for a different reason, but in doing so the reference makes me pine for well behaved citizens and meetings that can actually be managed by the Chair.

Have a good read of the rebuttal, though. It gives a sense of the tenor of the “leaders” within the right in SLO County. Take note of the words employed to defend, as well. An attacking defense coupled with the self-idolizing is about all you need to know. Also remember that content is pointless. Ignore content (everyone is biased, remember?). In political spats like these content is secondary, because facts are optional and perception is more distorted than a third-rate traveling circus’s House of Mirrors flat bed truck parked on uneven ground. Both sides are trying to sell something, which means how they’re selling is what’s important. How the content is delivered gives us insight into the Why. And Why is all that matters when there’s an agenda.

The Double C: Civility and Congeniality in SLO County Politics

On the (alleged) civility debate: the irony gets lost in the crossfire, and the Truth is lost on those who lack humor. (i.e. political complainers (e.g. the Tea Party). Seriously: try telling an angry person a joke – they never understand, and merely complain more aggressively to compensate.) The above two articles demonstrate basic American politics: two parties blaming one another from the security of their own manicured yards, while both are smart enough to know there’s a 8-foot winter-flowering hedge between the two making it impossible to convince the other of anything. Why bother? They don’t do it to convince the opposition of anything. They do it to impress their own ranks.

The result is a steadfast stalemate.

Most political pieces are like two pirate ships just out of cannon range yelling “YAR!!! YAR!!” at one another… yet so far separated that they can only hear their own yarring. The crews hear their captain’s yar, and energetically facebook-echo a longer-tailed “YARRRR!” right back at them… but that’s about all that ever happens. (A couple deck hands might add a, “Dat ‘sright cap’in! Yer da leader man, ewe aurr!” ) The point is: the message stays inside the respective pens, and accomplishes nothing more than make the ranks feel a little better about their position. It’s one thing to pretend you’re a shepherd or a captain, it’s something else entirely to be one. I think most people just like to wear costumes, wield plastic swords, and graze on others’ greener pastures.

Democrats forget that they, too, exist in an echo chamber; especially in corners of the world like SLO County. The left’s chamber is nowhere near as lead-lined, dug into the Earth’s crust, and “protected” with boobie-traps as the right-wing echo bunker … but it exists on the left nevertheless. The winning ticket is the one who knows how to get messages outside the bubbles. Thus far, we don’t see any opinion writers on either side of politics in SLO County who are able to do that effectively. Just choir leaders shouting at their own baritones and… basses.

And no, don’t make Logic weep in its UFS beer (Under Funded Schools micro-brew: a combination of the bitterness of an IPA, the futility of a Sharps, and bladder control of a case of Bud Lite on race day), by interpreting I’m implying POLITUSIC does reach outside the political ideology social bubbles. Just because I say A not B does not mean C is B. All I know is whatever efforts exist now (which are few, far between, and further removed) don’t motivate the people who need motivating.

Yarring echo chambers aside, congeniality is an over-represented falsehood in politics. Yarring is encouraged by POLITUSIC if it ultimately results in, “All those in favor say aye. Excellent! Single-payer it is!”, but whoever gerrymandered Congeniality’s district into what defines a good politician needs to be ushered out the back door. What defines a good politician is what they accomplish, not whether or not they can smile while some pumped-up-on-Alex-Jones-moron is yelling at them. The thing that most people in the right wing forget (i.e. the angry voter, which can also include people who vote democratic) is that being in an elected office means governing: accomplishing things, creating plans, and getting things done. In politics, a decision will always make someone angry. It’s politics! A county supervisor isn’t elected to be universally liked, vote in the minority to be symbolically a maverick, or win a smiling contest – a supervisor is there to get sh*t done. That’s it. That’s the job. Prove you can do the job and then we’ll say you deserve the job. If all you can do is complain about the job, then you’re not qualified to sit in the chair.

Preliminary links, background, and impressions of SLO County District 3 candidates:

So far (April, 2015) we have three candidates for District 3: Debbie Peterson (Grover Beach council, former Mayor), Dan Carpenter (SLO council), and Adam Hill (incumbent, SLO Board of Supervisors). Challengers go first.

Article: Dan Carpenter Running for Board of Supervisors “Not Adam Hill, at least at first.”

Well… that’s good to know, I guess. I’m not Adam Hill, either. That doesn’t mean I’d be an effective supervisor. From what we’ve read thus far about Dan Carpenter’s time on the SLO City Council he’s not exactly the nicest person to work with, either, so being an anti-Adam Hill candidate is a little bit pot calling kettle. A common narrative circulating seems to be Dan Carpenter’s position on most issues is to be against whatever the majority is for, which he likes to label as “independent”. There’s something to be said about that if it results in things that are good for the entire community, but that seems to be lacking in any measurable way. In this case it’s more often just a protest vote, which to me doesn’t feel like a solid issue position, and we get enough of that from Congress already.

It’s still pretty early, but thus far Dan hasn’t really said anything about what he’d do as a supervisor, other than the typical non-committal jargon of politicians trying to figure out how they’ll position themselves in a campaign. For someone who self-labels independent and one who “doesn’t play to the crowd… or any particular party base”, I’d like to see some real stances and not just more political rhetoric while attending COLAB events. (No party affiliation there, right?)

Article: Dan Carpenter on balancing San Luis Obispo (SLO) budget.

While POLITUSIC is no fan of cutting wages for public workers, what actually bothers me is, “sheepish”. The purpose of the BoS is to make decisions on county issues. This is a common narrative we see nationally from people who build political careers based on causing friction: they make noise, but when they have to step up and do something… well: baaaaaahhh. The assessment in that article is a bit harsh, but what does matter are the actions taken by candidates– or lack thereof. Don’t hate the word if the word best describes the lack of leadership when things get uncomfortable.

COLAB, COLAB, COLAB. It’s freakin’ everywhere. That which squeaks the loudest, I guess. Based on what we can find from outside the echo chamber, COLAB is just as questionable as any given Koch brothers group. There’s a lot of noise from both sides, but all we really need to do is look online whenever someone says anything bad about COLAB: its defenders jump up and down and shout like a typical D.C. Tea Party rally. The manner in which a political organization is defended generally is the most telling about its core philosophy, intent, and motives. COLAB defenders write or post in comment threads things like, “defenders of transparency”, and “preeminent watchdog”.  When members of any organization (left or right) use those types of phrases in their defense then you know it has an agenda of which to be skeptical.

Being biased is fine. It’s good. But at least be honest with the community about it. If an organization has an agenda, but is in public claiming they’re not, and further boasting of being some sort of holier than thou watchdog – then that organization is selling something, and trying to con the ignorant out of a buck, a vote, and a meager dream. Thusly we proclaim rule number one in the 2016 supervisor election in SLO County: don’t buy what COLAB is selling when it comes to anything political. Believing COLAB is an objective watchdog is like attending C-PAC for a seminar on climate change. At least POLITUSIC admits we’re full of crap. At least we’re honest about it.

Debbie Peterson For Supervisor on the Issues (thus far)

We’ve been waiting to see what Debbie “They aren’t dying fast enough” Peterson’s positions are on SLO County issues. A month or so after announcing she wants a seat on the board of supervisors, her official stances on issues still seem a bit up in the air (below image of her website from mid-April). The homepage is basically a copy/paste job from the Cliffs Notes entry on, “which words to list when running for local office” … but then again… find me a candidate’s home page that’s not like that.

Obviously, she’ll get her positions on local issues figured out eventually, but insofar as a campaign launch goes, most would like to see more… efficiency… in serving the curiosity of prospective voters who don’t know anything about her because most don’t follow Grover Beach politics. One thing was striking to me, however: the link referencing Debbie Peterson’s stance on general issues clicks though to Congressman Chaffetz’s (UT) website, which is… well, up to the voters to decide. For someone who has been called, “a life long democrat and self-described tree-hugger“, I find that confusing. At this point I honestly don’t know if that’s intentional or a copy/paste mistake. We’ll just have to see if it changes, I guess.

The Incumbent, Adam Hill.

Article: Tempers Flare Hill vs. CAPSLO.

Adam Hill can get himself into hot water, and is sort of known for wearing his thoughts on his face (probably a terrible poker player). At the core, the right-wing solidified its dislike for him long ago because he had the audacity to try and control meetings when he was Chair by means of stopping their useless ranting during public comment time (remember Parliament. pause. read on.). Honestly… that’s sort of why POLITUSIC supports Hill’s re-election. He falls in line with our desire to fight back against the noise from the hard right. Now, passion by itself that does not accomplish policy is not good (e.g. Tea Party), but passion is good in politics if it is used as a means of making progress. Yes, Hill has had to apologize a few times in the past for speaking his mind beyond what’s white-whig-worthy, but nothing has really been an impasse to the work being done. Those who don’t like him try to make a big deal out of it for as long as they can, but the truth is: work happens. To POLITUSIC, the work is all that matters.

Hill’s votes also appear to align well with the entire district, rather than just catering to a single segment. While maybe not with the grace of a “refined” politician, Adam seems to be able to work both sides of an issue in order to get something done. For that reason some liberals say he’s not liberal enough, and most hard-line conservatives HHLH (Hate Him Like Holder). To me… that’s a sign of being positioned as reasonable person in American politics. POLITUSIC prefers slightly more progressive candidates, but Adam leans left on issues in-sync with California overall, while at the same time not hugging trees in lieu of working to keep big employers in the county.

As mentioned earlier, he’s also willing to stand up against the noise from the right (as opposed to abstaining or stepping down), and sometimes gets himself into trouble for it. Jefferson had a temper, too. Sadly, too many people these days value refined civility over progress. Other than Elizabeth Warren and the Dreamers, the political left has basically no passion – something that the right thrives on, which is why seats keep trickling away across the country.

Anyway. Hill is a fighter and that ain’t a bad thing. Democrats need more fight and less “dining with the stars”.

Article: Supervisor Adam Hill on Climate and Environment in SLO County

Well… a month into it that’s about all we have in District 3 where there is 2016 election activity.

Two other seats will up in 2016: District 1 was addressed above (reminder: dems get your act together to help put a reasonable candidate in there, even if it’s not a democrat), and Supervisor Debbie Arnold from District 5 will be running again. She had a misstep on that whole, “won’t sign a letter to advocate less expensive Internet for the poor” thing, but has since taken that back, so at least ended up in the right place. Everyone is allowed a toe stub or two, but one hopes the motivation and thought process behind that initial vote also wane – there was a whole lotta Tea in that one.

As candidates arise from the north and east we’ll try to find something to say; more posted as more occurs.

05/2015 Update: One more added to the District 3 field: Pismo Beach Mayor Shelly Higginbotham.

At least it’s not as bad as the U.S. Presidential election in which the current count is 18 business-savvy republicans running for a guest hosting spot on Fox News. (I sort of miss Newt and those strange children’s books sold by interns in giant animal costumes.)

Two notable things have happened in the last month: First, that Debbie Peterson did get her issues page updated and it no longer links to Congressman Chaffetz’s website. Second, Shelly Higginbotham announced that she, too, is running for Supervisor of District 3 in SLO County.

Shelly Higginbotham is fresh off a recount win for her mayoral race in Pismo Beach, which honestly, I find a little annoying. Run for mayor, then 5.5 months later run for county Supervisor. I give leeway for wanting to climb political ladders and that the new term doesn’t start for something like 20 (freakin’) months, but Pismo Beach, and more so Kevin Kreowski who lost that election by 2 (freakin’) votes, are likely feeling a sting about the mayor wanting to sing “Movin’ On Up” so soon after an insanely close election.

On paper Higginbotham’s projects outside of government seem in-line with the area. We’ll have to wait and see, however, if it jibes with the rest of the third district, and not just quirky republicans in Pismo Beach and their costume-wearing clam shell. The press release of her announcement was almost exactly the same as the other two challengers (one wonders if they all use the same political consultant / election how-to book?). We’ll have to let Shelly settle into her new donor base first to see what her position on the issues will really be.

While Debbie Peterson has updated her issues page, neither she nor Dan Carpenter seem yet to be offering other than a different name on a nameplate. Voting for one is the same as the other insofar as what they claim on paper. With Shelly Higginbotham in the race, however, the three challengers will likely start jockeying for uniqueness by the end of summer – or at least we hope so – otherwise it’s going to be a very, very boring election. If all they do is complain about the status quo and parrot GOP lines about how modern republican ideology is somehow magically good for business when all data proves otherwise… well… I think SLO County republicans would be better served watching re-runs of Father Knows Best.

06/2015 Update: Let the mud throwing begin, a new website, and a roast.

I am sorry to say that since the last update on the SLO County supervisor race for the 3rd district I have received a couple emails from the Peterson campaign that definitely fall under the “going negative” category. We already knew this spry  group of Grover-ites was going to be the most aggressive anti-incumbent campaign (due to Peterson getting kicked off a certain board on which Adam Hill also served – small towns and never-ending grudges). Personally, I was hoping they wouldn’t start using words like “bizarre”, “alarmed at the actions”, “antics”, and “controversial political machine” until they got a bit more desperate. They’re reaching an end of the first fundraising period, though, so in some ways it’s no surprise. All campaigns get desperate for money at such times.

Once again, POLITUSIC says to all candidates involved: stop being whiny, stop being petty: prove you can do that job and we’ll say you deserve the job. It’s simple, really. Complaining isn’t in the job description.

Next: Dan Carpenter FOr Supervisor 2016 Website is alive.

Dan Carpenter has his website up, so that’s good. He basically has the same issues as everyone else, and his endorsements pages is blank, but it’s early. The only thing that, quite honestly I find a bit odd, is there’s a photo gallery. It looks more like an outdoorsie fashion website than someone running for political office. I totally understand that he likes where he lives, but a political campaign having a multi-page photo gallery containing nothing but the candidate posing around town… it’s a bit strange. In some ways it reminds me of those old Herman Cain campaign commercials.

No news floating toward POLITUSIC yet from Shelly Higginbotham’s supervisor campaign. Sorry. That one seems to be operating 100% inside friendly circles thus far. All very hush, hush.

Adam Hill has been relatively active, I guess. He had a “roast” fundraiser with the SLO County democrats (…at.. you know it… a winery! What did I tell you about SLO democrats? “Noses only not upturned when sniffing a new pour” I think was the phrase. I beg the SLO County democratic party to someday prove me wrong. Back to the base, people. Honestly.)

There’s also been a decent amount of activity coming out of the SLO Board of Supervisors where – contrary to what Team Peterson likes to shout at one another – the current supervisors seem to be getting along and working together quite well. Unfortunately, many people prefer to see demons under the bed and ignore everything else (it’s a major reason why we have so many damn guns in America). We are only animals after all.

And so continues a theme for this post thus far: small towns, big egos, bigger grudges.

07/2015 Update: All Quiet, Except The Angry

I think it’s Trump. Yes, The Donald’s bravado is seeping into SLO County politics. He must be putting some extra spark into the “Team Debbie Peterson” gangly gang. I know that the adrenaline from a good rage can sometimes be invigorating, but these people are just…. angry… and it’s all very personal. Debbie Peterson’s campaign’s main argument is that she will bring rainbows and kindness to the SLOCO Board of Supervisors – yet the only thing we see from this perspective is complaining, naming calling, and holding grudges. Truth is in actions, not words, y’all. Prove you deserve the seat. Prove you’re capable of doing what the job requires. Leave the ceaseless, actionless, angry complaining to Tea Party Ted Cruz.

Some notable photos popped up, however. One of of the incumbent Adam Hill with former California Controller, Steve Westly, touring the facilities the SLO HotHouse, which is sort of a cool incubator, entrepreneur program. The second (below) is a group selfie of two of the candidates, Debbie Peterson and Dan Carpenter, being friendly with current SLO Supervisor from District 4, Lynn Compton (who we here at POLITUSIC would label a, “modern manifestation of republicanism” if you get the drift). Admittedly, it’s not the best photo (selfies never are), but we’re posting because it’s telling where alliances might be… aligning… on politics and policies.

07/2015 Update: Nevermind.

OK… so awhile back I mentioned that the Shelly Higginbotham campaign was “very hush, hush”, and that not much news ever made it POLITUSIC’s way… well, that turned out to be a wee bit of an understatement.

Two months after deciding she was the right choice to be a SLO Country Supervisor, Shelly Higginbotham decided to drop out of the race for supervisor. Good to hear she wants to focus on Pismo, at least, considering the results from the last election (and the traffic is so darn congested, let’s work on that).

With Higginbotham dropping out of the supervisor race, the fine residents of San Luis Obispo County are left with the three original candidates for “the fighting third” district: Adam Hill and the two challengers who – according to all the social media selfies – are quite good buddies: Dan Carpenter, and Debbie Peterson. I hope it doesn’t’ get too awkward. No matter how friendly they might be with one another, we’re dealing with politics here – an election where people have to make a choice –  at some point one of them is going to have to publicly say they’re better than the other (that’s sort of what elections are about). If Debbie’s campaign really is taking its lead from The Donald, it’ll be a popcorn-worthy show.

Update 08/2015: Financial Filings, Peterson Hits the Airwaves

The financial filings are in: Adam Hill has raised money, Debbie Peterson has given herself money, and Dan Carpenter is trying hard, but is struggling. Moreover, Dan Carpenter got blasted by the Mayor of San Luis Obispo in a letter published in SLOLife Magazine, so he’s not having a very good go at the supervisor race thing.

Where is the campaign money being spent? Adam Hill is spending on web, postage, and passing out gear. Dan is buying petrol, cell phones, web, and postage. Debbie is paying an out-of-town consultant who seems to be buying facebook fans in Iraq while airing Debbie Peterson commercials on conservative radio targeted at farmers living outside of the district. (At this point, POLITUSIC is convinced that while Peterson’s past might have been moderate, all acts now point to Tea Party methods and ideology.)

While I hate to admit it, summer will be over soon, which means candidates will probably start knocking on doors before we know it. (Given historical precedence, however, I seriously doubt any of them will come to my neighborhood.) It will be interesting to see how the candidates settle on issues when speaking with voters rather than just donors.

Update 10/2015: Pot Calling Kettle

All in all it’s been fairly quiet and well-behaved (everyone running for political office in SLO County seem to be focussed on raising money, which in turn, means they ain’t knocking on our door).

However…

Debbie, Debbie, Debbie… Debbie Peterson running for SLO County Supervisor either doesn’t own a mirror, or is just plain ‘ole Tea Party like her behavior insinuates (remember, we at POLITUSIC throw all of “The Angry” into the Tea Party pot because all angry people act irrationally).

The Debbie Peterson for Supervisor campaign’s latest fundraising letter had one theme: the incumbent Adam Hill has received campaign contributions from developers. (For those of you outside of CA: developers are basically the ONLY donors to local elections. It ain’t right, but it is what it is.) Of course, her fundraising letter leaves out that the majority of his donors is made up of groups and people like unions, businesses, educators, retirees, party officials, and ordinary folks who care more about making progress than merely standing around complaining all the time. (…but that’s OK, hers is a “modern” campaign after all, so we can’t expect total disclosure can we?)

All that aside, however…. Debbie Peterson’s primary benefactor is… you guessed it, a property developer! (everyone applaud now) To the tune of being about 50% of total contributions during the last filing period. We also cannot forget that Debbie Peterson is a real estate agent by trade… future favors for favors and favors? (we’re just asking) ;)  Yes, Debbie. Please don’t insult the voters. Pot Calling Kettle award goes to you this month.

Update 12/2015: Masked PAC Hides in the Dump

This one is an update highlighting cowardice.

There is a little group (or in this case probably just one person, who pretty much did the same thing last election) that likes to pretend to be a PAC or influential group of people. He does it by posting  a scary attack video / webmercial and a website under some random name with AdamHill in it. It’s as if they don’t know we live in a small town and have a pretty good guess who it is.

This election cycle, however, they forgot to buy the domain name they put in the darn video, so poliARC bought it for a little public shaming and to try to smoke them out of the grass – we have a big problem with people who hide behind user names. It’s the world of the Tea Party and American Idol: every whacko bird can post a video and pretend to be a star with a following, but in truth any child can make a video and build a website. Anyway, FireAdamHill.com is the domain they ended up buying (originally was DumpAdamHill.com).

poliARC is personally calling out these people for their shameful use of the flag, inflammatory accusations, and cowardly methods by which they spew their right-wing vomit.

Sadly, a few days later, the two challengers who spend all their time calling  “transparency!” haven’t condemned these tactics yet. We did learn that these cowards are being supported by the local version of WorldNetDaily: calcoast”news”. “Fire Adam Hill” is quite possibly the worst political hack job I’ve ever seen.

Update 01/2016: Enter The Circus: Kevin P. Rice “Debate” In Avila Beach

Get your popcorn, cotton candy, and soda in a glass bottle: the political circus is in Avila!

If I haven’t yet mentioned the infamous Kevin P. Rice, a primer: Mr. Rice is the omnipresent mascot of anger-based politics in SLO County. He’s had it out for Adam Hill for years and doesn’t deny it. He ran for office and failed (dropped out). He buys domain names with “AdamHill” in them to troll SLO County voters online. Like many Tea Party groups (which 99% of the time are just one or two people who start a PAC because they realized they can make a ton of money doing so) he picked a name that sounds honorable, “Integrity SLO”, in hopes people won’t know what the charade is really about. (Here’s a hint: snake oil.) Kevin P. Rice is the perfect localized example of one who facilitates – and profits by – how the right-wing short bus has taken a turn to ranting road blocks, rather than forward movement and governing.

… Kevin P. Rice and “Integrity SLO” being thusly qualified, we can investigate The SLO County Supervisor Debate in Avila Beach…

KPR decided it would be swell to create a gotcha moment for Supervisor Adam Hill by means of paying for and marketing what he calls a debate between the three candidates for SLO County Supervisor, District 3. As soon as the email invites were sent to the candidates in early January, Adam Hill declined to attend and issued a press releases detailing why (the basic point: the supervisor doesn’t participate in stage shows, and there’s a very long history of Kevin P. Rice being an Internet and public comment troll targeting Adam Hill specifically).

Even though the current supervisor quickly said he was not going to participate, Kevin P. Rice went ahead and promoted it as if Adam Hill was attending the Avila Beach “debate” anyway – that makes the motives of this little event pretty clear. (Shredder also nicely points out this little false advertising ploy.)

And the ruse continues. Even just today (Jan. 27th), the moral equivalent of a porn pop up ad that is CalCoast”News” posted on their black hat blog that Adam Hill will not be attending the “first county supervisor debate” as if it’s shocking news. Keep in mind that this “debate” in Avila Beach is as if WorldNetDaily were to host its own three-ring event, and then acted shocked that Hillary said she wouldn’t attend. Keep in mind that no one except Kevin P. Rice is involved in planning or sanctioning this “debate”. And yes, keep in mind that – as they always do – Pop-Up-Ad-CC”N” used a terribly unflattering photo of Adam Hill, while simultaneously they promote youthful and vibrant photos of the other two candidates / contributing writers… whose side do you think they’re on?

Have we yet pulled this bus into Absurd, or is it still around the next bend?

It’s all just the same balderdash of the blogosphere. The CC”N” echo chamber: the clubhouse for the angry and facts-are-optional crowd.

However, props must be given to Kevin P. Rice for his snazzy mailer design. I very much like how the mailer reads almost exactly like a monster truck rally. Lots of capital letters bold and in red (doubly noted here that this mailer was designed and mailed after Adam Hill declined).

Honestly, I’m torn to attend. Both Debbie Peterson and Dan Carpenter take part and promote the CalCoast”News” gangly gang whose charter demands politics be defined as YELLING and COMPLAINING and BLACK-HELICOPTER-I-TIZING at whomever is in office at the time. Given the REAL SUPERVISOR won’t be attending this sideshow in Avila Beach, most likely it will quickly duck-dynasty-down to no more than a complaint-fest camouflaged in Legitimacy’s clothing… and I have BETTER things to do. “Integrity SLO”, indeed.

However – and admitting this hurts me – I do agree with Kevin P. Rice in that there ought to be proper debates in SLO County. Especially in venues that reach the non-donor class who actually need good government (… which means not Avila Beach, by the way, where one would be hard-pressed to find a resident who could benefit from a SLO County public service other than a property tax cut).

As the President said at his last State of the Union, we have become far too tribal. I’ve lost count of how many republicans refuse to even entertain the notion of voting for a democrat and vice versa. One hopes that if on a local level we did have more debates and non-donor-class interaction with candidates, then maybe we could wipe off our political war paint. Even if just a little bit… like wipe off the hate-paint that’s crusted over the eyes and ears of so many.

Yes, the three candidates for District 3 Supervisor should have a debate (all districts, not just, conveniently, the one in which Kevin P. Rice’s hobby-target resides). As a resident, I feel we deserve a robust debate. But sorry, Kevin P. Rice, you’re platonically The Wrong Person to do it. Your “debate” belongs in a cave not a community center (…one for the philosophy majors out there… if any still exist). Kevin P. Rice hosting a “real debate” is like me embracing right-handedness, believing in trickle-down economics, and playing center for the Lakers while driving a Ford F-450 fueled by a 60/40 mix of fracking and Flint water –––  it’s the universe in which Wrong’s dog mates with Impossible’s cat to birth a litter of combustably-toxic hypocrisies. (Though I did live in a building in Queens where I swear that happened once. Outside my window, below the fire escape, all night long. Coincidentally, it was the eve of the 2000 election.)

Yet torn to attend still am I. This circus sideshow might be entertaining, and given I’m too poor to go to the movies it might be a decent substitute for a night out on the town. As one person described it to me, it will end up being a live-action version of a CalCoast”News” comment section. In my mind that makes it a cross between, well… imagine every movie Arnold Schwarzenegger ever made (Jingle All the Way to Terminator and beyond), and splice them all into one movie.  That’s a CC”N” comment section when it gets rowdy: action-packed sequences with wide eyes, raised eyebrows, scary smiles and small thoughts – a circus on steroids.

Putting aside whether or not you enjoy watching bears in tutus riding unicycles while chewing bubblegum at the same time, there are universal truths about all circuses we must never forget:

1. The games are rigged.
2. They’re full of clowns.
3. They’re covered in elephant dung.

Once again, an EPIC FAIL for understudy ringmaster Kevin P. Rice and the Conspiracy Ring Show of SLO County politics. Sorry, Kevin. Better luck next time. Again.

… a short time later…

I attended.

I also required two days to process whatever it was I experienced.

Initially, I can tell you it was a massive waste of time for anyone who wanted to learn anything, or find some sort of distinction between Debbie Peterson and Dan Carpenter.

Primarily, I think these people don’t know what “debate” means. It was 10 minutes of candidate statements, after which point the remaining time was filled by questions and comments from the audience. That’s not a debate. It was more like a family holiday gathering without the food, the drinks, the music, or the hope spawned by either football or presents enabling us to survive the 2 hours at the table. Lincoln and Douglas would have said “Thank you kindly”, and left after about 15 minutes.

Secondarily, it was a room full of Debbie and Dan supporters and the, “Anyone but those damn democrats Adam Hill and Bruce Gibson!” crowd that we know is the bulk of Kevin P. Rice’s mailing list. As such, to say the evening quickly turned into a feedback loop of self-affirmations is an understatement. They often just giggled about the empty chair (Debbie made a big show of moving it in front of the table…. while Dan giggled), and many were safe to make off-the-chart statements because they were among friends.

Tertiarily, if I hear Councilman Dan Carpenter talk one more time about “civility” when nearly every person with whom he serves on the SLO City council say he’s the root cause of a contentious atmosphere on the council, then one of those fisherman who attended needs to swat that man with a tuna for being such a raging hypocrite. “Character”, indeed.

Quarternarily, if I hear aboot former Grover Beach Mayor Debbie Peterson‘s bakery wan more time I’ll flap an wallap a SLO Sourdough! If Glasgow loved all her snashters, fir wye did the lassie leave, hawd the bakery, flit to Grover Beach, and become a real estate agent? I’m sure there’s a legitimate reason – I irrationally left a big job and ended up here to start over, too – but I’m gingin of hearing aboot that bakery. Honestly. Unless Debbie can bake hardtack that’s capable of fixing pot holes, ab’dy dinnea hear aboot the wee bakery! A supervisor’s job has nothing whatsoever to do with making pumpkin muffins in Glasgow (the NHS alone deems that CV line inapplicable).

Quinarily, Debbie and Dan agreed with basically every single person who stood up to make a comment-question – even the anti government folks. To label what I saw in that room as “catering” is an insult to used car salesmen everywhere. Other than one time when Debbie slipped in that (she claims) she’s a democrat, there was zero difference between Dan, Debbie, and the audience.

Yet merrily (and accordingly not surprisingly), as pop-up-ad-CalCoast”News” reported, it was civil. It was civil because it was a room full of like-minded people facing two candidates who appeared too ill-informed to be capable of disagreeing with what at times presented as paranoid delusions, or overwhelmingly hypocritical and myopic interpretations of, “this land is your land, this land is my land”.

Sadly, I don’t think I can call it a circus anymore… it was too junior varsity for that. It was more as if a kid sister dressed the family pets, popped up her favorite blanket over two dining room chairs, used a rolled-up of newspaper as a megaphone, and called it a circus. There wasn’t enough circulation in the room to be as real or vibrant as a three-ring. There wasn’t enough circulation of anything: ideas, contrast, missions, or visions. It was 2 hours of dead air – hot, sticky, and wholly absorbed in seeking confirmation of that in which they already believe dead air.

Update 04/23/16: The Tribune Turns Gossip Column & The Battling Boys of D3

While I normally find a small amount of solace in the steady and not too biased pages of the San Luis Obispo Tribune, today’s Tribune issue demands a revisit to this post after a long time tabled.

Tribune Editorial Board: what in the world are you doing putting facebook pages run by anonymous hack jobs on the front page of your paper? These people have nothing whatsoever to do with the candidates or their campaigns, and yet you run it as if it’s a legitimate story. We should be shaming these people, not sharing them with the broader outside world. I’ve already written of our severe distaste for “Fire Adam Hill” and their masked tactics, and NO WONDER they smiled when your reporter asked for their identity and they once again refused to give it: because The Tribune just gave them the publicity boost of their dreams!

The Tribune’s rather bizarre decision to potentially bias voters against both Carpenter and Hill by means of totally unaffiliated facebook pages is akin to Fox News behavior running up to the 2012 general election. At that point Fox would broadcast anything and everything from the dark corners of the online universe to (further) skew its audience against Obama.

Is there a real story about Dan Carpenter and Adam Hill bickering? Yes. The first time The Tribune ran this theme on their front page it made them look a bit like boys trying to pick a fight…. but giving front-page publicity to anonymous hack jobs who hide behind facebook pages and run pseudo-PAC attack ads? That’s just beneath a legitimate newspaper.

Yesterday I was embarrassed for America because of how the presidential election is panning out as a media-driven hate-fest. Today I’m embarrassed for SLO County because The SLO Tribune has joined that ratings game… … I suppose it’s further notable that on the same front page you decided to highlight a conspiracy theory involving Ted Cruz and Lee Harvey Oswald.

Say it with me, SLO County citizens: “SLO Tribune… WTF!?!” Bad form Tribune, bad form. Consider this my letter to the editor and a strong complaint against giving free publicity to those who behave the worst in this community rather than those who are the best. You just made their day.

But what about the Battling Boys of District 3? Had the Tribune not lost its way, it would of had a legitimate story: Adam Hill and Dan Carpenter are not fond of one another, and they’ve made it no secret in this campaign. What I see as the rather sad result is that the other candidate, Debbie Peterson, in what I have often referred to as a sort of aloofness has somehow managed to look like the only grown up in the room. The only point of contention I have with this little arc of the SLO County supervisor race is Debbie’s claim that she “doesn’t pay attention to social media” when her campaign has been running rather harsh anti-Adam Hill ads on facebook for months, paying for views, then using the high view count in fundraising letters. Debbie, it’s good that you’re not down in the dirt with Dan and Adam, but please don’t lie to us. Everyone’s campaign is battling it out on and offline… we here at POLITUSIC just hope the heightened testosterone demonstrated lately is something we can write off on the arrival of Spring and they’ll grow out of it by election day.

Update 04/24/16 … and one day later The Tribune endorses Adam Hill for District 3 Supervisor. Go figure.

Update 08/13/16: Presidential election mirrored and idiots with email.

It’s been awhile, so in brief, the primary wound up as expected: Debbie Peterson’s crew pulled votes away from Adam Hill so that no one got over 50%. The result is Adam Hill vs. Dan Carpenter in the general election on November 8th.

That’s the boring part. The rest is just sad.

Since the primary, POLITUSIC is increasingly unsettled by how willingly Dan Carpenter further embraces CalCoast”News” culture. In particular, his embracing conspiracy theories. The latest is that Adam Hill was involved in “an election scam” with PG&E. Sorry, Dan, but Adam Hill ain’t that important: PG&E doesn’t give a rat’s radioactive arse if he wins or loses.

Unfortunately, Dan Carpenter has also adopted a snickering tone that we saw mostly isolated in the Debbie Peterson campaign. That behavior is a turn off that reminds us all of junior high. Snickering coupled with conspiracy theories is making Dan look like Donald. It just feels slimy and childlike.

But “Conspiracy Theory Dan” isn’t the only notable. “Angry Adam Hill” certainly messed up big time.

For reasons unknown and unjustifiable, he lost his temper on an email chain while simultaneously asking for campaign donations – basically crossing the line in about 5 different ways. Someone on that email chain turned around and gave it to the press. Adam supporters cringed and Dan supporters snickered.

What the hell is it with politicians being total idiots when it comes to email? The more technology politicians get the more moronic they become. It’s as if intelligence is inversely proportional to the number of social media and email accounts one has.

So once again, Adam Hill finds himself in hot water and POLITUSIC is forced to reassess if he’s the right guy for the job.

The SLO County Supervisor race is now a parallel of the Presidential: both candidates are unpopular and the dedicated voters are acting like teenagers driven by emotion and hormones. Both men behave like children: Adam yells and Dan whines. All we can do is practice what POLITUSIC preaches: vote for the policies. Who do we trust to vote as we would on the issues we care about?

While we wouldn’t trust Adam Hill with a email account, he believes in things like documentation and facts, which over the last year has become somewhat optional in the harder-right world in which Dan Carpenter resides. We prefer facts.

Adam loses his temper – even when he knows it could very well lose him his job – and does really dumb things when he’s angry. Dan Carpenter snickers and broods inside conspiracy blogs; even Dan Carpenter’s facebook page has taken on the sort of tone we expect to see more on rightwingwatch.org than in a small California district. Anger-prone stupidity doesn’t belong in government… but conspiracy prone personalities are even worse. Neither type wins… Dan is just riskier. We don’t want someone making big decisions who takes his cues from conspiracy blogs.

Both men are unpopular in the county. Both men have been in public fights with other members of the council and board. Here we see a small difference: when Dan Carpenter fights the SLO Council comes to a screeching halt, whereas when Adam Hill fights he looks bad, but the BOS at least keeps moving.

We’re stuck with adults behaving like children: Angry Adam Hill or Conspiracy Theory Dan. When stuck on the person, we have to lean toward the candidate who at least does the job they’re assigned and believes that facts override conspiracies… that’s Angry Adam Hill.

As you know, POLITUSIC also leans left, so the last thing we want to see is SLO County being controlled by the hard right (the middle is welcome, but it’s hard to find people who exist in it anymore). Up and down the ballot, 2016 is a “for the good of the Party and progressive causes” sort of election. I shudder to think of how many social programs go out the window in SLO County with a Board of Supervisors that’s controlled by COLAB and its hate-driven blog, CalCoast”News”, which is what we get with Dan Carpenter as supervisor. Unfortunately for SLO County democrats, the momentum is in Conspiracy Theory Dan’s favor.

It’s a sad state of affairs that this is the choice we have – but it reenforces our core argument that policies are more important than personalities. No matter how distasteful the people on the ballot, at the end of the day we can go back to policies and voting records. If we vote based on those and not the person… then at least we can make a decision we can live with.

Update 09/09/16: Ooops. Debbie meant “city council”, not “county supervisor”.

After coming in 3rd, and therefore missing the cut for the general election runoff, Debbie Peterson said to the papers that she wanted to focus on her business and “saving for retirement”.

But then the race for Grover Beach city council did the opposite of heat up – it cooled so much that no one decided to run.

And so… Grover Beach residents saw “Debbie Peterson for City Council” yard signs appear today (with the exact same background as her supervisor signs). Unfortunately for Debbie, someone else also filed at the last minute hoping to be a shoe-in, so she won’t be the only name on the ballot.

I’ll be voting for the other guy. Debbie’s commitment to herself clearly overshadows her commitment to her community.

Update 09/22/16: Dan Carpenter’s “SLO Native” campaign is a sad reflection on the city of San Luis Obispo.

Dan Carpenter’s supervisor campaign started running ads via Google AdWords, which means that every now and again one appears here on POLITUSIC. The ad I’ve seen most often follows what spineless “FireAdamHill” likes to spew (and who Dan Carpenter “likes” if not also partakes), which is the idea that Adam Hill is not qualified because he’s from New Jersey – that Adam Hill “wasn’t born here”.

Sound familiar?

Sadly, this “SLO Nativism” and that, in the city of San Luis Obispo in particular, being a native somehow makes a person “better” is something that I’ve witnessed during community-attended meetings. While this attitude has always lived under the surface in white suburbia, one can most easily cast blame for this increase of “keep others out of our neighborhoods” to the Donal Trump campaign.

Dan Carpenter doesn’t’ go as far as being embraced by the KKK, but I’m finding it extraordinarily difficult to not interpret his pressing the “lifelong resident” campaign slogan as one that is meant to stroke the same group of white voters who keep Trump up in the polls.

Sorry, Dan, just because you were born in SLO County doesn’t mean you represent SLO County. Your claiming so makes you a nitwit. Yes, Adam Hill was born in New Jersey, and people like you and your supporters apparently think that disqualifies him, but his values and his voting record are a reflection of what is best about the Central Coast whereas your votes reflect the darker corners that seed distrust, separation, paranoia, and ultimately hate.

Dan Carpenter: your birth certificate might say SLO County, but nothing about you is SLO County.

Update 10/16/16: If you can’t get endorsed, fake it!

That which is the great Trump meltdown of 2016 has most of us sitting with mouths agape and beers in hand wondering what the hell happened to this country.

Embarrassingly, we have to toddler-like claim a “neaner, neaner” and tack on an “I told you so”. POLITUSIC saw this coming from the extreme right-wing long ago: you cannot ignore the darkness. The dark corners of the Internet have officially taken over the GOP, and it’s our fault, not theirs. Fundamentalist’s “us versus them” approach to religion coupled with the monetization and isolation of Republicanism gave birth to Donald “The Election is Rigged” Trump. We let it happen by brushing those “movements” off as fringe and insignificant. Trump is just the hollow-souled delivery boy with father issues. Buffoon rule is a direct result of oppositional complacency… let’s just hope the Hegelian result of this explosion into History doesn’t take too long to be realized.

Alas, back to the SLO County supervisor races. As of today there’s no real October surprise. The very republican, former political consultant in District 1 out fundraised his opponent 5 to 1; no surprise. A large chunk of his money isn’t even from his district, let alone the county, or even state; no surprise. Nevertheless, the paper of record in SLO County (The Tribune) endorsed the poorer, non-consultant class opponent, Steve Martin (yes, his real name).

Unfortunately, a poor man in a very red district against a “former” republican political consultant probably has no chance of winning. The GOP mastered monetization of local seats decades ago, while democrats were distracted thinking the purpose of government was to help people. Regardless of the District 3 outcome, SLO County is in for a long, painful, trickle-down sucking of the soul, and SLO democrats let it happen – too damn complacent in their “Happiest Town in America” – wine tasting and toasting while they should have been hiring operatives and outreach years ago when they let District 4 slip through their fingers.

But what about the battling boys of District 3? The Tribune once again endorsed Adam Hill (with some rather negative things to say about Dan Carpenter, I might add). Hill was also endorsed by the local firefighters, and every single one of Dan Carpenter’s colleagues on the SLO City Council. (That one must have stung, eh Dan?)

But those decisions are based on facts and reason – reason doesn’t rule elections anymore. Rage does.

Nor does reason slow Dan Carpenter. Oh no. While he has the local Breitbart (CalCoast”News”) supporting him with every blogging finger they can muster, Dan decided to further facade his support by placing Dan Carpenter for Supervisor campaign signs on every possible street corner in the district – no kidding. I almost drove off the road last week there were so many – two of which were right in front of a fire hydrant beside a school crosswalk (Grover Heights elementary school, my favorite alma mater. GO DRAGONS!)

There are so many Dan Carpenter For Supervisor signs scattered around this place that they’re even turning up in shopping carts in parking lots. It’s like that episode of Dr. Who with the invasion of the black cubes… they’re everywhere. I’m using his door hangers as coasters and yard signs as placemats.

Now… I’m not one to complain about “illegally placed” yard signs (I’ve yet to encounter a complaint that doesn’t sound like whining), but geeeesh, Dan Carpenter – do you think you’re going a little overboard with the posterboard?

Where does that leave us? Polls are useless, the national election is falling off a cliff, and a senatorial candidate Dabbed to conclude the debate, so the predictability of local elections are a crap shoot on a paddle board.

It’s the anger. Anger seeps. It seeps into everything from down ballot elections to shit in your shoes.

Anger is certainly seeping into SLO County’s loafers: with each passing news cycle one can feel the rational-thinking barometer fall like a sticky day in Georgia.

…oh yeah, and apparently the entire American election process is rigged. I knew all those League of Women Voters volunteers at my local polling place were up to something!! ;)

The longer this fractured-reality election goes on, the more rage gnaws intelligence. Wars do that. And the right wing has turned politics into war, rather than what it’s supposed to be: a productive dialogue and means of governing. (War is far more profitable. Just ask the republican candidate / consultant in District 1.)

Pray to your god(s) that November 8th magically comes sooner than later… anyone have a Tardus?

Update 10/22/16: Down-ballot Dan Carpenter has a new GOP friend.

When big money republicans started to abandon Trump and give their money to down ballot races, we had no idea how “down ballot” they would go. Billionaire, meet Dan Carpenter. Dan, meet billionaire.

In the past Dan Carpenter supported campaign finance reform with a sort of “voucher” scheme that SLO City was pondering, but then when he started running for SLO County Supervisor he changed his mind. We have a pretty clear reason why.

It turns out that this little neck of the Central Coast of California has a republican mega-donor by the name of B. Wayne Hughes, Jr. (who knew?). Mr. Hughes just donated $20,000 to Dan Carpenter’s supervisor campaign.

The conspiracy theorists who know or observed Dan would say that such connections are way out of his league, and so this angel funding was likely “facilitated” by the republican candidate / consultant in District 1 who’s donor-class background has put him in such mega-donor circles.

“Independent” Dan Carpenter is getting flooded with deep-red republican money. One hopes he doesn’t drown himself in it.

Update 11/09/16: What do we do now?

Lost in the fog of a Donald Trump America, I forgot to mention that Adam Hill won reelection by about 15 points. While it’s OK to hate nationwide, at least in this corner of California the majority vote actually determines the winner.

As expected, political consultant / candidate from District 1 won, so Adam Hill will face a Tea Party brick wall, but at least the people of District 3 will continue to have a voice who isn’t afraid to be loud when it matters, and take a stand when Morality is being attacked by Monetization.

For those – the majority – who have been walking around in a brain-haze daze all day asking to themselves, “What the hell do we do now?”… We Go High.

It won’t be easy. No one knows what the laws and communities of The United States of America will look like after the Donald Trump Supreme Court and Paul Ryan budget get their hands on this country, but that’s the correct answer. I have no doubt…

What the hell do we do now? We Go High.