Arroyo Grande City Councilman Jim Guthrie drops out of SLO County supervisor race

By Bob Cuddy | bcuddy@thetribunenews.com

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Arroyo Grande City Councilman Jim Guthrie has pulled out of the race for Fourth District County Supervisor in 2010, leaving only one candidate in the contest, although there is a year to go before the election.

Guthrie said he wants to help guide the city through the hard times ahead, and does not want to take too much time away from the Spyglass Inn, where he is general manager.

�I realized that I couldn�t work my job, and be on the City Council, and put together a campaign,� he told The Tribune on Tuesday.

Had he run and won, Guthrie, 56, would have been the first South County resident in 12 years to hold the seat. Incumbent Katcho Achadjian, serving his third term, lives in San Luis Obispo, although he owns gas stations in Arroyo Grande.

Guthrie�s departure leaves only Mike Zimmerman, an Arroyo Grande attorney and rancher, as the only candidate. He ran for assembly in 2004 as a Republican candidate, losing to incumbent Sam Blakeslee.

Blakeslee is termed out next year, setting off a scramble for his job in Sacramento, with three Republicans and three Democrats already having announced. One of the Republicans is Achadjian.

Other prominent South County politicians have been mentioned as candidates for the supervisor seat, but have declared themselves out of the running, at least for now. They include Arroyo Grand Mayor Tony Ferrara.

Mike Winn of the Nipomo Community Services District, who is often bruited as a candidate, said he is still looking for someone to support who he feels will do a good job. Only if he does not find that person would he run himself, he said. He is not backing Zimmerman.

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