The Tribune reaffirms its support for Steve Martin in District 1 race

In District 1, conservative John Peschong and politically moderate Steve Martin hope to succeed outgoing San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Frank Mecham.

Mecham has played a pivotal role on the board; he’s conservative but sometimes votes with the liberal minority, especially on key issues such as groundwater protection.

Mecham has helped bring balance to the board, and as we said previously, we believe Martin would do the same, especially on critical issues facing the county: declining water supplies, a glaring lack of affordable housing, crumbling roads, homelessness and the looming closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, to name a few.

Martin reflects the values of North County, he’s experienced in local politics — he’s served multiple terms on the Paso Robles City Council and ran unopposed for mayor in 2014 — and he’s highly principled. We’ve been especially impressed by his commitment to improve homeless services in North County.

We also like what he has to say about improving the level of discourse on the Board of Supervisors.

“We have given up the fight for what’s right in favor of just fighting,” he told us during the primary election campaign.

A few words about Martin’s opponent: There is much to like about John Peschong. (Full disclosure: He wrote a conservative political column for The Tribune before running for county supervisor.) He’s smart, he’s personable and he’s articulate.

We give him credit, too, for announcing in advance that he will not vote on the Phillips 66 rail-spur project if it goes to the board, because his consulting firm received $262,313 from Phillips. He told The Tribune that he would recuse himself “because that’s the right thing to do.”

We believe, however, that Peschong’s conservative ideology is almost a mirror image of what we already see from Debbie Arnold and Lynn Compton (and Dan Carpenter, should he be elected.)

The issues facing the county over the next four years will require thorough vetting — not conservative rubber-stamping by an anti-tax, pro-property rights majority.

We believe Martin will ensure the county considers the interests of all its residents, and he will strive for fair solutions to its problems. The Tribune strongly endorses Steve Martin for District 1 supervisor.

This story was originally published October 8, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "The Tribune reaffirms its support for Steve Martin in District 1 race."