The Tribune endorses Bruce Gibson for SLO County supervisor

Three-term incumbent Bruce Gibson wants four more years on the county Board of Supervisors. His two challengers — and some North Coast voters — say it's time for a change.

We disagree. In terms of qualifications, experience and knowledge of the issues, Gibson is by far the strongest of the three candidates.

He's also one of the hardest workers we've encountered in local government; he fights for environmental protection; and he's a strong voice on behalf of the most vulnerable of our residents, including the mentally ill. That's especially important given the weaknesses in the county's mental health system that came to light on account of Andrew Holland, a mentally ill county jail inmate who died after being strapped naked in a restraint chair for 46 straight hours.

Gibson told us he supports continuing to bring in outside experts to "track our progress" on reforms made in the wake of Holland's death. Good. It's one thing to adopt new policies; it's another to ensure they're consistently put into practice.

Gibson also is a strong and persuasive advocate for his North Coast constituents.

A recent example: In March, Gibson asked the Board of Supervisors to authorize County Fire to begin providing service to Cayucos, which wants to disband its own fire department on account of staffing shortages and funding issues. Gibson initially met with resistance, especially since other incorporated communities also are struggling to pay for fire service and are expected to call on the county for help.

Gibson persisted. He spoke of the county's moral duty and warned of ending up with "a tragedy we deeply regret." Eventually, other supervisors came to see things his way; the board voted unanimously to fully fund fire service in Cayucos for the time being.

The vote was especially significant when you consider the makeup of the current board. Conservative Republicans are in the majority, and Gibson and fellow Democrat Adam Hill have been on the losing end of 3-2 votes on some major issues. Some board discussions have been heated, and critics from inside and outside the 2nd District have portrayed Gibson as a member of a petulant minority responsible for creating a dysfunctional board.

Challenger Jeff Eckles has made the board's partisan split a major issue in his campaign. As the only decline-to-state candidate in the race (the other challenger, Patrick Sparks, is a Republican), Eckles says he's in a unique position to lead the board "on a path forward toward healing."

Gibson's response to his constituents: "Are you looking for a supervisor whose main goal is about healing the sometimes-fractious board ... or are you looking for a supervisor who’s going to stand up for your interests?"

We believe both men have a point. The board could tone down the animosity, but we agree it's absolutely essential to advocate for the minority. Otherwise, the board is merely a rubber stamp for whatever party happens to be in power.

Gibson's longevity on the board — he'll have served 12 years at the end of his current term — is another issue raised by the challengers. They say ongoing problems, including homelessness, the high cost of housing and the growth of government spending, have gone unsolved too long.

"The idea that things are OK is haunting to me, actually," Sparks said at a recent candidates forum.

Yet Sparks, an attorney and real estate broker, was short on practical solutions.

Take affordable housing: Sparks talks about exploring technology used in the Netherlands, "where you can actually build a home with a four-man crew in two days with a crane." An interesting concept, but where are you going to put those crane houses?

Eckles, who owns a small business, has more concrete ideas, including creating "opportunity zones" where builders would be offered incentives to "build the right types of housing." In response to a Tribune questionnaire, Eckles also raised the idea of seeking a tax increase to pay for affordable housing projects. That's been done successfully in other jurisdictions, but with the current tax-averse board majority, that seems next to impossible here.

Among other ideas, Gibson supports revising the current affordable housing fee ordinance to add tiers, so that large homes would be assessed more and small homes would be exempt. Gibson said he and board Chairman John Peschong have been working on such a proposal. That's good news.

Far from being a weakness, we believe Gibson's years of experience and his expertise benefit the entire county. He knows the political landscape, and while his frustration with the board's current dynamic is at times clearly apparent, he doesn't give up fighting for his constituents and for important causes, including affordable housing and help for the mentally ill.

The Tribune strongly endorses Bruce Gibson for District 2 supervisor.

This story was originally published May 5, 2018 at 12:42 PM with the headline "The Tribune endorses Bruce Gibson for SLO County supervisor."