Former SLO County supervisor Ruth Brackett remembered as a ‘force of nature’
Ruth Brackett, a government watchdog and proud Republican who served three terms on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, died on Jan. 28 at 85 years old.
A memorial to celebrate her life took place at Edward’s Barn in Nipomo on Sunday.
“Ruthie was a force of nature and a devoted conservative. You might disagree with her politics, but you couldn’t deny the passion of her convictions,” her obituary said.
Brackett grew up in San Diego and earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic art from San Jose State University.
She lived on the Nipomo Mesa with her husband, Jack, for the majority of her life.
Brackett first began her political career as an outsider. She garnered a reputation as a county government watchdog who championed individual and private property rights and less government influence on peoples’ lives, what was then the Telegram-Tribune reported in 1990.
Brackett was elected to the SLO County Board of Supervisors in 1982, and often had the most conservative views of the five members. In 1986, she became the first woman to ever chair the Board of Supervisors in its 133-year history.
However, she lost her District 4 reelection campaign after opposing mobile home rent control and supporting offshore oil facilities, the Telegram-Tribune previously reported.
“Though defeated for re-election, her perseverance and determination enabled her to win the seat back in the next contest,” her obituary said.
Ultimately, Brackett rallied and ended up back on the board for consecutive terms in 1990 and 1994.
During her time as supervisor, she had a slew of run-ins with local government officials over personal property issues — chief among those, the three million used tires abandoned on the auto savage yards on her land, which the South County fire chief said were extreme fire hazards, according to past Telegram-Tribune reporting.
She decided not to seek a fourth term to focus on her family and personal life, she said at the time.
Prior to her departure from the board, Brackett said she was most proud of bringing a new library to Nipomo and more fire stations to the county. She was also one of the first supervisors to fight for volunteer legislative assistants to become paid county employees, according to her obituary.
Beyond her work as a supervisor, Brackett was also a founding member of the Olde Towne Nipomo Association and offered “generous support” to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the obituary said.
District 1 Supervisor John Peschong said he primarily knew Brackett through her work with local veteran organizations, and they bonded over their shared love of Ronald Reagan.
“She was a go-getter, she made things happen,” he told The Tribune.
Peschong said Brackett was the epitome of Nipomo and South County, and she was always responsive to the needs of the people in her district
“She was a hero for that,” he said.
This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 3:10 PM.
