In Morro Bay, Jamie Irons brings an unflappable demeanor as mayor

When Jamie Irons was first elected mayor four years ago, controversy over the siting of a new wastewater treatment plant was the city’s No. 1 issue. Under Irons’ leadership, the city abandoned an ill-conceived and potentially dangerous plan to build the plant at its current location in a flood plain and tsunami zone. That was a huge step in the right direction.

Since then, there have been disappointing setbacks in the search for a new site.

One location was abandoned after the owner changed his mind about which section of his property he would sell. Another site was dismissed after neighbors complained about odors, noise and other nuisances and threatened litigation. Now, the city is proposing a site at the east end of South Bay Boulevard. Irons believes the project is back on track. A memorandum of understanding with the property owners is scheduled to come before the council soon, which is good news.

While it’s frustrating the sewer project hasn’t advanced as quickly as anticipated, it’s absurd for Irons’ critics to hold him personally responsible. He is mayor. He is not an all-powerful Oz. He is one vote of five on the council. What’s more, city staff and the consulting firm chosen to manage the project are responsible for carrying out the actual work — not the mayor.

Another issued raised in the campaign: Irons is being criticized for offering public testimony on a couple of items that came before the council — secondary housing units and parking in lieu fees — even though he recused himself from voting because he owns property that could be affected.

Irons told us he testified as a member of the public because he wanted to share information and did not benefit financially in any way. We should also point out that state regulations allow officials who recuse themselves from voting to testify as members of the public.

“A public official does not lose his/her right to free speech simply because they are a public official,” a spokesman for the Fair Political Practices Commission told us via email.

While we believe some of the criticisms directed at Irons are overblown, we do take issue with some choices made on his watch. For example, we believe that it was unnecessary to even broach the idea of dissolving the Morro Bay Police Department and contracting with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. So what if that was one of the money-saving options raised by a consultant? Officials don’t have to follow up on every single suggestion from a consultant. It would have saved the community a lot of stress if that extremely unpopular option had never been explored.

That said, we have been impressed with the positive changes happening in Morro Bay. Those include completion of a bridge over Morro Creek, street and sidewalk improvements, opening permanent pickleball courts, development of an agreement with the nonproft Central Coast Aquarium and Cal Poly to build and operate a new Morro Bay Aquarium, to name a few.

More improvements are in the works. Irons — one of the most forward-thinking local politicians we’ve encountered — has an extensive list of future goals that range all the way from obtaining a permanent operating permit for the city’s desalination plant (the city now has an emergency permit from the Coastal Commission) to replacing “poor performing” trash cans.

He also puts strong emphasis on long-range planning goals, which include completing an update of the General Plan and Local Coastal Plan and identifying funding to cover street improvements.

We continue to be impressed, too, by Irons’ demeanor: He’s unflappable. We’ve never seen him lose his cool or heard him denigrate his critics or political opponents. He’s respectful. He has a positive outlook. And he can be counted on to represent the interests of Morro Bay consistently and professionally.

The Tribune recommends voters re-elect Jamie Irons as mayor of Morro Bay.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 9:42 PM with the headline "In Morro Bay, Jamie Irons brings an unflappable demeanor as mayor."