District 1 voters should stick with John Peschong for SLO County supervisor. Here’s why

In the race for 1st District supervisor, it comes down to this: Supervisor John Peschong is far and away the more qualified candidate.

His lone opponent, Democrat Stephanie Shakofsky, has expertise in a few notable areas — including the local cannabis industry and North County’s water woes — but there are gaping holes in her knowledge of other issues. And some of her “good government” proposals, such as requiring county staff to release meeting agendas 10 days in advance, are not grounded in reality.

Shakofsky has an impressive background in public policy and land-use reclamation — she was executive director of a Bay Area nonprofit, the Center for Creative Land Recycling, that helps local governments reuse polluted land — but her lack of local political experience shows she’s not ready for the Board of Supervisors.

That leaves Peschong — a devout Republican — as the only reasonable choice.

This is not just a process of elimination, however; there are other reasons Peschong deserves a second term.

Of the three conservative supervisors currently on the board, Peschong is the most independent and least dogmatic when it comes to analyzing and voting on local issues.

He’s not quite a “man in the middle” in the vein of former Republican supervisors Katcho Achadjian and Frank Mecham, but he can surprise.

For instance, Peschong told The Tribune Editorial Board he would support putting a local affordable housing bond on the November 2020 ballot. For a Republican who has, in the past, decried new taxes to consider putting a bond measure before voters is a big deal. In fact, he’s the only one of the three Republican candidates for supervisor — the others are Debbie Arnold in District 5 and Stacy Korsgaden in District 3 — to support an affordable housing ballot measure.

Peschong’s voting record

Especially over the past year, Peschong has shown an increasing willingness to work with — and occasionally vote with — his liberal colleagues on the board. He’s also been trying to broker compromises between the the liberal and conservative factions.

Some recent examples:

• In January, Peschong voted with Adam Hill and Bruce Gibson to extend a grace period for cannabis growers who — through no fault of their own — had been unable to complete the county’s lengthy permitting process by the Dec. 31, 2019, deadline.
• In November 2019, he voted with Gibson and Hill to approve increases in fees for certain county services. (Most fees remained unchanged.) Peschong tried to act as go-between by suggesting that an ad-hoc committee review increases that won’t go into effect until July 1.

• In July 2019, he joined liberal supervisors in voting 3-2 against a vacation rental application in Los Osos, after neighbors showed up en masse to complain it would be too close to an existing short-term rental.

Conservative majority

Still, Peschong remains a member of a conservative majority that has stood in the way of real progress on some key issues.

The “landmark” affordable housing fee voted in last year was adopted only after hundreds of expensive trophy homes had already been built. The delay meant the county missed out on collecting who-knows-how-much revenue that could have helped fund affordable housing projects around the county.

The board also has a head-in-the-sand attitude when it comes to the climate crisis — and yes, it’s a “crisis” not a “change” — evidenced, for one, by its refusal to take a strong stand against new offshore oil drilling.

Peschong has recused himself from voting on oil-related issues because his political consulting firm, Meridian Pacific, has represented the oil industry, but his positions are still widely known.

The board also has so far refused to embrace community choice energy and join Monterey Bay Community Power, which focuses on providing clean energy. That means customers in the unincorporated areas have only one choice of an energy supplier: PG&E.

(For the record, Peschong told The Tribune Editorial Board he would vote in favor of joining Monterey Bay Community Power, if consumers had to sign up in order to be enrolled. As it now stands, customers are automatically enrolled, and must opt out in order to remain with PG&E.)

Shakofsky’s positions

While we disagree with Peschong on several issues, at least we know where he stands. We also know he’s willing to compromise on at least some issues.

We’re not so sure about Shakofsky, who moved to San Luis Obispo County two years ago after buying a vineyard near Paso Robles.

She got into the race at the last minute, apparently motivated primarily by one issue: cannabis cultivation. She believes county regulations allow large cannabis farms too close to homes, and she’s joined in a couple of lawsuits against the county.

That’s her right, of course, but there’s something ironic about buying a vineyard in a right-to-farm county and then complaining when cannabis growers try to make a living here.

And for someone so concerned about land use, she’s surprisingly out of touch on some issues.

She has taken no official position on the possibility of increased oil production in the county, for example.

When asked about the water situation in Nipomo, her initial response was, “That’s not in my district.”

A couple of her ideas for housing — allowing accessory dwelling units and encouraging developers to include a variety of housing types in their projects — were adopted by the county several years ago, albeit with limited success. She also suggests adding dorms at Cuesta College, an idea already considered and rejected by the college, since state funding is not available to build housing.

Peschong’s edge

Peschong’s North County district is heavily Republican, and he’s way out in front in fundraising; as of the last filing, he had an ending balance of $105,122, compared to Shakofsky’s $17,186.

As for endorsements, Peschong’s list includes two former state governors, Rick Perry of Texas and Linda Lingle of Hawaii, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and closer to home, the county assessor, district attorney and sheriff, as well as several current and former Republican county supervisors.

Given the David vs. Goliath nature of the race, it’s disappointing Peschong chose to attack his opponent right out of the gate by running a slew of radio ads labeling Shakofsky a “San Francisco liberal” who is “attempting a left-wing takeover” of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors.

That was unnecessary and even out of character for a county official who has not only preached civility, but also practices it.

We’ve always found Peschong to be gracious, dependable and easy-going. (Full disclosure: Before he was elected to the board, he wrote conservative columns for The Tribune.)

Those traits have served him and the public well in his position on the Board of Supervisors.

Peschong’s professional demeanor helps keep the board grounded, and unlike the other supervisors, who often engage in long-winded explanations of their positions, Peschong is succinct — sometimes to a fault.

He deserves a new term, and we are confident he can earn it without resorting to negative campaigning.

The Tribune strongly endorses John Peschong for District 1 supervisor.

This has been updated to remove Caren Ray from the list of endorsements John Peschong has received from former county supervisors.

This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM.