Should Pismo Beach voters stick with council incumbents? Here’s our recommendation
Three incumbents are running for reelection in Pismo Beach: Mayor Ed Waage, Councilwoman Marcia Guthrie and Councilman Erik Howell.
We recommend all three for reelection, based both on their experience and, more importantly, what they’ve helped achieve in Pismo.
First, a recap of their backgrounds:
- Waage has served on the Planning Commission and City Council and now seeks his third term as mayor. He’s also involved in regional issues; he chairs the League of California Cities Coastal Cities Group, which is working on ways to protect the coast from sea level rise.
- Guthrie has been a force in Pismo politics since 2014, when she was involved in drafting Measure H, which requires voter approval of large developments in Price Canyon. The measure passed overwhelmingly. Guthrie was elected to council in 2016.
- Howell, a South County native, has a long and varied history in local and state politics. He served on the Lucia Mar Unified School Board and is now seeking a third term on City Council. He’s also one of the governor’s appointees to the California Coastal Commission.
City improvements
The Pismo Beach of today is nothing like the slightly seedy beach town of a couple of decades ago. The past few years in particular have brought dramatic changes.
From the beach boardwalk and refurbished pier to the Shell Beach streetscape, it’s a revamped beach town, and the mayor and City Council deserve a good share of the credit.
We’ve been impressed, too, with Pismo’s environmental policies: It contributed $900,000 to the Pismo Preserve; it’s been a key player in a major water recycling project, Central Coast Blue; and it’s retrofitted city buildings for solar power — a project proposed by Mayor Waage.
That’s worth noting, since the mayor’s had the reputation of being a climate change skeptic.
Here’s what he wrote in a 2010 Tribune Viewpoint: “More scientists are questioning the premise that the science of man-caused global warming is ‘solid.’ The direct contribution to warming from additional carbon dioxide is small. ...”
That’s no longer his position. “What I wrote 10 years ago is not what I would write today,” he said via email. “Instead, I have been working in several areas to address climate change.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy do we endorse?
Making endorsements during election season is an important role for newspaper editorial boards, including The Tribune Editorial Board. Elections are key to determining the future of our Central Coast region, and through endorsements, we share our opinion of the qualifications of the candidates and recommend those who would best serve our communities.
Due to the large number of races on the 2024 General Election ballot, we are unable to issue endorsements in every race. We chose to focus on the most competitive contests.
For more about our process, click the arrow on the top right.
Who endorses?
Endorsement decisions are made by Editor Joe Tarica and Opinion Editor Stephanie Finucane.
How do we decide?
Candidates are invited to participate in an interview with The Editorial Board where they are asked a series questions about major issues. It’s our opportunity to learn the candidates’ positions and to gauge how well informed they are about issues they are likely to confront if elected.
We also research voting records of candidates who have held public office; we watch candidate forums; we look at back stories from The Tribune, as well as other publications that have covered the candidates; and we examine public documents. We also take a look at the candidates’ advertising and campaign statements. Are they overpromising, for example, or misrepresenting their opponent’s record?
In the case of ballot measures, we study the background of the issue, the pro and con arguments and consider who is supporting and opposing the measure.
Tell us what you think
If you disagree (or agree) with our endorsements, share your thoughts with us by writing a letter to the editor (200-word maximum). Email your submissions to letters@thetribunenews.com. Due to the volume of submissions we receive during campaign season, we do not publish Viewpoint-length pieces (600-800 words) in support or opposition to candidates.
What lies ahead
There’s still room for improvement; challengers in this election raise valid points about ongoing problems in Pismo Beach.
Dan Shadwell, a Realtor and former KSBY anchor who is running for mayor, summed it up like this in The Tribune’s Voter Guide: “Residents uniformly complain about traffic and parking shortages, overwhelming crowds and trash on the beaches and streets.”
There also have been complaints that the city hasn’t been doing enough to protect local residents and workers from COVID-19.
Early on, the city considered making masks mandatory, but in the end settled on requiring employees of businesses to wear masks — but not customers.
These are all valid concerns, and every one of the challengers deserves credit for raising them. We were especially impressed with Shadwell, and we urge him to consider running for council in two years.
Until this pandemic is under control, the city would do well to better enforce social distancing and mask requirements, particularly at large beach gatherings like the Christian rock concert held several weeks ago.
We also urge the council to focus on making neighborhoods more livable for year-round residents by coming up with a plan to provide more visitor parking not just in the downtown, but also in residential neighborhoods like Shell Beach.
Last but never least, the council should put more priority on affordable housing. The 50-unit project on Fourth Street is a start, but it’s not enough. Frankly, we’re tired of the city using the excuse that land is too expensive or too scarce to meet its goals for low- and moderate-income housing. Cities don’t get a pass just because they’re wealthier or more exclusive than their neighbors.
None of this will be easy, but the current council has shown itself capable of achieving ambitious goals, and they should get the opportunity to continue their work.
The Tribune endorses Ed Waage for mayor and Marcia Guthrie and Erik Howell for Pismo Beach City Council.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 5:00 AM.