Who’s the best choice for the redrawn District 2 — Bruce Gibson or a conservative challenger?

District 2 Supervisor Bruce Gibson is running for a fifth term on the county Board of Supervisors in what may be the biggest challenge of his political career.

His North Coast district was radically reconfigured during the redistricting process, giving Republicans the edge in what had been a Democratic stronghold.

Now he faces three conservative challengers — Geoff Auslen, a longtime Atascadero business owner who was among the leaders of the effort to establish Joy Playground in Atascadero; retired orthopedic surgeon Bruce Jones, who moved to Templeton four years ago and has served on the Templeton Area Advisory Group, or TAAG; and John Whitworth, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel who owns a business in Atascadero.

And then there’s Gibson, the lone liberal running in a district that now includes Atascadero, a city where left-of-center candidates have traditionally faced an uphill battle.

Still, it’s not exactly a lost cause for Gibson; as of the last reporting period, Republicans led by around 1,700 registered voters, but there are nearly 7,000 no-party-preference voters who will likely decide the outcome of the June 7 primary. If no candidate wins a simple majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election.

Time for a change?

Some argue that Gibson has been on the job long enough; Auslen in particular has hammered on that point.

“I think that we should not have career politicians, and after 16 years I think it’s time for a change,” he said at a recent candidates forum.

If he truly believes the county would be better off if we had term limits for county supervisors, we urge him to work to put that question on the ballot — it could even be included in the proposed charter the board majority is proposing.

In looking back over the past several years, it’s obvious that if anything needs to change, it’s the balance of power on the board.

The board majority has been in power eight years, and in many respects, the county is in worse shape than ever, especially when it comes to the lack of affordable housing — a recent study found SLO County was the second most expensive small metro market in the nation — and the rise in homelessness.

On housing, the majority had plenty of time to cut the red tape they’ve so often criticized; to rezone more land for housing; to do more to encourage higher densities and smaller homes. Instead, it recently gutted the county’s inclusionary housing program with a vague promise to come back with something better.

To address homelessness, the board could have designated a safe parking zone in every district of the county. It could have established safe grounds where people could live in tents or made land available for tiny home villages.

Only now is the board majority waking up to the extent of the problem by adopting a new, multi-faceted plan that includes the creation of a Homeless Services Division within the county.

That’s a step in the right direction, but why did the situation have to reach a tipping point for the full board to finally act?

Gibson, on the other hand, has advocated for solutions — as far back as 2017 he proposed allocating more funds to affordable housing, which would have greatly benefited nonprofit home builders — yet as a minority member of the board, he’s been stymied and problems have gotten worse.

‘Get-things-done party’

When asked about his politics, Gibson dodges terms like “liberal” and “progressive.”

“My first allegiance is to the get-things-done party,” he recently told talk radio host Dave Congalton.

He does have a long record of accomplishments, topped by the Los Osos sewer project.

He also played key roles in establishing branch libraries in Cambria and Cayucos; restoring the Cayucos Pier; securing funding for restoration of the Cayucos Veterans Hall; and advocating for a Cambria affordable housing project with the Coastal Commission, among other examples.

Lest there be any mistake, though, Gibson is a liberal Democrat, and he’s frequently at odds with the board majority. He can come across as acerbic — opponents have accused him of incivility — and there are times when he carries on a verbal battle a beat too long.

But consider what he’s up against: A board majority that has prioritized advancing Republican Party causes over serving all residents of San Luis Obispo County — even to the extent of catering to conspiracy theorists who insist the 2020 election was stolen.

That, too, signals a fundamental need for change in the makeup of the board.

Gibson’s challengers

Dr. Bruce Jones is the only District 2 candidate endorsed by the Republican Party, and he’s proud of it.

At a recent candidates forum, right out of the gate he introduced himself as “the only candidate in the District 2 supervisor race that’s endorsed by the Republican Party of SLO County and the Republican Party of the state of California.”

That’s a red flag. This is a nonpartisan position, yet Jones is making zero effort to run an inclusive campaign. Rather, he is echoing the talking points of the local Republican Party leadership. For example, he rails against the “corruption” supposedly rampant in San Luis Obispo County.

“Work to clean up the corruption” is the first item on a “to-do” list he circulated at the start of his campaign.

That same list doesn’t mention a single word about the homeless crisis, though Jones has since posted a lengthy position paper on homelessness — a paper that’s almost devoid of any actual “positions” and is mostly a recitation of facts and suggestions the county is already following.

That’s exactly what we don’t need right now — an inexperienced supervisor with limited knowledge of the county who will vote in sync with the board majority and continue to fan the flames of partisan hostility.

The other two Republicans in the race, Auslen and Whitworth, appear to be more invested in serving the residents of San Luis Obispo County than the Republican hierarchy, so kudos to them.

A special shout-out to Whitworth, who is refreshingly honest, sincere and not afraid to admit when he doesn’t have an answer.

Still, not a single one of these three challengers has anything close to the wealth of experience, knowledge and longstanding relationships with key officials at local, state and federal levels that Gibson brings to the table.

The county will not benefit from having another conservative supervisor rubber-stamping the policies of the current board — policies that appeal to a conservative base while disregarding the majority of county residents.

Constituents are far better served by political diversity; it leads to more thoughtful discussions that often result in compromise, which we’re seeing less and less of with the current board.

Gibson has proven himself to be a smart, hard-working, dedicated supervisor capable of seeing projects through to completion. Equally important, he has been a voice for the tens of thousands of county residents who feel ignored by the board majority.

The Tribune strongly endorses Bruce Gibson for reelection.

This story was originally published May 8, 2022 at 5:30 AM.