Paso mayor faces challenger who vows to fix homelessness. Here’s who we endorse

Mayor Steve Martin has seen the city of Paso Robles through a tough few years.

The Paso Robles area was hard hit by COVID, and controversies that began in the Paso Robles school district — such as desecration of a PRIDE flag and a ban on critical race theory — had repercussions throughout the city.

Last year, for example, a Los Angeles Times reporter turned a spotlight on diversity issues in Paso Robles with a column headlined: “This California wine country town is multicultural. So why do so many feel invisible?”

The article promoted a former Paso Robles resident to write a letter to the LA Times: “Paso Robles is all too emblematic of a stubborn racist portion of our country.”

Martin is not one to wear blinders.

While some would just as soon ignore sensitive issues like racism, he doesn’t shrink away. Following the Black Lives Matter protests, for example, he created a Diversity Panel that has evolved into a community-wide organization.

Moderate among conservatives

As a moderate Democrat in a majority-conservative city, Martin has faced some pushback from his colleagues. That was especially apparent during COVID when a couple of council members openly defied the indoor mask mandate at council meetings.

Yet with his talent for diplomacy, Martin has been a unifying force in Paso Robles and might be the most measured, most moderate and least partisan of any candidate we’ve interviewed.

He’s an excellent ambassador for the city and he scores high on transparency: He writes a blog and a Mayor’s Letter and occasionally posts videos on YouTube.

Another plus: He’s a forward-thinker.

For instance, he acknowledges that the drought could affect the future of the wine industry, which is closely tied to the city’s economy and has been bullish about exploring ways to diversify — including transforming the airport into a commercial spaceport.

Opponent says ‘without equivocation’ he’ll fix homelessness

Martin’s only opponent is Michael Rivera, who seems primarily motivated by a longstanding grudge against the mayor.

Rivera declined to meet with The Tribune Editorial Board, but on Dave Congalton’s talk radio show, he spent far more time berating the mayor than offering his vision for the city of Paso Robles.

He attacked Martin for not reacting strongly enough when The Tree of Life pregnancy support center was vandalized last year and he blames Martin for opening the door to allowing recreational cannabis dispensaries in the city. (The council has not yet decided on that.)

Plus, Rivera isn’t at all happy with how the homelessness issue has been handled.

“This mayor thought it was a good idea to open up a homeless shelter right next to the riverbed,” Rivera told Congalton.

He added: “If I’m the mayor of this city, I assure you without any equivocation that we’re going to find solutions to fix this problem,” he told Congalton, without offering a concrete plan.

Instead, he attacked the mayor as “Pollyannaish and naive, maybe.”

If anyone is naive, it’s a candidate who thinks he can single-handedly solve the problem of homelessness.

One more thing, where Martin is empathetic, Rivera is more of a pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps type of person.

“He believes that decades of civil rights laws have resulted in a ‘post-racial’ nation where people can succeed if they make the right choices,” the Los Angeles Times reporter wrote in his column on Paso Robles.

We prefer a mayor who recognizes that racism is real and understands that people can’t always be expected to make the right choices.

Martin is a strong candidate who has been endorsed by a wide cross-section of the community, including both the Paso Robles police and firefighters associations; Councilmen John Hamon, Steve Gregory and Fred Strong and former Councilwoman Maria Garcia; Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno; Paso Robles schools Superintendent Curt Dubost; community activist Dee Lacey; and many others.

Ignore the noise coming from his opponent, who has not held an elected office.

As a longtime politician, Martin is truly the model of what all politicians should be these days — someone who can win support from both sides. There are not many like him.

The Tribune strongly urges voters to elect Steve Martin to a third term as mayor.