SLO voters lost a special leader in voting Jan Marx out as mayor

I’m still attempting to absorb the final vote count for the San Luis Obispo mayor’s position — very disappointing.

In an apparent interest in “change,” SLO voters have foolishly unvalued Mayor Jan Marx’s years of experience, professionalism, vision and thoughtful leadership.

In a past endorsement, The Tribune noted the importance of electing “a candidate who not only has experience and knowledge, but also the leadership and communication skills, diplomacy, graciousness and maturity to give all sides a fair hearing, to help forge compromises, and to lend a steady hand under all circumstances — be it a natural disaster, a fiscal crisis or a high-profile media event.”

Jan meets all of these criteria, and it’s a shame that more of our electorate didn’t recognize what a special mix of traits and skills they would be losing without her at the helm as mayor of SLO.

This story was originally published December 4, 2016 at 6:46 PM with the headline "SLO voters lost a special leader in voting Jan Marx out as mayor."