Readers size up D-2 candidates Jim Dantona and Michael Woody | Opinion

No skeletons in Dantona’s closet

Jim Dantona speaks his intentions clearly and unequivocally. He has a long, well-documented background in the public sector, which remains consistent with his current political positions. He has not waffled or created suspicions that he is a “closet Republican” or closet anything else. There are no skeletons in Jim Dantona’s closet.

Jim Dantona favors development of clean energy. He will fight for the proper location of utilities. Our economy, our health and our national security depend on building alternative energy. For the second time in five years, geopolitics is creating a crisis for fossil fuels, but wind and solar, developed responsibly, are free.

Michael Erin Woody uses sensational language in describing “being sick and tired” of Morro Bay as a “dumping ground” for the energy industry. He can only be talking about the power plant, built in 1954, which indeed is a huge problem requiring a gargantuan fix. Michael does not speak as forcefully about a solution. What about it?

The Tribune Editorial Board is right. Jim Dantona is “instantly relatable.” He expresses his political intentions with candor and directness. We can all relate to that.

Carol Swain

Morro Bay

Dantona’s running on national party platform

I recently received a mailing from Jim Dantona, candidate for supervisor in District 2. The mailer is headed: “Vote Democrat Jim Dantona for 2d District Supervisor...” and goes on to brag about Jim being a lifelong Democrat.

Apparently Mr. Dantona is unaware that the office he seeks is nonpartisan, and that the California Constitution provides in Article II, Section 6: “(a)All ...county...offices shall be nonpartisan.” The article also prohibits political parties or party central committees from nominating candidates, and bars a candidate’s party preference from inclusion on the ballot. Did the mailer violate the state Constitution? Of course not, but it certainly violates the spirit of the article.

Furthermore, after watching tapes of a League of Women Voters debate between Mr. Dantona and Mr. Woody, it is clear that Jim is running on a national Democratic party platform, rather than addressing the concerns of the residents of the district. It is more important to us locals that the Los Osos aquifer is in overdraft, no matter what Jim says to the contrary, or that we do not want a battery plant sited along the Central Coast, though he favors such plants, though not in Morro Bay, apparently.

Roger D. Randall

Los Osos

Endorsement withdrawn

San Luis Obispo County’s District 2 supervisor race is officially nonpartisan. But a closer look at Democratic candidate Jim Dantona’s record, public statements and associations raises serious questions about whether he is prepared to serve all constituents in the district regardless of political affiliation.

In early February, the San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen’s Association Political Action Committee voted to formally withdraw its endorsement of Dantona after members reviewed a video he posted on his own campaign Facebook page on February 3. The $2,500 donation the PAC had made to his campaign in October was not properly approved by the full committee as required, and was instead authorized by only two members. After the donation became public, multiple cattlemen researched Dantona and found the video.

In it, Dantona questioned whether Sheriff Ian Parkinson violated the law by coordinating with ICE, and criticized the sheriff’s office for releasing footage of protesters inside the county jail lobby. The Cattlemen’s PAC chair confirmed to me that the withdrawal was directly tied to Dantona’s criticism of Sheriff Parkinson, specifically his stance on ICE, not immigration broadly. The PAC is now neutral in the race.

Erik Gorham

Santa Margarita

Support Measure B-26

As proud Los Osos residents of 46 years, we are thrilled at the recent influx of babies and young children bringing smiles to all of our faces. While those of our vintage can enjoy the cordoned pathways of the Elfin Forest and Sweet Springs Nature Preserve, kids need space to run and play. That’s why we strongly support the purchase of Sunny Side School.

For most of the community, the cost will almost certainly be offset by the increase in property values, but for all of us, the benefits to our younger folks will be priceless. We urge you to join us in supporting our youth and voting yes on Measure B-26.

Rick and Julie Rodewald

Los Osos

Vote Fiona Ma

California faces the prospect of electing a governor without any state-level government experience. That’s why the choice for lieutenant governor should be the candidate with the know-how to make government work for us.

Only State Treasurer Fiona Ma has that experience. Her rivals are political appointees who got their jobs through back-room, Boys Club connections. Fiona Ma has been getting things done at every level of state government and managed the state’s finances through the COVID Era and Trump cuts.

The next governor needs a partner with experience. That is why Fiona Ma is the best choice.

Kimberly Conti DeGroot

San Luis Obispo

In defense of older drivers

Recent commentary in The Tribune suggests that elderly drivers “are Increasingly involved in serious crashes” and should, as a result, be required to undergo routine cognitive screening. Actual data related to crash rates of drivers by age group demonstrate a very different conclusion. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, all drivers of age 60 and older have lower crash rates than do drivers under age 30. The safest group of all, by far, is drivers 60-69 years of age. The greatest threat associated with automobile crashes is simply bad driving. Speeding, distracted driving, failure to yield and impaired driving are the actual primary culprits. Cognitive tests of elderly drivers will do nothing to address these real and complex factors associated with automobile crashes.

Russell Mills

San Luis Obispo

Kash Patel’s indecent dive

There was something terribly morbid and terribly wrong about FBI Director Kash Patel’s VIP snorkeling dive on USS Arizona. It’s yet one more example of this administration’s casual indecency. I take it personally, and this is why.

Two sailors who died on Arizona were from my hometown, Arroyo Grande, population 1,090 in the 1940 Census. Wayne Morgan and Jack Scruggs had been second-grade classmates in Arroyo Grande in 1932.

Arizona’s destruction had a tragic impact here: 25 of the 58 seniors in the high school’s Class of 1942 were Nisei, or second-generation Japanese. On April 30, 1942, they were taken away to be incarcerated in the Arizona desert. Many never came back.

More than 80 years later, Project 85 is devoted to using refined DNA science to identify the battleship’s casualties.

Many of the unidentified sailors and Marines were buried, some in mass graves, in the Punchbowl Cemetery on Oahu. In December, those remains will be disinterred for DNA testing.

I just sent Project 85 a sample of my DNA. Because Electrician’s Mate Charles B. Taylor is my cousin and, God willing, they might find him so that my family can bring him home.

Jim Gregory

Arroyo Grande

The arc of infamy

According to the polls, our leader has sunk to a new low in popularity. If his vanity project of the gilded ballroom seems ridiculous, there is another one in the planning to consider.

It’s an Arc de Triomphe to rival the one in Paris, but not for a victory, just for the most unpopular individual in America. It will be taller than the capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial and comes complete with a mythological winged female figure on the top. Who is the woman who will pose for that? Maybe Stormy Daniels, the porn star, will oblige. She doesn’t have wings, but maybe a turkey who escaped Thanksgiving will be available for the wings.

If this useless project seems ludicrous to you, please contact your congressional representatives to stop the Trump de Triomphe.

Janet F. Langton

Templeton