The city of SLO has swung too far left. It’s time for new leadership

Columnist Tom Fulks would have readers believe that Cherrise Sweeney and Abrianna Torres are conservative ‘Trojan Horses’ masquerading as moderates.

This is apparently because they both hired Pacific Coast Strategies (PCS) a political consulting business that previously had ties to county Supervisors Lynn Compton and John Peschong, both Republicans. County supervisor positions — just like SLO mayoral and City Council positions — are non-partisan. Hiring PCS seems like a smart thing to do, since a majority of the voters in their districts elected and reelected Supervisors Compton and Peschong to their positions.

Because Sweeney and Torres receive endorsements and funding from Republicans does not mean they are not moderate and will not seek to work with everyone for the best outcome for citizens of San Luis Obispo. Since the positions are non-partisan, candidates must reach out to all sides to get their message out.

Under the stewardship of Mayor Heidi Harmon and the current City Council, the city of San Luis Obispo has taken a hard-left turn.

One can see this in the city’s promotion of all-electric appliances in new homes. Initially, the city discussed banning gas appliances, but backed off due to public pressure and instead adopted a program that encourages all-electric homes.

That still makes no sense in light of the pending closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. At present, California can’t supply enough power, even with Diablo Canyon on line, and it will only get worse when the plant closes. All-electric homes will force people to use more electricity for cooking and home heating. All-electric homes were the hot thing 40 years ago, but were a failure then and will be again.

Further blunders are the constriction of traffic by narrowing traffic lanes; eliminating traffic lanes in favor of oversized bicycle lanes; and the current and future construction of roundabouts instead of traffic lights.

Additionally, Measure G, which proposes to make the half-cent temporary sales tax permanent and tack on another 1 cent sales tax, will further burden residents and visitors.

Heidi Harmon and the City Council plan more of the “same old, same old.”

Voters will find both Sweeney and Torres are focusing on the issues facing the city of San Luis Obispo and are significantly more moderate than their incumbent opponents.

Sweeney plans to strengthen San Luis Obispo by implementing energy and environmental policies that balance each other, emphasizing local economic recovery and restoring trust in public safety and public health.

Torres will address work-force housing, support public safety and work to increase faith in city government through accountability and transparency.

Voters should accept neither Mr. Fulks’ opinion nor mine at face value.

They can see for themselves the positions of both candidates by simply looking at their websites: Cherisse Sweeney (cherissesweeney.com) and Abrianna Torres (www.abriannatorres.com).

Tribune columnist Joseph Rouleau is a retired supervisory special agent with the U.S. Treasury Department and a retired U.S. Naval Reserve captain. Contact him in care of letters@thetribunenews.com.