Election returns prove there was no ‘blue wave’ in SLO County

If there really was an earth-shaking move to the left and away from Republican values, as Tribune columnist Tom Fulks recently stated, it was not reflected in how San Luis Obispo County voters marked their ballots in the general election.

The majority of SLO County’s registered voters are Democrats, and for the most part, they voted a straight-party ticket when it came to candidates.

But voting on statewide ballot measures — most of which the Democrats in Sacramento pushed through — tells a far different story.

The Republican Party of San Luis Obispo (RPSLO) recommended voting no on all California ballot measures with two exceptions — Propositions 20 and 22.

SLO County residents voted that way on 11 of 12 initiatives, which means they agreed with the local Republican Party on nearly 92% of measures.

This was anything but a major shift to the left, as Mr. Fulks claimed.

California voters overall also were in agreement with the RPSLO recommendations on six of the 12 initiatives.

That’s still not a blue wave — more like a ripple on the surface of a mill pond.

SLO County voters read the ballot and understood how the initiatives would affect them.

They demonstrated fiscal responsibility by the fact that they were not swayed by extensive and expensive ads for propositions that would have been costly for all taxpayers.

Voters also showed a lot of common sense, as demonstrated by the results on these four measures:

• Nearly 62% of SLO voters and 52% of statewide voters said no to Proposition 15 which, would have eliminated Proposition 13 taxpayer protection on businesses and would have been the largest tax increase in California history, causing everything to cost more.
• Close to 68% of SLO County voters opposed Proposition 21, which would have approved rent control in California. Rent control has never worked in places where it is in effect, such as New York City. Statewide, nearly 60% of voters opposed Prop 21.
• Proposition 16, which would have reinstated affirmative action, was defeated by 67.2% of SLO voters and 56.7% of California voters. In November 1996, Proposition 209 eliminated affirmative action in California by a 55% vote. Proposition 209 has withstood legal challenges since. Voters realized it made no sense to vote for an issue that had already been defeated a generation ago.
• Proposition 17 would have allowed 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections, provided they turned 18 by the date of the general election. In California, as in most states, someone 17 years old is legally a child. In SLO County, 64.1% of voters know that voting is too important to leave to a child and 56.6% of California voters agreed.

The percentage of the SLO County voters who agreed with the RPSLO, as reflected above, is particularly significant since there are more registered Democrats than registered Republicans in this county and California.

More importantly, it shows the Republican Party of San Luis Obispo represents and works for the values of the majority of SLO County residents. Figures don’t lie.

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.

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 11:52 AM.