Tom Fulks: Here’s how to end ‘minoritarian’ rule in SLO County
It’s gut-check time for those who don’t believe the lie that our local elections are corrupt and in need of Republican fiddling. It’s time to choose between fact and fiction, right and wrong.
The startling departure of County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong is a wakeup call to every voter in San Luis Obispo County not affiliated with the GOP — a party comprising only a third of registered voters.
Supervisors Lynn Compton, Debbie Arnold and John Peschong act as if their radicalism has a mandate from the entire electorate. It doesn’t. They are in fact “minoritarian” rulers, devoted agents of a distinct minority of SLO County — conspiracy-addled Republicans.
Of SLO County’s 184,564 registered voters, Republicans make up 34%, according to the County Clerk’s Office. Democrats make up 38%, while non-aligned and minor party voters make up 28%.
If SLO County’s non-GOP voters — 66% of the total — seek common cause in 2022, they could right the ship of county government and banish cultural and ideology-driven policy.
While unaligned voters will decide the fate of SLO County’s politics, Democrats must make the case for an anti-GQP alliance.
The policy differences aren’t great. Everyone but the local Qanon crowd favors free and fair elections, smart water policy, sound money management and compassionate treatment of homelessness and mental health problems.
If Arab and ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel can unite to oust longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unity against minoritarianism in SLO County can be achieved, providing alliance candidates stick to policy, avoid arguing ridiculous social conspiracies with their GQP opponents, and make this case:
Democrats want government to do things for people. The GQP wants government to do things to people.
For instance, Compton supported raising campaign contribution limits to $25,000 rather than reining them in; supported restricting vote-by-mail; entertains the “election integrity” lie; and refused during the worst of COVID to call for a countywide facemask mandate or to close our beaches when just about all others were shuttered, in effect inviting the virus here.
The first test of the majority’s understanding of minoritarian rule — and their willingness to fix it — will be in District 4, where Republicans make up 38% of voters, but Democrats (35%) and other voters (27%) together hold the majority.
There’s speculation Compton may try to redistrict Oceano out of D4 this year, signaling apprehension about her longevity in office and the Q-majority’s hold on power. Oceano will be key for any challenger, as Democrats dominate four of Oceano’s six precincts and virtually tie Republican registration in two others.
The board majority knows this, so it stands to reason they’d connive to boot Oceano from D4 — if they can.
Compton unwittingly set a trap for herself on June 8, when she and fellow conservatives tried to sideline the long-established Oceano Advisory Council, whose opinions Compton despises. The minoritarian-majority officially recognized a new council, comprised of sycophantic local business interests who insist the off-road vehicle park to their south is a vital part of Oceano.
The problem: when drawing new districts, supervisors are required to consider “communities of interest” based on factors such as geography, cultural and commercial interests and jurisdictional boundaries. With her handpicked “advisory” group focused on prolonging off-road vehicle use on the dunes, Compton can’t plausibly argue Oceano’s “community of interest” lies to the north.
That doesn’t mean she and fellow conservative board members won’t try, but clearly, she’s worried. Watch for some self-serving, minoritarian pretzel logic come redistricting time.
Adding to these concerns, there’s now talk that board minoritarians might install a like-minded ideologue to oversee our county’s 2022 elections, when a D4 supervisor and county clerk-recorder will be elected by voters.
The Q-majority wants us to believe our local elections system is rigged. That just might come to be — since they’re the ones who’d rig it.
Tribune Columnist Tom Fulks serves on the San Luis Obispo County Democratic Central Committee.