Arnold, Hill, Mecham prevail
June 6, 2012
Debbie Arnold
Voters in the county’s fifth supervisor district turned their backs on incumbent Jim Patterson Tuesday, giving the nod to Debbie Arnold and creating a conservative majority on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors.
In the third district, incumbent Adam Hill outdistanced challenger Ed Waage 58.62 percent to 40 percent – 94 percent of the total tally. First district’s Frank Mecham, former mayor Paso Robles, easily retained his seat without opposition.
Arnold, a rancher in Pozo, was strongly backed by conservative and Republican interests and responded by collecting 55.66 percent of the vote to Patterson’s 44.16. She outspent her opponent considerably.
The current board chairman conceded shortly before midnight after seeing his vote support fall sharply.
Patterson, Hill and Bruce Gibson — who did not face election this go-around — formed a liberal bloc on the current board and collectively have been accused by business, ranching and wine interests of over regulation.
Arnold will tip the board to the right in a new majority including Mecham and Supervisor Paul Teixeira.
The actual makeup of the current board will not change until January 2013.
Print 
PDF
Man, I guess because I’ve known Jim Patterson for so long, I didn’t realize how badly he fell out of touch with voters. Either he angered too many people or the North County dumbed down to Debbie Arnold.
Hot debate. What do you think?
19 
30
I vote for option #2.
Hot debate. What do you think?
14 
25
The north county marginal militant paranoid fringe bought a bigger megaphone this time around.
Like or Dislike:
20 
9
Debbie Arnold can change diapers on infants that can”t challenge her or fight back when she makes outrageous charges.
This “Princess Dimwit of the Prairie” will now have more than competent opposition on the supes, and qualified watchers to record every idiot statement she utters.
Hot debate. What do you think?
22 
40
Actually, although Mr. Cuddy may or may not be incontinent… I am sure some civic minded citizen will pass out the appropriate size ‘depends’ for those on the left who didn’t see this coming.
Oh yeah, Wisconsin was very cool, too.
Hot debate. What do you think?
58 
37
Roger, do you know how you come across to others ? I know that you don’t think about it, because it is impossible to think when one is incapable of thinking.
Carrying on a conversation with you would be like talking with a cowpie.
Hot debate. What do you think?
27 
55
Carrying on a conversation with you would be like talking with a cowpie.”
Would it be a multi-sensory experience?
Like or Dislike:
24 
5
No. I keep my distance from pieces of crap.
I have an extra sensory abiity to detect BS and so can stay away from bullsh*t artists when I desire.
Hot debate. What do you think?
16 
33
Brother SF,
Just another insipid Roger Freburg hit and run post.
As we’ve seen ad infinitum, ol’ Roger never engages in dialog of any kind here at CCN. He makes his inane post, and then runs for shelter, all the while knowing, that if he does have the nerve to actually engage, he will be smitten by the intellect of certain individuals that inhabit this forum!
Run Roger, run!
Like or Dislike:
19 
15
Slowerfaster: This might interest you. Just saying.
Like or Dislike:
9 
5
I haven’t looked and won’t.
I am so much more engaging in person than your trite little prattlings that you seem to find amusing to yourself.
In plainer words..I’m better than you, and know it.
I don’t concern myself with such folderol.
Like or Dislike:
2 
8
Congratulations, Debbie and good luck with those ole’ boys… I am on a mission to support CHANGE I CAN BELIEVE IN and right now that falls on Debbie. I will have no problem in the future to redirect my vote to someone else if she stops listening to its citizens and representing the people that voted her into office, like Mr. Patterson did. Mr. Patterson just didn’t get it and yes, I voted for him in the past but he forgot who elected him and stopped listening to us. I hope Debbie does not lose sight of this requirement of the office! Power to the People!
Hot debate. What do you think?
40 
36
That is all any constituent can say, really. I agree with you, SLOBIRD.
Like the old saying about Washington D.C. goes: it’s a cesspool when you (as a politician) show up, but becomes a jacuzzi before you leave.
Like or Dislike:
14 
11
I’m gonna enjoy the next 4 years!
Hot debate. What do you think?
42 
12
Loved your ‘word salad’ rendition last week …but the eyes were too expressive.
With the convenient name of “Arnold”, maybe we could call her the ” Supernator ” ! ?
Seriously though… I see this as adversely affecting the counties finances, as they will now have to hire a fulltime interpreter for all BOS meetings.
Hot debate. What do you think?
20 
49
What’s up with this , Russ ? The Plebes love you ( mostly ) and they hate me ( mostly ) .
I’M JEALOUS !
{ not really…shhh…i think that your work is brilliant }
Hot debate. What do you think?
6 
29
What is up with that is you come across as a complete buffoon often criticizing others who even remotely might have a similar posting style as you. You are so much a hack ideologue, that anyone who forms their own opinions has likely just written you off.
This topic alone, you have to come in and give multiple replies to just about everyone, often demeaning and being quite childish. You truly are one of the very few on this site that makes me wish there was an ignore option…
Don’t get me wrong, I love to hear opinions that differ from mine, as well as those that agree; however, there are two or three that we can all count on to add nothing to a discussion but meaningless dribble.
Thanks for nothing… repeatedly, again… and again… and again…
Hot debate. What do you think?
34 
11
The feeling is mutual . Thanks.
Like or Dislike:
9 
23
Slow is the poster child for why you want to be anonymous here. He subscribes to ANY attention is better than none. Except after awhile, one grows weary of the diatribe. I now await his reply………….
Like or Dislike:
22 
7
Disgusted
I stand with you, they have some kind of agenda.
I will await his reply as well and will simply be honest and truthful
Like or Dislike:
5 
3
r0y, I agree (mostly) with this slowerfaster post:
“Debbie Arnold can change diapers on infants that can”t challenge her or fight back when she makes outrageous charges.
This “Princess Dimwit of the Prairie” will now have more than competent opposition on the supes, and qualified watchers to record every idiot statement she utters.
I think the first paragraph is accurate, and I like the metaphor “can change diapers on infants” for her lack of government knowledge, experience and skills, as well as the part that accurately states how Arnold folds and crumples when confronted, especially in a 1:1 debate, with someone who knows what they are talking about, and have enough experience to state it in a way that listeners can actually understand.
I like the second paragraph, too. The “Princess Dimwit of the Prairie” is a funny, pointed moniker for Arnold, and I think I’ll use it (thanks, Slowerfaster). However, I don’t think she will have much competition on the BOS because they tend to “coddle” their own, and not point out what @ssholes other supes are being, nor do they stand up for citizens in a BOS-meeting setting.
So, in this instance, I think Slowerfaster added to the discussion quite a lot. Don’t you get tired of the mealy-mouthed, politically correct, wouldn’t-say-$hit-if-they-had-a-mouthful posters, who don’t think out of the box when describing politicians’ behavior?
Like or Dislike:
7 
17
“wouldn’t-say-$hit-if-they-had-a-mouthful”
One of my Dad’s favorite sayings !
He was also a NAZI killer. Special Ops in WWII that looked for and found SS and Gestapo . They were never taken as POW’s . Shot while attempting escape, or stabbed, or garrotted.
He never talked about it, until he had a debilitating heart attack.
Then , he thought I was one of his war buddies, and so talked freely .
After liberating Bergen/Belsen , they didn’t even discriminate in favor of ordinary German soldiers. They killed any they found in a uniform. The Soviets knew this early on.
Like or Dislike:
3 
5
Mary if you cannot see the writting on the wall
You are guilable to anyone who wants to use use use AND USE YOU!!!
Like or Dislike:
5 
2
I’ll second that.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
So, how long will this ‘conservative’ bloc control things …as Arnold is not conservative. Anyone that has heard her realizes that she is the new breed of ultral -right Teabagger extremist that want it itheir way all the time.
I give it a month before she starts trying to run the show and alienating the other ‘amigos”. After her sixth rant about plastic bags or some other imaginary Joh Bircher menace, the supe meetings will become a real circus.
Hot debate. What do you think?
46 
69
Teabagger statement = sour grapes. Obviously the PEOPLE voted and saw through Patterson. In time if they don’t like Debbie, then we will see a change again. Time will tell.
Hot debate. What do you think?
38 
32
Gosh, you guys can sure cry and throw around the cute terms you’ve developed in an attempt to insult those who stand on their own two feet and aren’t always looking to the government for support.
Hot debate. What do you think?
41 
24
We’ll see how she makes the transition from Romper Room “Miss Debbie” to government employee.
Will she lead the other four supes in singing “Be a Do Bee, Not a Don’t Bee” ?
Hot debate. What do you think?
25 
41
Slowerfaster mocks Debbie Arnold for running a successful preschool for 15+ years…
Any person who feeds, teaches, and nurtures little ones ALREADY knows more than most government employees anyway.
Don’t worry slowerfaster. Mrs. Arnold will do just fine. You’re being a poor loser and it’s really pathetic how you’re mocking the winner.
Hot debate. What do you think?
51 
25
Listen …there’s nothing wrong with being a glorified babysitter, or running a day care that could also be called “Hoam Skuling for Dummies”; but that experience does not translate to government service or working with adults.
I have a good auto mechanic, but I wouldn’t vote for him for anything…and I like him !
One of the most successful persons I have ever known was the classic Horatio Alger story of individual achievement through hard work and luck. He bought a ramshackle farm for next to nothing in the Great Depression, then discovered one of the largest zinc deposits in America.
Great guy, multimillionaire, dumb as a stump.If the nations fortunes centered around zinc and mining, he shoulda been President. But that was all he knew ( and drinking beer and eating hot dogs ).
Maybe Debbie Arnold can give potty mouth training, if that subject ever comes up in BOS sessions.
Hot debate. What do you think?
19 
45
“….it’s really pathetic how you’re mocking the winner.”
And what did many of the readers here do, when Obama was elected President?
Like or Dislike:
14 
2
How is “the winner” so special?
When pressing your opinion, do you change your opinion on a candidate and their tactics based on whether they win or not?
Someone who does that is a kiss-a@@.
Like or Dislike:
4 
3
I agree mary…it is pretty lame and there are many “Homers” that will latch on to the wagon of a perceived ‘winner’ in the hope of reflected glory .
Bipartisan in this regard.
Now , I have to say that there are FEW politicians that are gracious in WINNING, that don’t take an “I WON , SO you opponents can go take a flying LEAP ! ”
My former governor in Wisconsin was Lee Dreyfuss, and was a Republican, and a good man, and I can say a friend.
After he became Governor, he was a true MAN of the PEOPLE. He declined to run for re-election ( how odd is that ? )
Like or Dislike:
3 
8
She was former supervisor Mike Ryan’s aide as well as aide to a state senator thus a government employee. Do you just comment on news websites but not read them?
Like or Dislike:
25 
7
WHOA… This is NEWS …Debbie Arnold was DOUBLE DIPPING and collecting GOVERNMENT paychecks ?
THanks for this news on this incompetent criminal !
Much appreciation !
Hot debate. What do you think?
9 
31
WHOA!! Please explain how she is a criminal??
Like or Dislike:
20 
5
I’ll let you do your homework as to her employment history, legislative aides are probably aren’t career civil service employees with the accordant benefits, more like contract employees, but government contract employees nonetheless.
Like or Dislike:
14 
4
So, you are saying that DEBBIE ARNOLD is a a SHILL !
Thank you!
Like or Dislike:
6 
22
Stand on their own two feet? Isn’t Arnold a welfare farmer?
Like or Dislike:
4 
4
I agree, it will be something to watch Arnold’s demonstration of her nincompoopery in the BOS setting.
I think the “bagger” descriptive is overused by liberals (I’m a liberal, but I’m not a Dem-Party robot), and have, therefore, decreased the impact of what being a bagger is.
I think Arnold is an opportunist and, therefore, she will go to the highest bidder. As we saw in the campaign, she is short on ethics and long on slime campaign tactics.
I’m so bored with Adam Hill’s lack of ethics and slime campaign tactics. To anticipate that we are facing four years of Arnold being Hill’s Mini-Me is not a happy scenario.
Like or Dislike:
5 
5
Viva para Santa Margarita y todo.
Like or Dislike:
7 
9
QUOTING ARTICLE: “The actual makeup of the current board will not change until January 2013.”
——————
Maybe one, or all three, will be in jail by that time. It could happen.
After all, Patterson and Hill are the guys who supported the absurd salaries of the APCD’s administrative personnel, Hill apparently believes campaign laws are to be printed out and used as toiletpaper, and Arnold knows less about government than my cat does so it is highly likely she has already done something illegal just to get elected.
Hot debate. What do you think?
36 
42
Contrast this impartial reportage with Cuddy’s bedwetting over at the Trib, and it becomes apparent where one should seek balanced reporting…
Hot debate. What do you think?
37 
14
“bedwetting?”
Curious choice of metaphors. Care to explain?
Like or Dislike:
13 
6
Perhaps I am just overly sensitive to Bob’s enviro-bent, but his coverage of this very same event at the Trib is heavy on sky-is-falling innuendo.
I am alluding to him wetting the bed due to his bad dreams of our little burgh being paved over.
Let me be clear: It was, as you suggested, a metaphor. I have absolutely no knowledge (or interest) in Bob Cuddy’s nocturnal continence.
Like or Dislike:
21 
10
” I have absolutely no knowledge (or interest) in Bob Cuddy’s nocturnal continence.
” – racket
Except for the fact that you were the one that introduced it.
Do you read what you write, OR understand it ?
Like or Dislike:
9 
18
Don’t you think “bedwetting” was a metaphor for Cuddy’s getting so worked up in his defense of his sacred cows when they are targeted?
Like or Dislike:
0 
3
I did a little research on the topic after I read your post, and “bad dreams” are not directly listed as a cause of incontinence.
That’s why I asked.
Like or Dislike:
5 
1
Thank you, Russell. I’ll choose my flippant allusions with more caution next time.
…
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
No, but anxiety and stress can be. And we’ve all read Cuddy when he gets his panties in a knot about one of his special pals getting criticized for something Cuddy cannot defend them from because what they are being criticized about is true.
Like or Dislike:
3 
2
Here I thought “bed-wetting” was an allusion to Cuddy’s degrading Tribune listeners, with whom he did not agree, as “swamp gas.”
Like or Dislike:
1 
1