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Hill hammers Thoma for homeless questions

December 20, 2012

Bill Thoma

By DANIEL BLACKBURN

A San Luis Obispo County supervisor lashed out Wednesday at a local business owner for posing questions about a proposed homeless facility and seeking more detailed information from the facility’s planners.

In a disparaging email, District Three’s Adam Hill assailed Bill Thoma for distributing what the elected official called a “fear-mongering flyer.”

Thoma said he was simply attempting to inform other local business people about the county’s plans for the homeless shelter’s location and construction inside a business park.

“There could be a better way to do this,” he said, “and I think it warrants an open discussion.”

The bombastic supervisor wrote in the widely-circulated email that “Thoma is determined to defeat this project no matter what… (and) has shown himself to be selfish and dishonest.”

Hill apparently was angered after seeing Thoma’s single-sheet pamphlet raising a number of issues Thoma suggested should be considered before the current plan goes forward. Thoma also contends that business owners who will be impacted by the center’s placement have not been fully informed of county plans and approvals.

Proposed location of the planned 200-bed facility is on a one-acre Higuera Street plot adjacent to the county’s Social Services Department building.

Thoma wants more consideration of a nine-acre parcel on Prado Road, behind a trailer rental outlet, as an alternate location.

“I’m not sure what set him off,” said Thoma of Hill’s outburst. “We’re not asking that much.”

Concerns raised by Thoma and a growing number of fellow local business owners include overnight campers, parking, vandalism, crime, concerns for safety of employees and others, trespassing and littering.

“We need to get more people involved to let our elected officials know this location and its terms are unacceptable,” Thoma wrote in the brochure.

In response, Hill bristled that he has “had enough of Mr. Thoma’s passive-aggressive attitude and actions” and intimated that if the project would fail, “the blame should fall squarely on the hunched shoulders of Bill Thoma.”

Hill’s broadside came after he received a copy of the Thoma brochure from Dee Torres, Homeless Services Director for the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo Co., Inc. She is Hill’s long-time girlfriend.

Several public officials, such as Hill, who have connections to CAPSLO, have repeatedly approved government funds to be spent on the organization while battling for its programs. Both SLO County Supervisor Jim Patterson and SLO City Councilman John Ashbaugh, proponents of the proposed center, sit on the CAPSLO board.

Late Wednesday, Ashbaugh responded to Hill’s objections to Thoma’s flyer by asking that further email discussions that place the proposed homeless center in a negative light not be distributed.

“I would urge all parties included in this email to avoid further email exchanges or the circulation of defamatory materials in the near future” Ashbaugh said in his email. “The circulation of a flyer opposing the approved Homeless Services Center site has caught many of us off-guard and ill-prepared to respond in any manner that is productive.”
Bill Thoma’s brochure


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Is Hill on the pipe? What the hell is the matter with that guy?


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Adam Hill is not alone in being naive to the transient population. Ever since the railroad came into San Luis in 1894, transients have been making their way down the coast looking for a handout. But today’s travelers are much younger, but wiser than Mr. Hill.


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Naive or making sure his “special female friend” Ms Torres, always has a taxpayer funded job?


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I’m no fan of Hill (!), but anyone remember Thoma’s very vocal campaign for the sports fields built in San Luis Obispo off Broad St. a number of years back? Thoma campaigned heavily for the fields “for our youth”. Guess who’s electric company got the huge contract for the sports fields? That’s right; Thoma Electric. No doubt Mr. Thoma likes kids, but I would question his motives in both issues.


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If you question Bill Thoma’s motives, then you don’t know Bill Thoma. His family has worked for generations to make this community a better place to live.


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You are correct, I do not personally know Mr. Thoma. Perhaps he is a great supporter of the community, I don’t know enough about him to dispute that. However, it is true that , A: he campaigned heavily for the sports fields, and, B: his electrical contracting company got a huge contract out of the deal. If I am wrong about that, please correct me.


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First, Bill Thoma and family are huge supporters of this community and especially sports programs for years, long before the soccer fields. Second, the City of SLO has (had) at that time to award contracts to local contracts who were within 10 percent of the highest bidder. Obviously you do not know Bill Thoma, the Thoma Family, or anything about this upstanding business. You should be very careful of your statement when you lack. Valid information.


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“Perhaps” a great supporter of the community? There is no “perhaps”. I’ve seen Thoma Electric on Habitat for Humanity and other jobs were their services were either fully or partially donated. Bill Thoma is the last person I would have expected to be the target of the unfiltered hateful spew on this website courtesy of Mr. Hill’s evil minions.


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No, Bill Thoma is is evil incarnate, catdude says so.


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why don’t you check to see who was involved in organizing the “barn raising” at the Prado Day Center and had all the electrical material and labor donated ? …… same thing at the original Children’s Museum…… same thing with the multi-purpose building at the Camp French Boy Scout Camp….. I can’t even imagine the number of hours, money and resources Bill Thoma has given to this community over the years………


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Oh yeah, because Thoma got the contract the whole project was a corrupt boondoggle because Thoma supported youth sports fields. I don’t think Bill Thoma would have had any problem if Lee Wilson or Electricraft beat him on the bid. Maybe he bid it cheap because he wanted to do the job and wasn’t concerned about making money, just keeping his guys, and girls, busy, and staying involved.


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Adam Hill continues to be an embarrassment. His unprofessional attitude and comments are out-of-line for a person that works for US. Give this guy a position and he sees power. He’s simply a servant of the people and he needs to remember that.


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To describe Adam Hill as a waste of skin would be too favorable. He is an embarrassment to the County and those constituents who voted for him, not to mention the rest of us who have reasonable representation on the Board of Supervisors by those who conduct themselves in a polite and professional manner.


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And he continues to be supervisor…$100,000 for a recall election would be a bargain.


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Adam Hill is SLO County’s introduction into big- time nasty professional politics. We’re not in Kansas anymore.


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The loss of business people in San Luis politics is one of the reasons I built 8 miles south of my home town. I could see the bureaucrats and politicians like Hill taking over local politics in the early ’90s. Just ask the owner of the Denny’s on Madonna Rd how much he had to pay for that ADA concrete ramp mandated by the city after his kitchen fire.


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Wheelchair access is ADA mandated by FEDERAL law …notsosmartnative.


I wish you a long life so that you grow old and have to use a wheelchair some day.


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Adam Hill, I bet you read this chat board; your ego won’t let you stay away.


So here it goes: You are a B U L L Y.


You don’t have to agree w/Mr. Thoma but as an elected supervisor, you’re supposed to listen to the voters, not verbally harass them with yet another one of your rude and “bombastic” e-mails.


Shame on you, Adam Hill. Patterson’s on his way out and you and Bruce Gibson will be next.


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Bill Thoma and his family have done more for San Luis Obispo County than Adam Hill could ever accomplish in his lifetime. I would like to thank Bill for all he’s done and all he’s doing to make this a better place to live. Between Gibson and Hill, it’s hard to pick who is more of an embarrassment to the County. This is really sad.


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You people elected him. Me and my people gotta live with him.


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I cannot believe that Adam Hill or any other politician would make the comments about Bill Thoma after all he has done for this community. Same on you, Mr. Hill.


Then to state that several public officials have connections to CAPS is an understatement. CAPS is the ACORN of San Luis Obispo County. It does do wonderful force for those in need, but not without its heavy handed mentality – our way or the highway. This organization is feeding the Democratic Party slogans all day long. They have built quite an empire for themselves in this County with darling Dee Torres and Adam Hill (partners in real life).


Am I the only one who sees something wrong with with all the extra circular activities at the County with Adam Hill and Dee Torres, or Paavo and his girlfriend (former board member from LOCSD), or Bruce Gibson and his girlfriend (prior aide). These are only the ones made public and you can be assured there are plenty more.


Mr. Hill has no respect for anyone that disagrees with him, his girlfriend, or his buddies. This is NOT the way a democracy is run, Mr. Hill. Please be respect to people who disagree with you,they have rights too. Mr. Thoma is a long standing member of this community long before you got here. He has given much unlike you who have taken much from us. Please respect him and his viewpoints, they are as important as yours if not more so. HE LIVES, HAS A BUSINESS, AND PAYS TAXES IN SAN LUIS OBISPO. He has every right to speak his piece.


SHAME ON ADAM HILL AND JOHN ASHBAUGH!


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I couldn’t keep a straight face when reading the line about Hill calling Thoma passive-aggressive. Hill as big a loose cannon as he is, to make any comments about someone else’s emotions is laughable. Of course Hill himself is laughable.


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Also Adam says Mr. Thoma is the one who’s “selfish and dishonest.” ha ha ha ha!


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