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Supervisor candidate Clift scores major union endorsements

April 3, 2014
Muril Clift

Muril Clift

Muril Clift, candidate for the District 2 San Luis Obispo County supervisor seat, won the endorsements of three major unions and an agricultural group during the past two weeks.

Clift’s endorsements by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union No. 639, AFL-CIO , the Tri Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, the Tri-Counties Central Labor Council and the San Luis Obispo Cattlemen’s Political Action Committee follow a recent vote by Clift’s opponent incumbent Bruce Gibson to award a job to an out of area contractor. The IBEW represents many electricians in the county who say they have lost work because of the current board’s voting record.

On Jan. 28, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors awarded a $48.2 million contract to a Sacramento construction firm, Auburn Constructors to build the Los Osos sewage treatment plant. The board awarded the Sacramento company the contract even though two competing contractors submitted lower bids and opted to hire San Luis Obispo based electrical workers to perform much of the job.

Representatives from the two losing bidders, Balfour Beatty and Anderson Pacific, estimated that local union workers would receive about 40,000 man-hours on the project. The bids were rejected because of bidding errors that the county board did not want to allow the time to correct.

Gibson, whose district includes Los Osos, made the motion to award the contract. He said staff correctly deemed the two lowest bids invalid and that rebidding the project would create too much risk.

“We look forward to getting this project constructed at the least possible cost,” Gibson said at the conclusion of the meeting.

Nevertheless, the cost of the entire sewer is rising. After approving the contract with the Sacramento company, total sewer costs are running $12 million more than projected.

 


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Dear Muril Clift,


CONGRATULATIONS on your endorsements!


Allow me to suggest going down and talking to the Teamsters in Santa Maria and the SEIU… The Teamsters are a good group as well.


I hope you can break up the three stooges in our county supervisors… Caren needs to go as well.


Good Luck,


Roger Freberg


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SURE..Roger the rabbit now WUV’S unions !


GIVE ME A BREAK !


This anti-unionist sludgepole has pontificated numerous projectile vomiting verbal fusillades AGAINST unions !


A nihilist / corporatist in our midst pretending ..in hiding.


WE ALL KOW what you are ROGER !


Now go run to your hidey-hole !


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Gibson v. Clift – Tweedledum v. Tweedledee as they will both vote the same way. Clift supports Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) which allow only union-signatory firms to bid public worksprojects. If you are not union or refuse to join the union for the duration of the job, you can’t bid it. This is public money but it’s earmarked for union-only firms. This is patently wrong, especially when nearly 90% of the local workforce is non-union. The unions are supporting Clift because he supports PLAs, which will give them 100% of the public works jobs in the future if the Board imposes a PLA on a job.


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Well, if all things being equal then vote for Clift, who will be civil to the people he represents, is a family man with moral and respect, and we won’t have to be paying for his fluff. Does anyone know where Gibson is living? Rumor has it that he lists he Mom and Dad (age 60″+) but he is in North County. Any feedback on this?


I already since Clift my donation. Might have to send some more.


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I’ve also heard that he’s been living in Paso Robles.


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Gibson versus Clift? Which leg do you shoot off? Isn’t there anyone else?


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We will take absolutely ANYONE over GIBSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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That kind of logic leaves us with politicians like Obama. I voted for him the first time around thinking that no one could be worse than Bush/Cheney — or fellow travelers like McCain/Palin. I may not have been wrong but the differences in negatives pretty much cancelled each other out.


As bad as Gibson is, I have been observing politics in this county long enough to know that it is possible to elect worse. Whether Clift qualifies or not, I don’t know. I am not in District 2 and don’t know the lesser figures there anymore than I did Obama.


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The ‘local’ firms had bidding errors. Gee…do you think that they had innappropriate time to find and fix those errors before their bids were submitted ?

Evidently, the Sacramento firm had no such problems.


Would one speculate that errors in bidding might translate to errors in process and execution ?


These ‘ex post facto’ sour grapes indicate the ‘good-ole-boy’ism rife among SLO county hob-nobbers, and why an endorsement from such should be viewed with educated skepticism.


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The Supervisors must do what is correct and legal!!


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Really, what is correct (sleeping with you administrative aide) and legal. Really, when did that matter in areas of the Brown Act, etc. Really, Hill and Gibson, the two musketeers doing something correct and legal. Oh please, I have to catch some air!!!!


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in olden day a glimpse of stocking..


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That was the sad reality. Bidding a job like that requires thousands of man hours. The other two bidders know the game and blew it. We can’t just say too bad to the guy who invested all the time and money to get it right.


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Is the greater evil Bruce Gibson, or the unions?


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God almighty- Bruce Gibson, or a union stooge. Good grief- can’t we do ANY better than THIS?


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We get the government we deserve not the government we want.


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We are stuck with the unions, they are never going away. But we do have control of Gibson. All politicians are having to deal with the unions and for the most part in California, unions are controlling are lives every day (transportation, education, health care, staples, etc.)


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happy Caesar Chavez day to you


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racket…..your answer would be GIBSON.


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I say it over and over, vote for change! If you let the politicians know that we will constantly vote you out until you hear us, the people, maybe they will have more respect for us and the office they hold. I say vote all incumbents out, one by one!


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It’s way past time for Bruce Gibson to be gone from the Board of Supervisors. I hope all the organizations who endorsed Muril Clift will walk door to door in the district to help someone who actually cares about District 2 and it’s constituents win this election.


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It wasn’t a case of the County not allowing the time for the two contractors to correct the errors, it was the LAWSUIT that would likely follow from the contractor that submitted the correct bid that was next lowest after them. Lawsuit. Like Los Osos needs another one of those. Rebidding would take a long time anyway, there would be NO guarantee that any bids in the next round would be cheaper, and as we have seen in the past, “We Delay, We Pay.”


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If you have ever been at bid openings you know the ropes!!


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This isn’t an isolated occurrence, bids with mistakes. I was at the BOS meeting where this went down and am paraphrasing the county’s legal counsel and the comments made at that meeting. Watch it yourself to see what happened.


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Fan club again rally’s the supporters!


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