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Arnold says Gibson misleading lawmakers

June 10, 2014
Debbie Arnold

Debbie Arnold

By DANIEL BLACKBURN

Amendments to legislation aiding formation of a water district to manage the Paso Robles aquifer are just fine, according to county supervisors’ chairman Bruce Gibson, asserting he speaks for the entire board.

Not so, said Fifth District Supervisor Debbie Arnold Tuesday, who will ask her fellow board members to discuss the issue and to vote openly on it.

Arnold said Gibson sent “a misleading letter” to Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian (R-San Luis Obispo), whose AB 2453 would create a so-called “hybrid” district with the power to tax, regulate, and enforce water usage within a North County area with yet-undetermined boundaries.

Achadjian, in a June 4 letter to Gibson, asked that the draft amendments to his bill be placed on the June 17 supervisors’ agenda “for discussion and a public comment period.” One of the suggested amendments would allow renters within the new district to hold positions on its governing body.

The assemblyman said that “without approval of the amendments from the Board of Supervisors and input from the public, I would not feel comfortable moving forward with AB 2453 until those discussions are able to occur.”

Gibson responded by telling Achadjian that “previous public input received… are sufficient for (the board) to support (the bill) as amended.”

Arnold angrily derided Gibson’s unilateral move as “bullying.”

“When the chairman of the board sends a misleading letter insinuating that there has been lots of public comment on this matter, it sends the wrong message to Sacramento about the creation of this district in general,” Arnold said. “There are thousands of landowners in the basin opposed to the creation of the district.

“So I’m still focusing on the issue of the formation of the district itself, because as it stands just 30 landowners can prevail over the potential opposition of 4,900 landowners. The way things are headed, the board will be made up of people who want some sort of personal benefit.”

Gibson cited the “agreement” of two water groups, PRAAGS and PRO Water Equity, which have a combined total membership of about a dozen people, as his primary reason for supporting the water district plan.

After receiving Gibson’s claim that the board and the public support the proposed amendments to the bill, Achadjian elected to move forward.

“Because the board has determined that the proposed amendments are within the scope of the discussions held at the board hearings in February, I will move forward with the amendments,” Achadjian wrote to Gibson on Tuesday.

Arnold said Gibson’s actions have “set a bad precedent of allowing the chair to support legislation under the umbrella of a legislative platform and without a new hearing process. I also object to the way the letter misleads legislators into believing that public comment in the past has supported the district when in fact it has been the opposite.”

The bill will be heard in Sacramento in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee June 18.

UPDATED June 11, 10:32 a.m.– Supervisor Debbie Arnold succeeded today in placing a discussion of proposed amendments to AB 2453 on the June 17 supervisors’ agenda. The board voted unanimously to support Arnold’s motion after a hesitant Frank Mecham endorsed it. Board Chair Bruce Gibson argued against the motion for nearly 40 minutes.


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Knock-knock. Who’s there? Not-enuf. Not-enuf who? Not-enuf registered voters with a brain to oust Gibson when the ousting-opportunity was at its prime. As of June 11, 2014, Unofficial Election Results from SLO County Clerk-Recorder reveal a whopping 8,559 (66.04%) voters said “YES” to four more years of Gibsonianism. Translation: District 2 gets what they asked for. Everyone else has been granted free passes to tag along for the ultimate JOY RIDE! Prepare for more up-and-up times just ahead with a heaping helping of truth, selflessness, and “let me be absolutely clear” moments.


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Just an observation, but it usually takes a strong candidate to throw out an incumbent.


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+1


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So, when Gibson says that he speaks for the “entire board”, so who on the Board are behind these Nazi-esque actions???


Let me guess….. Caren Ray is supportive??


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No, Ray was in opposition.


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Congratulations, Roger, you’ve just reduced the power of the analogy, just because your lazy mind couldn’t discover a more appropriate one. Armies of skinheads salute you!


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Debbie Arnold has a constituency that is NOT those that vote for her, or those that live in her district.


Her constituency are her ‘silent partners’ of BIG money Ag and outside winery corps.

They say “JUMP”, she replies, ” How far ? ”


FOLLOW THE MONEY !


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And yet you have never provided any proof of this so called BIG money…….hmmmmm


Let me guess it’s there and all I have to do is look it up, heard that before….. many times.


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On this matter, Debbie Arnold has the full support of her constituency and Frank Mecham’s constituency (minus the big wine owners, and out of county water brokers).


Slowerfaster, you don’t live in the North County, meet with North County neighbors, listen to KPRL, etc. Yes, we know who Debbie Arnold is associated with, but in this case, our biggest enemy is Bruce Gibson, who is acting like an arrogant tool thinking he is the Caesar of the Supervisors.


Everyone concerned needs to go to Katcho’s web site and tell him that Bruce Gibson does not speak for us, and for the rest of the Board of Supervisors and for the people in the North County affected.


Frank Mecham, stop being a weak weeny and stand up to Bruce Gibson.


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I don’t often agree with Arnold’s viewpoints, but I do in the issue of Supervisor Gibson pulling a “Caren Ray” (not the infidelity, either) to manipulate folks by voting with Arnold when, in fact, he spent a good deal of time and effort opposing the issue before the vote was held.


I don’t think it is important that I am not in her district. She is representing my viewpoint so I support her on this issue.


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I live in Debbie’s district and I am not “Big money Ag” or a winery. I support Debbie and what she stands for. We need more like her rather than the lefties who want to control our lives and limit our property rights. She lost her first race only because Patterson smeared her just before the election – and he won by only a handful of votes. Debbie has strong support among a wide cross section of her district.


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” . . . Bruce Gibson argued against the motion for nearly 40 minutes.”


The same guy who frequently truncates public comment.


What. A. Tool.


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No kidding. He is the king of the I-Got-Mine-Who-Cares-About-You Club.


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Palmer, you are so wrong!


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You can’t trust this water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it.


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Sorry folks, Gibson has been bought and paid for and his owners are the water thieves.


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Good job Debbie. It must be exhausting to have to work so hard for “what’s right” and constantly face people like Gibson attempting to manipulate and bully his fellow supervisors and the people in the community. Good leadership requires representation of the people. It addition, integrity, honesty and respect should be inherent. Debbie you are taking a step forward to do what is right and showing the quality of a true leader and a good person with solid morals. In the long run you will be the one who makes a difference in the community by being transparent and honest and actually representing the people. Thank you for this.


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Arnold will never agree with anything Bruce Gibson has to say!


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Given Mr. Gibson is a liar and adulterer, Let hope so.


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Who care who agrees with Gibson, that isn’t the issue on the table here, his character is. Reputation is what people think of you, character is what you do when no one is watching.


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Whatever. Look at how much time Bruce wastes in futility only to agree with Arnold in the end:


From the update above: Supervisor Debbie Arnold succeeded today in placing a discussion of proposed amendments to AB 2453 on the June 17 supervisors’ agenda. Board Chair Bruce Gibson argued against the motion for nearly 40 minutes. The board then voted unanimously to support Arnold’s motion.


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Let’s guess how any vote will go…. Mr. Gibson and Mr. Hill will vote together, Ms. Arnold and Mr. Mecham will vote together, and if a vote requires a majority Ms. Ray will vote with Gibson and Hill, if it doesn’t matter Ms. Ray will vote with Arnold and Mecham and then claim how independent she is.


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+1


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Bingo on Caren Ray. That is exactly what she pulled in the first vote, then tried to trot out that rationalization during her campaign.


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BINGO!


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Gibson made sure his voting record would reflect he supported Arnold’s more equitable approach to the water district, even though he was vehemently against it.


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Neither do I.


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