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Final election results for SLO County

December 3, 2016
Harry Farmer wins a seat on the Cambria board.

Harry Farmer wins a seat on the Cambria board.

By KAREN VELIE

The current president of the Cambria Community Services District Board has been unseated and a purposed transportation tax was defeated, both by slim margins, according to the San Luis Obispo County Clerk Recorders Office’s final election results which were posted on Friday.

In the race for three seats on the Cambria board, it appeared on election night that the three incumbents had retained their board positions. Director Amanda Rice led with 1,319 votes, followed by Director Greg Sanders with 1,244 votes and board President Gail Robinette with 1,115 votes.

In fourth place, only 14 votes behind Robinette, was Harry Farmer.

However, Farmer overtook Robinette by 33 votes to win a seat on the Cambria board, according to Friday’s results. Farmer is an astrologist who has lived in Cambria for over 30 years.

In another close race, SLO County’s Measure J, a transportation tax initiative, failed by less than half of 1 percent.

In the end, 66.31 percent of voters approved the sales tax initiative, and 33.69 percent voted against it. A 66.67 percent vote was required for it to pass.

Nevertheless, the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) is investigating allegations that San Luis Obispo County and the county’s regional transportation agency illegally used taxpayer dollars to promote Measure J on the November ballot.

In the FPPC complaint, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Central Coast Taxpayers Association allege that SLO County and the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments used nearly $250,000 of taxpayer money to promote Measure J. In addition, the complaint says that government officials violated disclosure laws by failing to report the funds.

During the campaign, officials sent registered voters materials urging them to support Measure J, according to the complaint.

While state law allows government agencies to send voters “informational only” materials about ballot initiatives, the complaint contends the Measure J materials were not “informational only.” The FPPC investigation is ongoing.

In another close race, Heidi Harmon won the San Luis Obispo mayor’s seat, beating incumbent Jan Marx by 47 votes.


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Good luck Harry!

Cambria once had a sense of community over privilege.

Stand strong:


https://calcoastnews.com/2016/11/cambria-finance-director-line-five-digit-raise/


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DeCarli was rewarded because he broke the rules to extort $225 million from the taxpayer. SLOCOG and other progressives in our county do not see DeCarli as a failure but a warrior to tax more and more and more.


Taxing us up and down is just getting going. If anyone on this site cares you should get on the http://www.ccta.news newsletter list and be a part of the push back that will be needed to save the fixed income people from being shoved out of their homes.


The onslaught is coming from a progressive legislature in CA! We are so screwed!!!


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“Heidi Harmon won the San Luis Obispo mayor’s seat, beating incumbent Jan Marx by 47 votes.”


Happy Days….


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And Measure J failed………..


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Hip Hip Hoorah…


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Astrologist? Did Harry predict his win?


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Yea so happy for you Harry –


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Harry is TERRIFIC! Congrats Harry. Take on Sanders!!!!!


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It would have been nice to include a link to the Official County Results (PDF) at the Clerk Recorder’s website.


Still, the fact that 66% of the people were duped – well, 66% less the people who vote in their own self interest for larger government (e.g. public sector employees, private contractors who do mostly government contracts, etc) – should cause alarm in the small handful of informed citizenry we have left.


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Measure J was another tax scam like so many other sales tax scams. SLO Council of Governments spent not just the $250,000 on mailers but also money on consultants who did surveys and staff who used their time to “inform” voters about the joys of Measure J. The opponents spent around $1000 that came from small donors in the private sector.


I hope this will be a lesson that money doesn’t always buy elections. The FPPC fines are minimal but this will be brought up every time SLOCOG tries this again. Meanwhile SLOCOG gave its director, Ron DiCarli, a raise of $800 a month. Not bad! Glad to see our tax dollars are being used so wisely. And you really thought they were going to fix our roads??


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When and if the FPPC rules that this is a violation and SLOCOG is fined who will pay? My first guess is that it will be we the taxpayers. Who will be held responsible for the violation. My guess it will be a ghost and no one will be held accountable. Usually in government when someone really fails they are not held accountable and usually are promoted and given a pay raise to cover their misdeeds. It looks like SLOCOG thought that this Measure was going to be a slam dunk so they just prepaid Ron DiCarli with a pay raise.

Will this ever end? There really needs to be some heads knocked on this and someone needs to be held accountable besides we the taxpayers.


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If the FPPC rules a violation, the first one to hold responsible for the violation is Ron DeCarli, the Executive Director of SLOCOG.


The second to hold responsible are several members of the SLOCOG Board: Supervisors Adam Hill, Bruce Gibson, Frank Mecham and City Council Representatives from Paso Robles Fred Strong, Atascadero Tom O’Malley, SLO Jan Marx, Morro Bay Jamie Irons,Pismo Beach Shelly Higginbotham, Grover Beach John Shoals, and Arroyo Grandi Jim Guthrie. These members gave DeCarli free rein to push for Measure J. And they have the nerve to call it educating…and not advocating!


The voters of this county have not figured out they are being ‘played!’


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Beacon of light you are so right!


There should be jail time for all that the records show that Wallace group was “in bed” with SLOCOG and consultant!


Everyone should be asking for reparations for blowing our tax $ on shoving this down our throats – Measure J.


Up to ONE MILLION $ were spent of YOUR TAX dollars to shove this down our throats!


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If our funding was managed by the State and Feds would it be any better? I believe that Measure J was intended to shift liabilities, not just funding but legal consequences too. If you follow the money this discussion is only to cover for the State’s general mismanagement.


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Yeah!! Harry is a great guy and surely will be a bright light up there. Seems like we have a lot of scary CSDs in our county, I don’t know how some of the directors stay out of jail.


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