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Mayor Heidi Harmon blows a gasket at candidate forum

July 30, 2018

Mayor Heidi Harmon

San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon threw her microphone on a table, yelled she was done, and stomped out of a mayoral candidates forum on Thursday evening. The event was hosted by the SLO Progressives, a group she helped form. [Cal Coast Times]

SLO mayoral candidates Harmon and Keith Gurnee fielded questions from the audience covering multiple issues including low-cost housing, the proposed Santa Margarita quarry, campaign finance reform, and with whom they socialize.

When asked about the proposed quarry, Harmon took credit for stopping a rail spur that would have increased oil train trips through SLO County before attempting to paint mining for aggregate with the same brush.

Gurnee, who has worked with proponents of the quarry, said he is in favor of its approval because having another local quarry would help reduce greenhouse gasses. Using the recent repairs to Highway 1 as an example, Gurnee spoke of the environmental consequences and expense of having aggregate trucked in from quarries four to five hours away.

Several attendees generated questions that attempted to denigrate Gurnee for having Republican friends and for writing letters to CalCoastNews. After members of the audience booed Gurnee for attending SLO County Supervisor Lynn Compton’s election night party, he responded saying he “was proud of it.”

T. Keith Gurnee

T. Keith Gurnee

“Lynn Compton is an old friend, and I stick by my friends,” Gurnee told Cal Coast Times.

Harmon wasn’t the only attendee who acted uncivil. A vocal crowd booed and shouted as the mayoral candidates responded to questions.

Even though the bulk of the 100 people in attendance were dues-paying SLO Progressives, about a third of the questions were focused on Harmon’s votes to wave building rules for height and parking for several developers. Harmon responded by telling attendees that issues regarding development were complicated and most people do not understand the process, causing several members of the audience to lash out at her.

Speaking loudly, Harmon said she was the only progressive candidate in the room, threw the microphone on the table in front of Gurnee, and stomped out of the room.

“Is that your version of civility?” Gurnee asked.

As Harmon walked out, members of the audience began arguing among themselves.

SLO Progressives Co-Chair Nick Andre asked Gurnee to leave the room so that attendees could discuss the candidates. Only dues-paying members of the SLO Progressives were permitted to vote to endorse candidates.

In the end, 81 percent of the SLO Progressives in attendance voted to endorse Harmon, a co-chair of their organization. Of the 19 percent who did not vote to endorse Harmon, 10 percent voted to endorse Gurnee and 9 percent were undecided.


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HHH (Haughty Heidi Harmon) continually lambasts anyone who disagrees with her as being uncivil. She has joined other elected officials in writing articles in the Trib and elsewhere about this. 

You can see my nickname for her is true, she is a hypocrite and bad for our town. I was a supporter but she has proven to be a disgrace. 


The very worst thing about her is well advertised in the quoted comment in the article, ‘development issues are too complicated for the average citizen to understand’. That summarizes the evil as represented by Harmon, and others on the council. They discredit their constituents and do not listen to public concerns, they are driven by hubris and self congratulation. They are all miserable representatives and should be thrown out asap. 


I am a progressive, more so than many of the jokers in this so called progressive group. They do the name a disservice by endorsing people like Harmon and Hill. We cannot divide political leanings from miserable personal performance and public malfeasance. I was a Hill supporter as well but his wild rantings and solicitation of bribes has turned me away. 


So, I wonder about the morals of this group that so enthusiastically endorses a nutcase for Mayor. Harmon whines about climate change (that I fear as well) yet endorses policies that promote it. She has made weak overtures to enhance neighborhood health yet has done her best, along with the other bums on the council, to weaken and denigrate them. I imagine she would claim to be in favor of fiscal responsibility yet this council has been spending OUR money with wild abandon like drunken sailors on payday. 


24

Oh Heidi.

When will you learn that wearing a flower and touting your lipstick makes you not a powerful female.

Pushing your gender aside (because really, that’s not “equality”), and leaning in with class and dignity in the face of opposition is what makes a powerful female.


27

Folks,


Is Heidi Harmon on drugs?


As we see here, the goofy, far-left progressive liberals cannot even think straight, and another of their chosen leaders blew a mental gasket under a little pressure to defend her failed policies, lol.


The failed tenure of Heidi Harmon includes her taking secret money from out-of-town developers, in exchange for allowing grotesque building ruining the downtown district, Harmon engineering a raise for HERSELF, Harmon ignoring the staggering $140,000,000 city pension debt crisis, Harmon calling for others to act civilly, but throwing tantrums in public, and the list goes on and on…


Taxpaying voters should reject the goofy SLO Progressives, because they are a bunch of big government libetards who cannot even think straight.  They offer high taxes, limited freedom and using government as a club on the private sector.


Prosperity and a better future begins with rejecting false ideologies.


Mr. George Bailey


27

If the progressives vehemently opposed Gurnee, then it is very clear that Gurnee is the right choice for SLO’s next mayor. A conservative, pragmatic mayor is the only hope for a successful resistance to a big city take over of SLO. It will take a much bigger fuse than what the progressives have to offer. California’s rant to generate more development dollars, commonly referred to as new revenue streams, is a constant threat to SLO life.


30

Harmon and Hill, cut from the same cloth, throw a temper fi, throw things,talk around the question asked and then get up and leave, and STILL people back them,unbelievable.


37

It’s so nice to know how happy SLO really is. We are seeing the destruction of the “Happiest Place” right in front of us. Maybe it’s time for SLO to get out of the fast lane and move over and regroup because what is happening now will only lead to an ultimate failure.


35

SLO Progressives meeting is like watching an episode of romper room.


35

Wow, the destruction of SLO continues . . . . . 


40

The SLO Progressives did a great job of discrediting their organization last night, along with their Chosen Candidate Mayor Harmon. This behavior is what they accuse the Trumpsters of doing….


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