Lucia Mar trustee slammed as hypocrite for hosting party

November 17, 2021

By KAREN VELIE

A Lucia Mar School Unified School District trustee has been branded a hypocrite for hosting a celebration party at her home — while saying the board cannot meet in public because she has underlying health problems.

In celebration of their win against a recall attempt, Colleen Martin invited the public to her home for a party on Nov. 5 through an invitation on social media, just three days after she voted to continue virtual meetings because of health issues. In her defense, Martin said that everyone who attended her party was vaccinated, though that requirement was not included in the open invite.

In May, disgruntled parents launched an effort to recall three Lucia Mar trustees —   Martin, Don Stewart, and Dee Santos — because they did not let children return to in-person learning after Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the green light. Martin argues that because of increasing COVID-19 cases at the time, that permission would have been short-lived.

During the recall attempt, in early September, a small group of about seven people protested outside Martin’s home, yelling and using an air horn to create a ruckus, an action that many condemned.

Six weeks later, Lucia Mar Trustee Vicki Meagher was driving on Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo when a driver gave a thumbs down to her anti-recall bumper sticker. Meagher responded by following the driver to their home in Oceano, where they debated their views. Recall supporters then accused Meagher of stalking.

Even though they fell short of the 8,302 signatures needed for the recall, the group plans to continue their effort to oust the three Lucia Mar trustees, Sandy Gong said.

“We woke up the community by informing them of the inappropriate actions of these Lucia Mar trustees,” Sandy Gong said. “The fight is not over, we are moving forward to elect new trustees who will make decisions based on strong education values. It is all about the children, our future leaders.”