SLO County political consultant claims critic is racist, again

May 14, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

The more than decade-long race-baiting and misinformation campaign against critics of San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Bruce Gibson continues. However, the person accused of running former clerk recorder Tommy Gong out of office has changed.

The May 6 Board of Supervisors meeting agenda included a proposed resolution honoring Mike Brown for his 14-years 0f service as executive director of the SLO County Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business — COLAB. Supervisor John Peschong proposed the resolution that praised Brown for his work as a “community watchdog” who fought for transparency and accountability.

“Mike has been a steadfast voice for farmers, ranchers, vineyard owners, developers, contractors, professional firms, and civic-minded citizens who seek reasonable regulation and fair government policies,” the resolution says.

Tom Fulks – a lobbyist and political consultant for Gibson – responded with a call to action that included a claim of racism against Brown.

“Oppose a proposed resolution before the SLO County Board of Supervisors this Tuesday, May 6, that would elevate and congratulate one of the malevolent, hate-mongering dividers ever to walk the streets of SLO County,” Fulks wrote in his call to action that included several examples of Brown’s alleged wrongdoing. “Assembled a campaign of racism and hate so vile it forced then-County-Clerk-recorder Tommy Gong to quit his job as elections chief and move out of town.”

In March 2019, Gong applied for a position as Contra Costa County deputy county clerk recorder. Two months later, he accepted the job. His job change followed years of on-the-job mistakes and scandals attached to his family.

Gibson responded to Gong’s resignation by blaming supervisors Debbie Arnold and Lynn Compton for not condemning a racist comment made at a May 4, 2019 board meeting, a comment made after Gong had already accepted the new job.

During public comment, a speaker asked Gong if he was “a member of the Chinese Communist Party,” while other audience members questioned his refusal to provide certification and an audit of the county’s Dominion voting machines to the Republican Party of SLO County.

In 2019, Gibson blamed Gong’s departure on the May 4 meeting and on supervisors Debbie Arnold and Lynn Compton, who did not condemn the racist comment or the barrage of public comments questioning Gong’s job performance.

While Fulks is now blaming Brown for Gong’s resignation, neither Brown nor COLAB was involved in the questioning of Gong over the Dominion software issue at the meeting.

On May 5, dozens of people responded to Fulks’ call to action with emails asking the Board of Supervisors to reject the resolution honoring Brown.

During the contentious May 6 board discussion, Gibson disparaged Brown while calling him a paid lobbyist, an allegation Supervisor Jimmy Paulding repeated.

Peschong argued that Brown was not a paid lobbyist, noting that COLAB is a nonprofit.

In the end, the board voted 3-2 to approve the resolution with Gibson and Paulding dissenting.

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