Neighbor questions Pismo Beach City Council candidate’s integrity

September 13, 2026

Clare Malone Prichard

OPINION by MEL STAHLMAN

As our community prepares to vote on members of the Pismo Beach City Council, I feel a deep obligation to share my personal experiences with candidate Clare Malone Prichard.

Candidates must possess fairness, ethics, integrity, and a commitment to public service. Ms. Prichard has shown me she lacks those vital qualities.

I am elderly 30-year resident of Pismo Beach who has battled a lifelong eye disease. I am blind in one eye and have limited declining vision in the other. I have sutures and holes remaining in both eyes. I am susceptible to infection and rejection of corneal transplants.

Ms. Prichard, my neighbor, chose to take me to court. She filed a lawsuit for $235,000, claiming that the trees of my side yard were a “spite fence” intentionally grown to maliciously annoy and harass her.

Those trees were planted 20 years before she moved into the neighborhood and were planted to protect my eyes from the wind, dust, and pollutants. This high-stakes lawsuit at my age with my visual impairment was incredibly stressful and unnecessary. I was going through multiple eye surgeries at Stein Eye Institute UCLA.

Fortunately, justice prevailed. The court found my testimony to be truthful and ruled in my favor.

Following the trial an amended judgment was issued ordering Ms. Prichard to pay just under $9,000 to cover my court costs. I was responsible for two years of attorney fees throughout the litigation.

She has refused to comply with the court order.

If a candidate cannot treat elderly, disabled neighbors with basic decency, and refuse to comply with lawful court orders, they do not belong in public office.

We need leaders who respect the law and its citizens. I feel Ms. Prichard isn’t fit to serve the people of Pismo Beach.