Oh, now, this is getting silly. You know how it is? You have this Weird Uncle Harold and nobody wants him around because he keeps peeing on the carpet and chewing food with his mouth open, and insists on bringing his mistress to Sunday dinner, which upsets his wife no end, and causes everyone to roll their eyes and clamp their jaws tight. Embarrassing. Guy’s embarrassing ,but you can’t not invite him because, well, he’s still kind of of family, sort of, but you sure wish he’s move to France or something, and do it sooner rather than later.
So, you’re stuck with the guy, but you don’t, under any circumstances, allow him to represent the family at public events. In short, you don’t let him go out in public, except maybe with a paper bag on his head.
Our Board of Supervisors is in a similar predicament with one of their members, Supervisor Gibson, who created a big stupid mess when he had an affair with his direct-hire assistant, then huddled with the County to hustle her out of his office and into a made-up type job while her work went undone, but her salary kept coming, until the County made sure its legal butt was safe from legal problems, then Gibson brought his girlfriend back to work as his assistant again. And a good many members of the public said, “Whaaaa????” And had a cow.
In cases of that kind, the usual behavior of Boards who have one of their colleagues behaving badly, is to pull an Uncle Herman – roll their eyes, clamp their jaws, smile a great deal and speak in bland generalities about “moving forward,” while quietly shoving their behaving-badly colleague into the background and praying he’ll stay quiet and out of sight until his term is over. And above all, they move heaven and earth to backbench their miscreant colleague in order to keep him out of the wider public eye
Ah, but not our BOS. Oh, Nossir! They voted to have Gibson represent the County on the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Board. And since word of his ridiculous “arrangement” has already preceded him to Sacramento, you can be sure there’ll be some general snickering and eye rolling up north, none of it very likely to reflect well on SLOTown.
True, during the vote, new Supervisor Debbie Arnold voted against the appointment , the second time she’s tangled with the 4-1 Board , the first time over voting Gibson into the Vice Chairman position, thereby indicating her maverick-y willingness to refuse to lock-step with her fellow Sups. And, yes the hearing on the appointment did allow the public time to once again stand at the podium and wash Gibson’s dirty laundry in public and excoriate him and the Board and call for his resignation.
All of which was utterly ignored, of course. So Uncle Herman . . . excuse me . . . Supervisor Gibson’s grand career moves ever forward unscathed, enabled by so many willing hands.
Truly, truly . . . God bless the child . . .
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26 comments:
Bruce Gibson is a cad, no doubt about it. But I think the BOS did a good job of explaining their actions Ann. And don’t you think you’re being a tad disingenuous in your sanctimony about Gibson? Like the Debbie Arnold-loving, tea drinking, government hating, gun-totin’ anti-tax right wingers led by COLAB’s Mike Brown who were out in force on Tuesday, aren’t your objections politically motivated because you just don’t like him? Because he has been a tireless advocate for our sewer project? Or could it just be that you are morally outraged. I could definitely understand that.
In which case I’d hope you’d help Tacker and Owen and the rest of the morality police and start mobilizing their Gibson recall efforts soon. Because I don’t think just showing up each Tuesday and spewing their ugly, bitter, sanctimonious, sore-losing, score-settling vitriol is going to do much, other than continue to portray them for what they seemingly are, which is desperate and pathetic. (And in Tacker's case, just a tiiiiiny bit hypocritical) Again, Bruce Gibson is a cad, not doubt about it. So stop your whining folks and do something to remove him. Otherwise, you just continue to sound so……Los Ososish.
Bruce has been naughty. The voters will decide his fate.
Meanwhile, best take Billy's comments seriously as they ring true; especially regarding Tacker.
I appreciate Supervisors Arnold's attempt to reach out to the regular parade of public speakers; going so far as to thank them for their 'tireless participation' in the public process. I have no doubt that the public speakers will take Arnold's comments joyously to heart; and begin courting Arnold's favor. Arnold will ride a wave of support from them; that is as long as Arnold votes as they dictate.
But I see no good coming to Arnold as she tries to accommodate the regular public speakers. That honeymoon will end as soon as Arnold votes against the collective will of the public speakers. They will turn against her, revile her and Arnold shall be hounded by the jilted.
Remember how when Mecham just got elected, he was the (only) one on the board who went over backwards to listen to the arguments from the Los Osos sewer haters? Who thought that they were credible! They loved him and tried to use him as a wedge to further their cause. That love-fest went on for a while until the veil dropped from Mecham's eyes and then he got on board with reality. They have since turned on him of course.
Will Arnold hold hands down the garden path with these radicals because she believes as they do or will she too have the veil lifted?
If Gibson is a cad, what is Tacker/Edwards, et al ?
Can't wait to hear Julie take up the morality cause.
/Billy sez;" Or could it just be that you are morally outraged. I could definitely understand that."
Gibson is what he is and was what he was from day one. This "moral" lapse and how he's handling it did/does not surprise me in the least. As I noted in a previous posting, power reveals. So, no surprises there.
And sez:"start mobilizing their Gibson recall efforts"
Bwahahahahah. Sire! Surely you jest? A recall? hahahahah
Anonymous sez:"But I see no good coming to Arnold as she tries to accommodate the regular public speakers. That honeymoon will end as soon as Arnold votes against the collective will of the public speakers. They will turn against her, revile her and Arnold shall be hounded by the jilted. "
Arnold's gonna be interesting to watch. What a Board. Gibson with his lady friend issues, Hill with his anger management issues and Arnold with her UN black helicopters issues, Things are likely to get, uh, lively.
Toonces said,"Remember how when Mecham just got elected, he was the (only) one on the board who went over backwards to listen to the arguments from the Los Osos sewer haters?"
I think you mistook courtesy for intention or action. On sewer issues, Mecham earnestly listened, made sympathetic noises, and actually did ask some pointed questions (but near as I could tell, never followed up with the answers or still remaining concerns), then voted with the rest of the board probably 99.9999999% As for veils dropping, I think it was the reverse as the Los Ososians finally got Mecham's M.O.
Hmmm. You could be right. But I did speak to people who spoke with him in person (I never did). He really thought that they had a point or two that he believed in - like the cost, which fits his MO pretty well. But then he probably saw the reality of the situation, there was no going back and doing over, STEP wasn't going to really be cheaper, and he backed off.
Everyone knows STEP would have been cheaper (except Lynette), but Gibson and Paavo conspired to eliminate any and all alternatives because they wanted gravity for their cronies. This should be investigated as a crime of public waste against the community. If Gibson's affair had been exposed before we got screwed, rather than after, and his conduct investigated then, perhaps the tragedy of Los Osos could have been averted. Now he's just a lameduck board member sitting in a corner with a dunce cap with no credibility -- but LO homeowners will be paying the price of corruption for years to come.
Bullpucky.
Even Ripley said 95% of the tanks would need to be replaced (cha-ching for the property owner, if not the project!). Until he got more and more desperate anyway, lowering that percentage at each Planning Commission meeting! Hilarious.
Anon 9:25 & Toonces: There is no doubt that "The Process" was short circuited and short-listed by Gibson and his fake "shovel-ready" nonsense and his and Paavo's "promise" for a clean, let the best system rise to the top, "Process" soon ended up with fingers all over the scale. And the homeowner's type-of-system "vote" soon turned into an "advisory survey" (not some kind of 218 project specific hard 218 assessment type "vote." Not to mention that all along very few people ever had much confidence in anybody's price estimates. Of course, Noel King let the cat out of the bag (Los Osos will get a gravity system) even before the County's TAC was seated.
All S.O.P in . . . "Chinatown."
Replacing tanks in people's yards was infeasible so anyone still touting cheaper didn't pay attention. What is coming to light is that there are many homes in LO that had second septic tanks installed over the years because it was cheaper to stick in a new one than pull the old one. There are many lots where this is frankly just no room and would have required ripping up streets, foundations and creating an easement and regulatory nightmare with costs being born by property owners. It baffles me that any rational discussion and points made regarding this issue have gotten overlooked repeatedly by the STEP lovers. The second major issue, regardless of tank replacement was the monitoring and eventual need to again, replace tanks, as must be done with any infrastructure and would be born by the property owners FOREVER. Cheaper, not in the slightest. The conspiracy belief that has drive this "train" and added to time due to extensive review, thus causing delay is nauseating to this property owner. Noel King knew this, Gibson and Mecham eventually got educated on it and as the veil was lifted on it, Ripley and inc had to skulk away because they knew they were beat. They couldn't answer the questions or offer a solution. I would hardly have called the process short circuited because the TAC wasted far too much of their time on that boondoggle.
Keep convincing yourselves of that "dream" - talk about a wing and a prayer of fantasy.
Lynette, you can talk about this until everyone is blue in the face and they will never, ever give up the ghost. Ripley's crew proposed at one point to just start ripping up streets BEFORE and EIR had been completed and tank placements assessed. They flat out lied to the community on several occasions at their publicly sponsored meetings by Sierra Club and "others". Thank heavens that the county provided support to Los Osos by not letting them get swindled, again.
You can lead a horse to water but....stupid is as stupid does.
Gibson and Mecham eventually got educated on it and as the veil was lifted on it,
One too many veils.
Lynette has to turn to blogging anonymously to spread her fact-less gossip about STEP. Every intelligent person who knows anything or has done any research knows STEP was considerably cheaper than gravity.
All the Taxpayers Watch blah-blah isn't going to change that. All the rigged TAC propaganda won't change that. All the corruption by Gibson and Paavo won't change that. All the mis- and disinformation spread by county lackeys who betrayed the community won't change that. Los Osos was robbed by county criminals lining their own pockets at the expense of the community. Those are real facts for real people. Suffer the truth.
It's been obvious to everyone except affordable sewer obstructionists like Lynette that STEP was yanked exactly because it was cheaper and Gibson/Paavo couldn't handle the head to head comparison and pulled the plug -- they wanted the most expensive, inappropriate technology to cleanse the town. They lied and their proxies continue to lie for them for party favors. Sad.
The bottom line is public waste of sickening proportions, a project so overpriced that it is defended only by those who either work for the county or kiss Gibson's butt to feel important.
Dollar for dollar the right project was STEP. Instead we got the most expensive, most dangerous project Osos money can buy. If there's any justice then Gibson and Paavo should both be behind bars where Cherie and Maria can hold hands with them during visitors hours.
Instead of continueing to beat that dead horse, why don't you move to a community where Ripley has installed that perfect cheaper system?
Thankfully we're getting a real sewer system and there is absolutely nothing you or any of the few remaining belly achers can do about it!
Thank you Anons 9:44 and 11:41.
Anon 9:44, you are right. The kool-aid drinkers are going to believe what they want to believe because opening their minds to the reality of Step costs and impacts puts their whole belief system at risk and to be wrong would shatterer their sense of self.
I do not blog anonymously Anon 10:21. If you were looking, you would see the writing styles are different.
Also, "shovel ready" has a different yardstick at a federal level than it does to our local minds.
Would we rather not get the grants and parochially claim to be not "shovel ready" to satisfy gravity haters?
Leave it up to Lynette to bring up dead subjects. She speed-dates at funerals.
10:21- How is your tinfoil hat fitting these days? Blah blah blah conspiracy blah blah blah....I wrote 9:44 & I am not Lynette but thanks for the compliment.
Ann, I always put out there on various blogs questions that I'd have liked the Step supporters to answer but they never did.
I think if people REALLY, REALLY wanted Step we could have gotten it. But I think the homeowner's costs, many hard to guess up front, of replacing driveways, walkways, fences landscaping and getting electrical panels up to snuff never appealed to those trying to emphasize the cheap cost, so they did not answer my questions.
And thank you for the compliment Anon 6:35.
You are welcome! And yes- they have NEVER answered the questions. Why?They have no answer and Ripley is gone so no one to front for them.
Did you just thank yourself for the compliment? If I was that lonely, I would kill myself.
No, didn't thank myself Anon 8:03, but go ahead and think it is just me out here countering your sewer confusion.
You know Anon 7:26, when Ripley was still here they could not answer those questions.
The only sewer confusion I have is why someone hasn't flushed you down the toilet yet.
What a douche comment & I would like to add this equally moronic comment to the list. Up there on the historical & ongoing douche comments of....well you know who you are.
Toonces sez:"I think if people REALLY, REALLY wanted Step we could have gotten it. But I think the homeowner's costs, many hard to guess up front, of replacing driveways, walkways, fences landscaping and getting electrical panels up to snuff never appealed to those trying to emphasize the cheap cost, so they did not answer my questions"
The County "Survey" resulted in a modest preference for gravity over step, and I suspect that modest rise was due to (a) the survey being admittedly a bit slanted in the way it described STEP and b) many of the still unanswered and un-firm hard-costs on tank replacements, maintenance, etc. and c) to many people there is only one type of sewer and it's traditional gravity; anything else is "newfangled" and not to be trusted or believed.
So, at the end of the day, the community (at least those who completed the survey) got two out of three things they wanted: gravity sewer, plant out of town. The last item -- "affordable" -- was never on the table ("Faster, better, cheaper" doesn't count since that was really a fake bait and switch designed to get a CSD.For a truer original cost, would have to go with the guestimate of the County's pre-CSD-vote plan, whose numbers were also rather fungible.)
And, yes, it is a dead horse. But a lot of people love to still beat it.
I have a collection of equally moronic comments, but most of them are from the casket chaser.
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