Power of the public 

Something about being an elected official these days just means you can double down on your own statements—even if they're wrong—and everything will be fine. Everything is fine. Your supporters will believe you no matter what, right?

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Because they're idiots, too. And nobody has the ability to process information that's contradictory to what they already believe. It's called cognitive dissonance.

You can look it up yourself, but that might be too much work! Better just believe this paper shredder because I'm funny, astute, and mostly right ... but not always.

Shirley Gibson is exhibit No. 17 million. The Oceano Community Services District board member was spanked publicly (metaphorically, duh) by an organization she attempted to call out at a board meeting in July. Not only did the district lose its ability to work with said organization, I'm pretty positive Ecologistics, which accused Gibson of spreading misinformation, won't be working with the district again anytime soon.

All of the hullabaloo was because Oceano needed help administering a $25,000 grant to put a track in at Oceano Elementary School. Grant administration is very much in Ecologistics' wheelhouse. Spicy stuff, amirite?

Well, Gibson made it incontrovertibly controversial because she just couldn't help herself. She needed to make a stand about the Dana Reserve, which, last I checked, isn't in Oceano. But never mind that, Ecologisitics, she posited during that July meeting, was a political organization that battled with the California Coastal Commission, supported Dana Reserve opponents, and possibly even helped sue the county over the Nipomo development's approval ... but she wasn't sure.

As Ecologistics succinctly put it after the meeting: "None of those things is true."

During Oceano's Aug. 14 meeting, she said "I'm sorry, not sorry" to Ecologistics before claiming again that the organization was political—something the organization denies: "Ecologistics in not a political organization."

Only this time she connected the nonprofit with a suggestion from 4th District SLO County Supervisor Jimmy Paulding that Grover Beach annex Oceano to make it easier all around for residents in the unincorporated area to receive services. She called it a conspiracy and passed out packets to meeting attendees that she claimed proved her point.

The annexation issue, she said, "became a real problem for the district."

I'd say that's an overstatement. People just got their undies bunched up about it—but it was only a potential solution to Oceano's revenue issues. Case in point: the fire services debacle that the district just can't stop talking about.

I'm pretty sure she's going to get the district in trouble again with her talking points about an organization she seems to have it out for, even though she did say Ecologistics "is a fine organization that does good things." I'm sure it will appreciate that sentiment.

Is it any wonder that the Oceano CSD is having trouble hanging on to its nice things?

Oceano voters in the CSD's 5th District have a tough choice in 2024, between Gibson and her equally disruptive opponent, current board Chair Charles Varni. The race should be spicier than an elementary school grant, and I'm expecting battle cries that resemble schoolyard bullying and statements that resemble alternate realities.

We'll pray for you, Oceano.

Tirades like Gibson's are impacting public meetings across the county, full of half-truths, conspiracy theories, name-calling, and raised voices. It's one thing if the person doing the disrupting is an elected official—the public put that person in a place of power. It's another altogether if it's John or Janet Q. Public doing the disrupting.

That! We can't tolerate!

Actually, it would appear that different government bodies have different tolerance levels for these types of distractions and some are making moves!

After Gaia Powell's path of disruption ran through the July 9 SLO County Board of Supervisors meeting, supervisors decided it was time to rein in the runaway First Amendment rights of public speakers who take to the mic in the Government Center.

Apparently, Powell's Pornhub demo wasn't amusing and crossed some sort of public comment line in the sand. There's a line! On Aug. 13, supervisors banned all public commenters from using county equipment for audio, video, and visual presentations!

"The events of the July 9 meeting manifested a threat to the orderly conduct of our meetings and certainly manifested an offense to the community standards upon which this local government is sworn to serve," 2nd District Supervisors Bruce Gibson said.

Thanks a lot, Gaia.

Can they do that?

"What's been happening around the state is that public meetings are getting more disruptive," County Counsel Rita Neal said. "There's an effort trying to balance people's right to speak and attend board meetings and participate, and also keep people safe and letting other people know you can't be disruptive in a public meeting."

As part of that effort to chain unchained public commenters, local governments are making all sorts of procedural changes to their procedural rules—thanks in part to members of the public who are increasingly forgetting how to act in public.

The Arroyo Grande City Council limited public comment on items not on the agenda to one minute per person. The Grover Beach City Council and Lucia Mar Unified School District moved public comment on items not on the agenda to the end of their meetings.

What comes next? Δ

The Shredder is sick of pandering political posers. Send poetry to [email protected].