Crossing party lines

Hey, last week’s wish came true (“Strange days indeed,” May 10), I did make a splash!

I love when right wingers accuse me being a “triggered liberal” devoid of reason or logic when all I said was the president might not deserve a freakin’ Nobel Peace Prize or whatever they demand following a peace agreement between North Korea and South Korea. The fire and fury that came flying at me over a criticism of Donald Trump’s one silhouette of an accomplishment begs the question: who’s the triggered snowflake in this picture?

There are a wide variety of conservatives living on the Central Coast and I know many of them who don’t fall into the president’s cult of personality, cry “fake news” over any negative coverage or opinion, and don’t think the FBI is a hopelessly politicized arm of the “Deep State.”

Speaking of deep state, is anyone else suspicious about all of the bi-partisanship in the race for Santa Barbara County’s sheriff-coroner?

Sheriff Bill Brown has the endorsement of political heavy-hitters like Gov. Jerry Brown and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), two powerful California Democrats, but he’s also endorsed by current state Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo), former Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian, and former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado—all moderate (read, establishment) Republicans!

When you’ve got Moonbeam and Maldonado on your side, you’ve got to wonder.

I also wonder about Brown’s challenger Lt. Brian Olmstead, who received endorsements from polar-opposite Santa Barbara County Supervisors Peter Adam and Joan Hartmann. Adam and Hartmann don’t agree on anything, and couldn’t be farther apart politically, but they do have one thing in common—they both hate Bill Brown enough to come together against him.

According to an ever-so-conveniently timed report (not for Brown) by the 2017-18 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury, a huge problem with the jail is a mandatory overtime for staff. That report is a huge burr in Brown’s backside, and it came just a month before the June 5 election!

Bum-bum-bum. What is this, Deep State Santa Barbara County?

Olmstead harped on Brown over the mandatory overtime at the jail at a forum event in late April. That position is probably why the local sheriff’s deputies union, the Santa Barbara Deputy Sheriffs Association, endorsed Olmstead over Brown.

I’m sure Sheriff’s Office deputies are upset if they’re working to cover the equivalent of five vacant positions at the jail, and are told it’s the Board of Supervisors’ fault. This sounds more like the politics of budgeting, and who to blame, than deep state machinations. No wonder Adam and Hartmann are working together to take down Brown!

Sorry if I’ve ignored Lt. Eddie Hsueh in the conspiracy theorizing, but he can’t be deep state. He’s got a few endorsements, including from the Democratic Party of Santa Barbara County, but he doesn’t have much beyond that.

Hsueh is the wildcard though. He could totally split the vote between Brown and Olmstead by playing politics, especially with support from local Democrats.

Hsueh doesn’t want to work with ICE (Brown and Olmstead don’t mind ICE), he supports the use of Gun Violence Restraining Orders, is for more crisis intervention training, and might try to catch some of the Democrats’ mythical “Blue Wave.”

For all its conservatives, Santa Barbara County isn’t lacking for leftie voters either, but the question always is—how many are actually going to vote? 

The Canary wants to banana-split the vote. Send your thoughts to [email protected].

Comments (0)
Add a Comment