Nothing like kicking a man when he’s down. Solvang Mayor Ryan Toussaint reveled in it on Nov. 30, verbally chastising recalled City Councilmember Chris Djernaes at a special meeting meant to accept the vote to kick the dude out of office. 

Nearly 90 percent of Solvang residents who voted in the November election, opted to leave Djernaes’ unrepentant butt on the curb outside of City Hall. A point that Toussaint didn’t hesitate to rub in. He asked City Manager Xenia Bradford whether anyone had ever been recalled by 90 percent before.

Bradford, who’s been with Solvang for a whopping almost two years, said not since she’s been with the city. If he means ever in the history of elections, I’m sure the answer is probably. But in the city of Solvang? How many elected officials have really been recalled? 

Of course, Djernaes was really unpopular and stuck to his obstinate opinion about himself and his own contributions to the city throughout the recall effort. He told the Sun that the recall effort was full of lies and false accusations about him, designed to remove him from office. Duh! 

click to enlarge Kick, kick!
THE CANARY:

Plus, he’s so dramatic!

“There’s a battle going on for the soul of Solvang right now,” he said a couple of weeks ago. 

What’s Solvang’s soul made up of anyway? Hans Christian Andersen fairytales, cookie-cutter Danish architecture, and aebleskiver pastries? What’s the alternative? 

What happened since 2018, when Djernaes and Toussaint seemed to be thick as thieves in their fight against the old traditions of Solvang’s stodgy leaders? 

Toussaint hammed it up at the meeting where Djernaes was noticeably absent, gesturing toward the empty seat and asking Djernaes if he had anything to add before the City Council voted to accept the recall. 

“That’s OK, he’s not here,” Toussaint said. 

I guess Toussaint no longer has skin in the game anyway, since he decided not to run for another term as mayor. He’s heading out to the curb voluntarily, which should tell you a thing or two about the volatility of Solvang politics. Who knew such a quaint little town could be so mean? 

You know what else is quaint? Loser Andy Caldwell’s attempts to over-explain his accusations of voter fraud. What don’t you understand about “if,” he asked the San Luis Obispo Tribune in response to their questions about his renegade Facebook post claiming that if Sidney Powell’s accusations about Dominion Voting Systems were correct, he would have beat U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) in his bid for the 24th Congressional District.

“I can accept the fact that I lost, and I can even take a beating,” he told the Sun this week. 

Well, that’s good because both of those things literally happened to you. 

But he just had to throw that “if” out there to stir the pot, because that’s what local conservative shock-jock Caldwell does best: Screams into the ether. He does it at local government meetings every week. Sometimes his weirdly high-pitched soliloquies have a point, most of the time they don’t make sense, and every time he just wants a reaction. Well, I guess he got what he wanted. Support from the crazies and some stories in the local press.

I personally don’t have a problem kicking someone when they’re down. Especially when they’re begging for it. 

The Canary is worried Solvang’s drama will go away. Send thoughts to [email protected]

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