At a Sept. 22 public hearing, 5th District Supervisor Debbie Arnold’s appointee to (and chairman of) the SLO County Planning Commission attacked American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights to speech, assembly, and seeking redress of grievances. Upon assuming office, Don Campbell swore an oath to uphold the U.S. and California constitutions, an oath he has clearly and egregiously violated.

When another commissioner asked the planning director if someone who applied for a garage conversion and failed to pay the required processing fees, as Phillips 66 has for its Nipomo rail-spur proposal, would be allowed to proceed as Phillips 66 has, Campbell interrupted with what he called a “rebuttal.” He said that an unidentified man in the oil industry told him that five unidentified people speaking at a prior SLO County hearing had said the same things in another jurisdiction.

That was no rebuttal. It was a despicable theft of the microphone to divert attention from a question of equal enforcement of the law and use his power to demean and de-legitimize critics of a multi-national corporation’s plan in our county.

Don Campbell has demonstrated unacceptable disregard for his oath of office and the citizenry that Supervisor Arnold purports to serve. His immediate removal is required.

-- David Broadwater - Atascadero

-- David Broadwater - Atascadero