Local NAACP branch responds to District 5 candidate Q&A
Statement of San Luis Obispo NAACP Regarding District 5 County Supervisors’ Race
– The San Luis Obispo County Branch of the NAACP has released its analysis of written questions it had posed to the two candidates for the District 5 seat on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors. The candidates are Heather Moreno, currently Mayor of Atascadero, and Susan Funk, currently Mayor Pro Tem of Atascadero.
The election will be held on March 5, 2024. The President of the San Luis Obispo Branch of the NAACP, Tobin Johnson, stated the following:
Although the NAACP does not endorse candidates for political office, it does take an active role in exploring the positions of candidates for public office and sharing the NAACP’s analysis of those positions for the benefit of communities of color and the community generally. Our Political Action Committee, chaired by San Luis Obispo resident K.C. Victor provided a questionnaire to both candidates for this office. The complete questionnaire and the candidates’ full answers can be found on the website of the SLO Branch of the NAACP at www.naacpslocty.org.
The committee noted the following significant differences in the candidate’s responses:
• To the question “Do you believe that more needs to be done to protect the rights of racial minorities in San Luis Obispo County?”, Ms. Moreno’s response was significantly more general than that of Ms. Funk. Ms. Funk began her response with a categorical “yes” and went on to commit to engaging with community representatives to ensure that their voices were heard and their concerns addressed.
In contrast, Ms. Moreno provided a response that, expressed a laudable aspiration, but largely commended the work that had already been done by the Sherriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office.
• To the question “What is your position on the possible closing or retrofitting of the Georgia Brown elementary school in Paso Robles?” Ms. Moreno deferred to the decision of the Board of Trustees of the school district, while Ms. Funk specifically encouraged the Board of Trustees to “find a safe way to keep this school and its valuable programming available at the current location.” [Since the questions were submitted and answered the Board of Trustees of the School District decided to close down Georgia Brown Elementary School.]
• In response to a question about the effort to recall Supervisor Bruce Gibson, Ms. Moreno stated that she would “stay out of the recall,” while Ms. Funk described the recall as “unjustified” and an “anti-democratic effort the change the result of a
legitimate election by those who supported the candidate who lost.”
The San Luis Obispo County Branch of the NAACP is a Co-Sponsor of a Candidates Forum between these two candidates that was held on Feb. 5, at Atascadero Community Church.
The NAACP encourages all those of voting age to register to vote (if they have not already done so) and to vote in the election on March 5, 2024. All voters who are registered should soon receive mail-in ballots, which are automatically sent to registered voters at their home addresses.
The NAACP is the nation’s oldest civil rights organization and through its many thousands of volunteers in local branches throughout the country are actively engaged in, among other things, disseminating information about issues of interest to communities of color and advocating for the rights of those communities.
Answers from candidates:
Heather Moreno
1. What is your position on the possible closing or retrofitting of the Georgia Brown Elementary School in Paso Robles?
The decision by the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees to close Georgia Brown and moving students to the other middle schools was, I’m sure, difficult. Yet the Board felt it was necessary for the safety of the students, teachers, and staff. Maintaining dual immersion education is important, and I understand the Board will decide in the coming weeks which middle school will house that program?
I support every collaborative effort possible to bring additional resources to our school system and our educational programming, but the Board of Trustees has the ultimate say in how it allocates its resources.
2. Do you believe that more needs to be done to protect the rights of racial minorities in San Luis Obispo County?
I believe we should always strive to make our community a place where everyone feels welcome and that their rights are upheld. In particular, the intersection of public safety and racial justice is an important space where we can play a productive role as a county. Our sheriff’s department and district attorney’s office have both done a good job at working with members of the community, launching new engagement programs, and making sure that there is meaningful outreach to community members who have historically had challenging relationships with the criminal justice system.
3. What would you like to see done regarding after-school programs in the 5th District?
After school programs provide tremendous benefits for families in our community and are an essential tool for working families to have a safe, stimulating environment for their children while they are working or coming home from work. I support policy aimed at utilizing available social services funding from the state to invest in after-school programs in collaboration with our local school districts.
4. What is your highest policy priority for your term as a County Board of Supervisors member?
Homelessness—and it is certainly a multifaceted issue. Treating people with compassion must be the core of how we solve this issue. At the same time, we must recognize and bring accountability to those who break the law. In Atascadero, we proactively partner with community organizations that offer shelters, shower services and meals to those in need. We have partnered with the County’s Community Action Team, embedding mental health and crisis workers with law enforcement to provide help for some of the most vulnerable and fragile individuals in the homeless community. It is these very actions, combined with enforcement of our local laws, that are creating a situation where more people are accepting services, getting housed or receiving shelter.
6. Do you believe that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen?
No.
7. What are your priorities for spending local tax dollars in San Luis Obispo County?
In addition to homelessness, previously mentioned, I am a strong supporter of necessary investments in public safety. During my time serving as Mayor of Atascadero, we increased funding and staffing for public safety, adding five new police officers and one new dispatcher. We also made additional investments in safety infrastructure, like a new computer-aided dispatch and records management system that allows law enforcement to spend more of their time directly interfacing with the community and reducing crime. As a county supervisor, I will bring this same commitment to public safety. I will work collaboratively with the sheriff’s office to make strategic investments that enhance technology, improve operations, and lower response times.
8. Are there other important facts that the voters need to know about you or your political views?
My husband and I have lived in San Luis Obispo County for nearly 20 years. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to serve on the Atascadero City Council since 2012 and as mayor since 2018. Working together, we have made real progress on the critical issues facing our residents. In Atascadero, we know how to bring people together to advance positive change.
Now I’m running to bring my experience to the Board of Supervisors, and I will lead with that same collaborative, forward-thinking approach, to help county government more effectively deliver results for our community.
I am honored to have received the endorsement of a diverse coalition of public safety officials, elected officials, and community organizations, including the San Luis Obispo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Atascadero Police Association, Atascadero Professional Firefighters, Local 3600, and CAL FIRE, Local 2881.
Susan Funk
1. What is your position on the possible closing or retrofitting of the Georgia Brown Elementary School in Paso Robles?
Georgia Brown Elementary offers a highly regarded dual language immersion program. Georgia Brown’s neighborhood loves, supports and needs this school – and needs the school to be safe.
It is vitally important that residents of this neighborhood be treated equitably and not as second-class citizens when considering the physical condition and facilities of the school, its neighborhood location, or the quality and character of its programming. While it is the Paso Robles Unified Board of Trustees that must resolve this issue, I encourage them to seek a safe way to keep this school and its valuable programming available at the current location. As a Supervisor, I will actively engage in community discussions and forums to ensure that minority and lower income residents have a real voice in decisions that affect their neighborhoods, their children, and the future of our community.
2. Do you believe that more needs to be done to protect the rights of racial minorities in San Luis Obispo County?
Yes. SLO County is still very white, and that demographic imbalance amplifies the sense of threat and diminishment generated by recent outbreaks of Nazi symbols and hate speech.
Supervisors need to help create a climate of mutual respect in our community, so that all residents can feel safe in their own skin, regardless of what they look like, how they identify, where they worship, or who they love. I commit to engaging fully with advisory councils and holding regular listening sessions that include minority communities to ensure their voices and concerns are directly addressed and acted upon.
3. What would you like to see done regarding after-school programs in the 5th District?
Low availability and high cost of after-school programs and child care in general is a huge challenge for many families in the 5th District. I would like to see the county collaborate with school systems in exploring community partnerships, creative use of school and public facilities, and other support for a greater volume and variety of reliable after-school and summer programming. These efforts should pay particular attention to creating opportunities for kids whose parents earn wages that leave them having to work two or three jobs to make rent. I would also encourage active participation by the county in assisting eligible families to get signed up for CalFresh benefits and ensure that participating kids aren’t going hungry.
4. What is your highest policy priority for your term as a County Board of Supervisors member?
Housing – We can’t sustain our economy, address homelessness or preserve our quality of life without expanding housing. Specifically, we need to ensure the development of more options for housing that working people, young careerists, and downsizing seniors can afford, along with additional low-cost and supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness or at high risk of losing their housing. We need to do this without bulldozing all the open space we treasure.
5. Signatures are again being gathered for the recall of Bruce Gibson as Supervisor. What is your position on the possible recall?
I oppose this unjustified recall, which is an anti-democratic effort to change the result of a legitimate election by those who supported the candidate who lost.
6. Do you believe that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen?
No. There is no evidence of systemic fraud in the 2020 Presidential election. President Joe Biden is the legitimate President of the United States. I will emphasize the importance of transparency and integrity in all electoral processes, advocating for measures that strengthen public trust in our democratic institutions.
7. What are your priorities for spending local tax dollars in San Luis Obispo County?
In terms of where to make changes in general fund spending, I will focus on strategic investments in housing, homelessness and mental health facilities and services. In terms of total dollars, public safety services will continue to command the largest share of taxpayer dollars, because these core responsibilities are 24/7 functions, and it is essential that they be done properly. Road maintenance will likewise continue to be a major spending area because it is inherently costly, although there are multiple sources of funding for this work. Stabilizing groundwater basins is also an important priority for county leadership and attention, but in the long run those costs should largely be borne by those who benefit directly.
8. Are there other important facts that the voters need to know about you or your political views?
I am pro-choice and will fight for women’s reproductive freedom. I am endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Central Coast Action Fund, the Central Coast Labor Council, and by Congressman Salud Carbajal, Assembly Members Dawn Addis and Gregg Hart, County Supervisors Bruce Gibson, Dawn Ortiz-Legg and Jimmy Paulding, and hundreds of business and community leaders.
