Apathy … is thy name Morro Bay?
For the second straight election cycle Morro Bay voters will not see a contested election for city council, after just one person signed up to run for mayor and two signed up for two council seats. And two of the three were seeking re-election.
City Clerk Dana Swanson announced the results of the nominating period that ended Aug. 12.
“As of the close of the nomination period on Aug. 12, 2026,” reads the announcement from Swanson, “there are not more candidates than offices to be elected.”
That means the three will get an intentional walk into a council seat.
The persons nominated are: Mike Gerson, city council member; Robin “Zara” Landrum, city council member; and Carla Wixom, mayor, Swanson said.
The council seats are 4-year terms and the mayor’s is a 2-year term.
Landrum was seeking her second council term and the mayor her third term. Gerson is new to the council.
This marks the second straight time no election for Morro Bay City Council will be on the November General Election ballot.
In 2024, Mayor Wixom and Councilmen Jeff Eckles and Bill Luffee were uncontested and automatically won their seats. It was the first time on City Council for Eckles and Luffee and the first time in town history that an election was completely uncontested.
Of note, current Councilwoman Cyndee Edwards did not seek re-election, which extended the normal nomination period for an extra week. Still, no others stepped up to stand election.
In a letter to the Estero Bay News editor (EBN, Aug. 13), Edwards spoke of her time serving on the city council and thanked everyone.
“As I serve out the rest of my 4-year term on city council,” Edwards wrote, “I want to thank you for one of the greatest opportunities of my life. In my last few months, I will continue to make decisions with this community’s best interest at heart. I want to express how truly grateful I am to have worked with such a dedicated and hardworking city staff. To my colleagues, those to come and those I’m serving with, the health and prosperity of this community depend on the choices we make together. May we serve it well.”
This apparent lack of interest to serve is evident in smaller governing bodies as well. In Los Osos, where the Community Services District had three seats open, only two people signed up to run, and both are incumbents.
LOCSD General Manager, Greg Kwolek said Chuck Cesena who represents Area 1 and Christine Womack from Area 4 signed up to run and were both unopposed so they will win re-election without a fight.
The third seat, currently held by Board President Matthew Fourcroy in Area 2, will have to be filled. Fourcroy did not seek re-election and no one else sought the seat.
That means for the second election in a row, the board will have to appoint someone to fill an empty seat.
“I anticipate we’ll take applications for a board appointment,” Kwolek said, “likely after receiving board direction like last time.”
The LOCSD, when it first formed in 1999, used a communitywide election system, so everyone within the District got to vote on all the candidates.
Several years ago, they switched to a district election system, dividing the town into five “Areas” and each with a single seat to represent the residents within. Since then, the District has not had enough candidates to run from within a given Area and had to appoint board members when the new term starts in December.
Cesena and Womack will join the other two incumbents, Tom Cross, Area 3, and Richard Hubbard, Area 5, in reviewing applications for the open seat, conducting interviews and selecting someone to serve.
But because they will have been appointed to the seat, under State Law that person will have to run for election at the next regularly scheduled election — November 2028. And once again there will be at least three LOCSD Board seats to be filled.
With no elections slated for Morro Bay City Council, one could infer that the three were elected by way of the 25 registered voters that signed their nominating petitions, instead of the whole electorate.
Why is this happening? Is it apathy? Or could it be satisfaction with how these towns are being run by the current people in office?
In this reporter’s over 34 years covering Morro Bay, I would never have thought I’d see a single election go uncontested, and now there have been two in a row.
In the past there were usually at least two people and up to four seeking the mayor’s office and four to eight vying for two council seats. Many of those were during the brief time the City conducted Primary Elections in June, a system that the voters ended several elections ago.
Any appointments to the Council happened when a council member won election to the mayor’s seat in a mid-term election (having 2 years left on their council term).
And even that has only happened twice in the past three-plus decades — Janice Peters when Cathy Novak was elected mayor; and Thad Baxley when Peters became mayor.
The City could still hold an election, but it would list the certified candidates and then leave space for write-in candidates that voters might pencil in.
That would mean the City paying the County Elections Office the normal fee to conduct the election. Simply appointing someone saves that expense.
It should also be noted that write-in candidates must still go through a process to become official and have any votes they get count.
Apathy, a dirty word when it comes to elections, normally refers to low voter turnouts, not to a lack of candidates.
Estero Bay News asked the Mayor why she thinks this is happening?
“I think there are many reasons,” Wixom said. “It seems to be a trend, perhaps more common in SLO County as the SLO mayor and Atascadero mayor are also running uncontested.”
And, “Paso Robles, Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach have three open seats, as their mayors are not running for re-election.”
Sitting on any governing body be it city council, CSD board, or County Supervisor is a big responsibility not everyone is willing to take on. The inherent spotlight of responsibility isn’t for everyone. But what’s behind this apparent lack of interest?
The Mayor said, “There are always many factors to consider. The time and continuing education needed to make responsible and informed decisions on behalf of the city as an elected official is a BIG commitment.
“The financial compensation is minimal for the time required, (but the personal rewards are priceless).”
It should be noted that the Morro Bay Mayor gets a $1,200 a month stipend for serving, while the San Luis Obispo Mayor is paid $5,000 a month. Morro Bay council members get $1,000 a month.
Council people also sit on various larger boards, so-called “discretionary appointments,” including the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA); San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG); Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA); Air Pollution Control District (APCD); SLO County Housing Trust Fund; National Estuary Program Board; and the most recent, the Central Coast Community Energy Policy Board, among several others.
Each of these, while they mostly meet monthly, has a full agenda packet that must be studied to make informed decision. And each discretionary board has an appointed member and an alternate in case the primary representative can’t make it to a meeting.
Many of these boards while not directly affecting Morro Bay citizens, still pass rules and regulations that apply countywide, or they allocate State and Federal tax monies to the individual cities.
Having a representative for your city sitting and voting on these boards is important.
The City’s list of discretionary board positions is two-and-a-half pages long and the burden is shared by all members.
Also, each Council member is assigned as a liaison to one of the City’s advisory boards. Attending those monthly meetings adds to the time constraints.
And on top of that are several council sub-committees one might be assigned to or volunteer for. Some of which are project specific and relatively short termed. However, some sub-committees, like the Vistra Energy battery project, could last for years.
These are created by a simple majority council vote and can happen at any time for just about any purpose.
In the past, the Morro Bay City Council has been split philosophically, and at times at actual odds with each other, which might make for lively television (the meetings are broadcast live), but that kind of conflict can be hard to stomach over time.
But it appears the City’s past reputation for contentious council meetings is at a lull.
“I believe in the last four years that I have served,” Mayor Wixom said, “we have had a very functional council that has worked collaboratively with staff and community to move our goals forward.”
In her first term, Mayor Wixom sat on a council with four other women, including Landrum and Edwards. That all-female council was a first in Morro Bay. The next Council will be 3-2 male. But no matter who sits on the dais, the issues can be huge.
“We have many large projects,” she continued, “such as purchasing Morro Elementary, decommissioning the old sewer plant, as well as the largest road paving investment in our city’s history, with several million dollars more allocated to begin the next phase in the coming months.”
She continued, “We also have a uniqueness in learning and advocating for the many needs of our harbor at local, state, and federal levels. It is a lot.”
The Mayor, who is officially retired from her restaurant, but still works part time in the family’s country store gift shop next door to Carla’s Country Kitchen, is grateful for the vote of confidence.
“I am deeply humbled by the trust you have placed in me as your Mayor,” she addressed the public. “Thank you for your support and I promise to keep working hard on your behalf. We are truly blessed to live in such an incredible community.”
