May 25, 2004

State senate candidate Peg Pinard speaks to Evergreen Democratic Club

By Tom Harney
Special to the Times

“I’m very committed to see that what happened to the state budget doesn’t happen again,” answered California state senate candidate Peg Pinard when asked what she hoped to accomplish in her first year in Sacramento.

“I’m very committed to turning the budget around,” continued Pinard, who presently is serving as a San Luis Obispo County supervisor. She previously was mayor of San Luis Obispo. “There are so many areas in the state that we can take a look at, duplication in agencies, areas that can be cut. That’s what I’m looking forward to doing if elected to the state senate.”

Evergreen Democratic Club members enthusiastically received Pinard’s words at their May 3 meeting at The Villages. Pinard presented herself as a non-career politician who had the capabilities to solve the particular problems that needed to be solved in the past and now can solve the problems facing California.

Pinard grew up in San Jose, attended local schools and graduated from Santa Clara University. Prior to her entry into public service, Pinard taught migrant farm workers in the High School Equivalency Program in San Luis Obispo.
She was elected to the San Luis Obispo City Council in 1987, mayor in 1992 and to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors in 1996 and 2000.

As a county supervisor, Pinard said she worked to clean up the communities of Avila Beach and Guadalupe from the massive contamination left by Unocal. She noted that that this is one of the few instances where such high-level contamination was actually cleaned up and residents were able to return to their homes.

Holder of a lifetime teaching credential, Pinard has also was a math teacher in The Philippines with the Peace Corps. During her stay there, she learned first-hand from the Filipino people of the positive effect that American soldiers had upon them during World War II.

Years later in a reunion of World War II veterans in San Luis Obispo, she was able to tell the veterans of the many good memories that the Filipino people had shared about the American GIs during those war years. The audience was greatly moved by this story.

Pinard and her husband Leo, a professor at Cal Poly University, are the parents of three adult children, two daughters and one son.

“Peg Pinard’s intelligence and energy came through [in her speech]. Her approach to problems in her public service positions was very creative. Whatever problems she has handled, she has reached consensus by finding innovative solutions that were acceptable and that worked. She is a no-nonsense, get-the-job-done person. She’s just terrific. I am so pleased that she is running for state senator in the 15th Senatorial District,” said Club President Bob Applebaum after the meeting.

The next meeting of the Evergreen Democratic Club will be held on Tuesday, June 1, at 6:30 p.m. at the Foothill Center at The Villages. Emy Thurber and John Soper, co-chairs of the “Santa Clara County Kerry for President” campaign will be the guest speakers.

Following a presentation and question-and-answer period, they will show the Robert Greenwald documentary film entitled, “Uncovered: The Whole Truth About The Iraq War” produced for Moveon.org. Please Phone Bob Applebaum at (408) 238-5811 if you would like to attend. Refreshments will be served.