Q&A

Debbie Arnold

After a second try, she successfully unseated Jim Patterson on the County Board of Supervisors. As the only woman on the Board, it has been widely speculated that she will tilt the balance in a more pro-growth, anti-regulatory direction. She lives in the Pozo Valley with her husband, Steve, where his family has raised beef cattle for five generations. They also grow hay, grapes, and make wine. She owned a preschool in Atascadero for seventeen years prior to getting involved in local politics—first as a legislative aide and now as an elected official. We catch up with her as she begins her term…

Where are you from, Debbie?

Originally, I grew up in the Bay Area. My father was an air traffic controller. And my mom had two Hallmark shops—card and gift shops. So, I just had what I would call a normal, middleclass upbringing. I worked through my teenage years for my mom at her shop after school. I had an aunt that had gone to Cal Poly and had married someone in the area and had gotten involved in ranching. I used to so enjoy those visits coming down to this area. That was really my introduction to the ranch lifestyle, and it made a big impression on me.

Is that what brought you to the area?

I came to Cal Poly at eighteen as an Animal Science major. And a couple of years after that I started dating my husband, Steve, whose family lived very near my aunt and uncle out in the Pozo Valley. We married in 1975 and it has felt like quite an adventure ever since. We lived in a small house on the ranch with no telephone. Many of the areas in North County had eight party lines, meaning you shared a single telephone line with eight households. And, so when you picked up the telephone, your neighbors would often be on it already. There was no privacy. My kids—they are 34 and 32 now— tell me that my generation was the era of transportation—people lived from horse and buggy to the man on the moon. And I tell them that their generation is the one of communication. Their dad would ride off on some young, unbroke horse every morning and I’d think, “I hope he doesn’t get in an accident.” Now we can talk to anywhere in the world from our coat pocket, right? But, I do feel so lucky to live in the end of an era.

How else was it different?

It was so quiet. You could see the stars so clearly at night because there was nothing, just nothing out there. But, there was a lot more human interaction, I think. You would travel around to see your friends and have dinner together. We had one very fuzzy channel on the TV, if there was anything on at all. No telephone, no computers, nothing like that. No home entertainment. You entertained yourself with your friends, playing cards or visiting, having a barbeque, organizing a dance, all those kinds of things. That’s the way my married life started out. Lots of hard work, the weather got very hot in the summer and cold in the winter. And rattlesnakes were everywhere. But, I just fell in love with the lifestyle and the people. It was amazing and the scenery was just incredible, still is.

What was it about the lifestyle that made such an impression on you?

I remember when I was first around my husband’s family I thought, “Wow. No matter what happens around here, they take care it.” Of course, this was preregulations and before permitting and all of that. If the plumbing broke, you fixed it; if the roof was leaking, you fixed it; if the car was broken, you fixed it. You were out in the middle of nowhere, so you learned how to do everything. You figured it out. I remember, too, my husband, we’d drive off in the car somewhere then come home and he’d say, “Oh, so-and-so was here” or, “This-and-that happened.” He could tell from the tracks in the ground. It was second nature to him, he was always reading the ground. And he still does that. He can tell who has been around just by looking down. He can tell you who drove in or what dog was here or whose horse was around. In fact, we came home last night—we go to Las Vegas every year for the NFR [National Finals Rodeo]— and he told us who had been there. It’s just a funny little habit. But, it’s a valuable skill out there, especially for dealing with cattle.

You seem to come from a different era; one that many people may not be so in tune with today...

You’re right, and I was pegged as some sort of Tea Partier crazy. And it’s so funny because the Tea Party people that I know, I guess there are Tea Party people all over the country, but they really were about that “Taxed Enough Already.” Like, “Hey, taxing us more isn’t going to help us. We’d rather spend our money at so-and-so’s restaurant or buy a new car from our neighbor down the street instead of just keep pouring it down some hole.” And, I never saw what the big old deal was about that. But, just all that stuff, like COLAB [Coalition of Labor, Agriculture & Business]. I’m glad they are there. They’re just a watchdog. Who doesn’t need a watchdog? Cause who has time to go to the Supervisor’s meetings? I hope that more of that comes along, from the right or the left, whatever your organization is. I mean, shine the light, because it’s our government. And, if we’re not paying attention, well the government thrives on you not paying attention. They’ll take your money and go do something else with it. [laughter]

But, aren’t regulations important? For example, what would you say to someone who is concerned about the environment?

And, so am I. And, you know what, I’ve walked the walk my whole life. And I am very concerned. But, I believe that good environmental stewardship comes from a well educated populace and a stronger economy. When people are doing well, when the economy is doing well, you have more time, money and resources to take care of the environment. So, it’s just a different approach. I guess I am saying that I trust people to do the right thing, if it’s doable for them. Just as important to me is quality of life for all the families here. For the kids, let’s have some more sports fields, for example. Let’s do it. But, it all takes money. And we can have that. The opportunities are just amazing. So, we just have to take care of everything we have and make it better.