
Heidi Harmon
Former Vice President Al Gore changed the trajectory of her life, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders later became the love of her life, San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon said in a recently published TEDx talk.
In a speech titled “How to Turn Advocacy Into Action,” Harmon detailed her path from political activist to mayor, which included living in the woods with eco-anarchists and running unsuccessfully for state Assembly. Harmon delivered the speech at a locally organized TEDx event — which followed the format of the popular TED conference.
After raising the issues of racism, misogyny, homophobia, income inequality and climate change in the first 20 seconds of her speech, Harmon recounted how she was an unlikely fit for public office. Harmon discussed running unsuccessfully for sergeant-at-arms of her 4th grade class and dreaming of living and working as an artist in Berlin.
Later, after Gore and his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, came along and changed all her plans, she took up activism, going so far as joining the eco-anarchists in Texas in an attempt to stop the construction of an oil pipeline.
But, Harmon decided being outside of government was not enough and that she needed to be on the inside, she said. In her 2014 bid for an Assembly seat, Harmon lost handily to then-Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, whom she described as a “gas-station owning, fossil fuel money-taking, longtime politician.” However, the campaign was a victory because, by the end, Achadjian was posing in front of solar fields and talking about renewable energy.
Still, Harmon said she thought her political career was over. But that changed, when she met Sanders, “the man who would become the love of my life,” Harmon said.
“I so admired the way that Bernie had transitioned from activist to elected and loved how he was able to inspire a whole new generation of people to get engaged,” Harmon said.
After listening to Sanders say, “Go home and run for office,” at the Democratic National Convention, Harmon returned to San Luis Obispo and challenged incumbent Jan Marx. Harmon narrowly defeated Marx, winning by 46 votes.
As mayor, her accomplishments have included committing SLO to being a net-zero emissions city, making climate action a major city goal, creating more affordable housing and standing in support of “undocumented people,” Harmon said. SLO’s mayor also listed “creating safe routes for cyclists” as one of her accomplishments, even though the city council’s push for bicycle boulevards has drawn outrage from critics.
Harmon concluded her speech by encouraging viewers to take action when something speaks to them deeply.
“Do the thing you can’t not do,” Harmon said. “This is how we make the impossible the inevitable.”
SLO city, really, is this what you want to become?
Wack-a-doodle is what comes to mind.
Harmon clearly has not figured out she got elected not because of her views but do to a “anyone bit Marx” vote, and now her head has swelled well beyond anything controllable. Why should a little thing like bankrupting a city concern her. As long as the city workers keep feeding her ego they’ll be able to get whatever they want through the council.
OK … normally I slam the right for excessive belief systems, i.e., hero worship of politicians and unbendable ideologies. BUT now a “progressive” true believer!!!!
Please POLITICIANS are the hired help not idols to Baal!
As for ideology, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Hamlet, scene v.
BE open minded, BE critical, don’t listen to Hannity or Maddow without understanding they are SELLING ideological crack! Be WOKE!
Full disclosure, the Christ is my liberator, OK so I have a bent too.
So the eco-anarchist says a bloated bag of gas changed her trajectory and a communist is the love of her life. Seems to me that constitutes “an unlikely fit for public office”. At least in the United States.
I won’t say I agree but very funny.
And here I thought her goal was to run the city down the gutter, I’ve seen nothing that she has done to help any problems the city has,apparently she thinks her job is to promote her progressive ideals, the city needs help on the inside not bike lanes.
This city is going broke serving ideology.