Paso Robles school district candidate accused of racist remarks

14 September 2024

By KAREN VELIE

A candidate for the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District allegedly made a racist remark about his opponent, sparking outrage in the community.

Shortly before a candidate forum at radio station KPRL, candidates Lauren McCoy and Tim Gearhart were talking in the lobby, a conversation that was overheard by others. Gearhart told McCoy that he voted for her and that she was doing a good job, after which McCoy asked Gearhart why he was running against her.

Gearhart said seven of his racist neighbors had asked him to run for office, according to McCoy and a witness to the conversation. McCoy is a black woman.

“I felt backwards,” McCoy said. “The goal is to move forward and overcome all this adversity. I think it's OK to have a preference about who you support, but when it turns into rudeness and disgust because you don't like the color of someone's skin, that's disgusting.”

Gearhart, a 77-year-old former board member who is stepping down in 2022, said while it was true that seven neighbors had urged him to run, it was due to traffic problems around Almond Acres Charter Academy.

“I've never used the term racist,” Gearhart said. “I'm not running because people don't want a black person on the board.”