UPDATE (9:45 p.m.) – Supervisor Compton has issued the following statement:
The death of Andrew Holland was a public tragedy.
I have worked with County elected officials and department heads to implement reforms intended to prevent similar incidents from occurring. To date, we have implemented thirteen significant changes to improve the treatment of inmates with mental health issues at County Jail.
The Holland family suffered a tragic loss. However, after I voted to implement these reforms and pay a $5 million medical malpractice insurance settlement to the Holland family, I find it disconcerting that the Holland Family Alliance would make a $40,000 contribution to my political opponent and question my commitment to serving the constituents of the 4th District.
Voters in the 4th District should be concerned that until the publication of a Letter to the Editor in the Tribune, my opponent chose to withhold the identity of a campaign donor who provided him with a single, one-time contribution equal to more than 83 percent of all monetary contributions he reported on his most recent Form 460. This cloaking of a massive campaign contribution represents anything but the ‘transparency’ he invokes.
I will continue to work on behalf of the constituents in the 4th District and am committed to ensuring communication and coordination among the County’s agencies in order to prevent a similar event from occurring again.
Jimmy Paulding has released the following statement:
Like many in the community, I am deeply disturbed by what happened to Andrew Holland. If I were on the Board of Supervisors when this happened, I would have done everything in my power to ensure that something like this would never happen again. The Hollands believe that my opponent Lynn Compton participated in a coverup of Andrew Holland’s death at the county jail. They support me because they believe I will act in the best interests of everyone in our community – with complete accountability – and not be beholden to party agenda or special interests. Out of respect for the Holland family, I left it up to them to make the decision as to when they felt comfortable publicly disclosing their support for me. Although I have acted in complete accordance with the law, Lynn Compton claims I was not transparent because I did not immediately disclose the Holland family’s donation, choosing instead to respect their wishes. However, it is Compton who is full of hypocrisy because – while she claims to stand on some high horse – she herself has not disclosed any of her large donors within the same timeframe. If the voters want transparency, vote Compton out."
ORIGINAL STORY – The family of Andrew Holland, an Atascadero man with schizophrenia who died last year after being restrained in a chair for 46 hours at the San Luis Obispo County Jail, is backing a challenger for Fourth District supervisor.
Tavener Holland, Andrew’s cousin and spokesperson for the Holland Family Alliance, says the group is proud to endorse Jimmy Paulding, who is running in the June 5 Primary Election against San Luis Obispo County District Four Supervisor Lynn Compton.
"It is time that the Holland Family publicly announce that we were the donors who anonymously matched a $40,000 fundraising effort for Jimmy Paulding, which eventually allowed him to raise more than $112,000 over a two-and-a-half-week period," Tavener Holland said in a statement. "The way our elected officials, including the Board of Supervisors, handled the tragic death of Andrew Holland is deeply disturbing. We need elected officials who are accountable to the people, take responsibility for their actions, and will not mislead the public."
"We are supporting Jimmy Paulding because he is an honest man and wants to see justice just as much as we do. Even though we are a longstanding Republican family and traditionally vote accordingly, Lynn Compton has failed our family and our community," Carty Holland, Andrew’s father, said in a statement.
The Holland Family Alliance claims Compton saw the jail surveillance video of Andrew’s treatment and death and "made no effort to correct the record, opting instead to provide political cover for Sheriff Parkinson and District Attorney Dan Dow."
The Holland family has already donated a total of $50,000 to the challengers of Sheriff Parkinson and District Attorney Dow.
KSBY News has reached out to Supervisor Compton for comment. This story will be updated with any statement she may provide.
Related content:
- Exclusive: SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson talks about the death of jail inmate Andrew Holland
- Video published showing final moments of SLO County Jail inmate’s life
- Parents of SLO County inmate who died: ‘It was more than neglect. It was torture’
- Coroner: SLO County Jail inmate died shortly after being restrained for nearly two days
- SLO County announces $5 million settlement, jail changes overdeathof inmate Andrew Holland
- SLO County officials, sheriff’s office working to improve jail conditions for mentally ill inmates
