Local candidate in California holds hobo-themed fundraiser

A Republican candidate for San Luis Obispo County Supervisor, Lynn Compton, took the issue of homelessness lightly during a recent fundraising event that asked guests to come dressed in "hobo attire" and served "hobo stew."

Compton's campaign claimed that the hobo-themed party, which was held at a historic railroad station that has hosted other hobo-themed educational events in the past, was "a fun event" in which attendees could "dress in overalls and bring knapsacks on a stick."

The treasurer for Compton's opponent in the upcoming election charged Compton with callousness, asking, "Are you appalled, offended, and outraged by this disgusting lack of compassion for a segment of our county's population which Lynn Compton is supposedly campaigning to represent?"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Compton herself commented, "If people want to make it something it's not, they can do that, but there has been no intention anywhere along the way to make fun of anybody and this is to recognize the history and folklore of a depot."