Supervisor Dan Miller, who is currently seeking reelection to his third district seat, has been a staunch opponent of marijuana in our community.

Dan Miller Compassionate?

Miller was a big supporter of Measure W, reportedly telling at least one group of citizens they would be stupid not to support the measure. He was silent when the Nevada County Republican Party claimed a young boy who needs pot to control his seizures was being exploited to promote medical marijuana.

But as Miller proved in an “Other Voices” column in today’s edition of The Union, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

“Realistically, the cannabis industry is here to stay, and they have expressed their desire to be recognized as part of our community,” he wrote in The Union. “…their sincerity could be demonstrated by financially supporting one of our most pressing needs, which is the homeless.”

In just two sentences, Miller pivoted from opposition to acceptance and placed the onus of being responsible members of the community on the pot people. Such a sophisticated move suggests Miller had outside help in coming up with the idea, but no matter: The ball is squarely in the pot people’s court now.

Of course, Miller’s sudden concern for the homeless will surprise close observers of the local political scene. He writes farther down in the article that “Even though the county currently allocates more than $12 million of taxpayer funds toward homeless and low-income programs, it is clearly not adequate.”

I don’t recall Miller expressing such concerns when the budget for the currently fiscal year was before the Board of Supervisors. Maybe he can form an alliance with Supervisor Heidi Hall and the other alleged liberal on the board, Richard Anderson, to do more to address the problem.

Or maybe Miller just wants to look like a compassionate conservative. In a county that is more pink than red and voted for Obama and Clinton, you’re going to lose votes if you come across as a hard-line Trump supporter.