If you own a gas station in Manteca — or plan to build one — you’re not jumping up and down with joy that the company Sam Walton launched in 1950 is planning to build a Super Walmart complete with fueling stations on the northwest corner of Atherton Drive and South Main Street.

The reason is simple.

Walmart uses gasoline as a way to snare retail dollars.

They more often than not sell it as a loss leader just like Costco does with its gas and roasted chicken.

As such, you can make a solid argument it is not a good thing for traditional gas station/convenience store combos.

Why this matters is the social media smear campaign.

It’s the one that make the innuendo that the only reason Gary Singh received campaign donations from gas station and/or convenience store owners during his successful 2022 run for mayor was to “buy influence.”

Forget the fact Singh grew up in the business via his father’s Manteca Mart store.

The family is part of a strong trade association involving liquor stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. Over the years that has allowed Singh to build relationships.

Heaven forbid candidates accept money from people they already know through how they make a living, their place of worship, and other associations.

So, let’s pick apart the bogus inferences being made on social media that Singh is the all-powerful knowing Wizard of Manteca and every cent donated to his campaign from all sources — including independent truckers — is done so with the expectation of buying influence.

If Singh was to use his office to benefit gas station owners — existing and those in the entitlement queue — he would have pulled out all the stops to get a gas station moratorium in place before Walmart submitted an application.

But the contention Singh is somehow the puppet of gas stations is even more ludicrous given the first 3.5 years he has been mayor.

If he was, then why didn’t he propose a moratorium in January of 2023?

Had Singh done that and secured council support to impose it, he would have been able to block at least 10 “future” gas stations including one that has since been built.

More competition dilutes the potential pool of gas customers as consumers have more options.

If gas station convenience store owners in 2022 were investing in their business instead of simply supporting someone they believed would do a good job as mayor, they certainly made a big mistake.

At the same time his pushing a moratorium on gas stations isn’t making him a lot of friends in the industry that don’t have skin in Manteca and could be precluded from doing so if he succeeds.

And let’s not forget no elected leader in Manteca has ever uttered the words “gas station moratorium” let alone push for it to the point the City Council on Aug. 18 will actually vote on such a proposal.

Are there the votes eventually for a permanent moratorium after? That’s highly unlikely at the moment.

There probably will be a “temporary moratorium” put in place to address issues such as location, placement relative to nearby neighborhoods, and requiring EV chargers be actually installed.

Singh — who supposedly is in the back pockets of gas station owners according to the people on social media that demand transparency while they hide behind (or under) pseudonyms— can’t win.

They argue Singh is somehow directly responsible for a surge in gas stations in recent years and are working overtime to tie it to his 2022 campaign contributions.

Then, when confronted with holes in that argument big enough for oil tankers to cruise through, they go to into full-blown chameleon mode.

Singh, instead is working to limit competition for the little guys conveniently forgetting not only did he leave the door open long enough for the 900-pound Gorilla that Walmart to sell retail gasoline in Manteca, but he worked behind the scenes to encourage Walmart to make a massive investment in Manteca.

Forget the fact Singh’s bottom line — and that of the council — is finding ways to protect neighborhoods while making sure Manteca continues to prosper.

It’s funny, but no one says a peep these days about Singh’s trucking industry donations, especially from independents.

Singh led the council charge to combat the proliferation of illegal truck parking throughout Manteca.

At one time, as many as 70 trucks on any given day were parked along streets such as Moffat and near interchanges.

Signage and enforcement Singh championed, ultimately cost truckers money as they now pay to park in truck yards.

Singh’s social media detractors don’t dare bring that up as it puts an even bigger hole in their effort to tar and feather the mayor with innuendos and outright lies.

There is no collusion going on save for that in the bowels of the Internet to smear Singh by innuendo.