SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) - The hotly contested race for San Luis Obispo County District 4 Supervisor is nearing a conclusion with Election Day now just a day away.
Two candidates vying for the seat the represents much of South San Luis Obispo County, are incumbent Jimmy Paulding of Arroyo Grande, who is also the current Board Chair, and challenger Adam Verdin, an Oceano businessman, attorney and community volunteer.
For nearly a year since both candidates announced their intentions to run last summer, they have been involved in a spirited race that has included accusations of campaign violations, misleading advertisements and questionable donation sources.
The two candidates recently sat down with News Channel 3-12 and were asked the same series of questions regarding the issues, the District, the County and other related topics.
At the top of the interview, both Paulding and Verdin were asked why they have chosen to run for the seat.
"I'm running for reelection because I love serving this community," said Paulding. "It has been the honor and privilege of my life to do this job to serve the community that I grew up in and I hope to continue to do it for another four years."
"I think it's important for people to understand that this is the first time I've ever run for office," said Verdin. "I am not a career politician and I don't aspire to be a politician, per se, but I do enjoy solving problems on behalf of the community. I have a record of doing that, and a lot of the nonprofit work that we've done, and I think we could do a better job serving our community. It is incumbent on every generation to leave this place with as much opportunity as we had when we grew up here and that's the basic premise of why I'm running."
Each candidate was followed up with a second question asking why they feel they are the best choice to fill the seat?
"I actually have experience doing exactly what I just described," said Verdin. "I think I have a very different life experience than my opponent, although we both grew up here. We built a business here. I grew up in a family restaurant. My wife has started a business here. We've been deeply involved in our community and I think that's a real distinction between myself and my opponent."
"I think I'm the best choice for this job because I bring a set of skills and experience that my opponent doesn't have," said Paulding. "I used to work in the private sector, so I have a business mentality. I run a small business, but I also served on the city council for four years in Arroyo Grande and I've been serving for three-and-a-half years at the Board of Supervisors, and we are getting stuff done, and I think that track record of delivering results speaks for itself."
The third question posed was to describe the most important issues currently facing San Luis Obispo County.
"As I go door to door, one of the things that keeps really coming up is growth and development, especially in the community of Nipomo," said Paulding. "We're seeing a lot of growth without the services and infrastructure to support that growth, and so I think it's really important that we have somebody who's fighting for the community, who's really trying to be a strong voice for the community to make sure that we balance the need for affordable workforce housing with the infrastructure that we also need here in the community. Other key issues would be the need for securing a reliable source of water for the future and I've been proud to champion a regional ocean desalination project, that I hope to deliver over the next decade. Public safety is always has always been my top priority. Being able to secure the $14 million for the Nipomo sheriff substation and seeing that project under construction next year. Also increasing the staffing for our firefighters have been things that I've focused on really made a budget priority."
"I would say infrastructure accountability and transparency," said Verdin. " I think infrastructure, so focus on the basics. Road maintenance. Repairing of our bridges. This is just a basic function of government, and out of $1 billion budget, we're spending about $6.2, $6.3 million a year on road maintenance. I think that's by definition, inadequate, so really, reprioritizing road maintenance and and infrastructure because it touches on everything. It touches on public service. It touches on emergency response. It touches on on supporting our businesses. I think that's a just a reprioritization of how the county is spending the money. I think the other thing that people are looking for is accountability of how their tax payer money is being spent within the county. That's the basic thing. Then if you go by region Oceano, where I grew up, or Oceana Fire Station has been closed now for a couple of years. We really need to be working with the Five Cities Fire Authority and get that fire station open again. You look at Nipomo. We have some serious traffic issues. There's been a lot of what I would call unmanaged growth in the last three-and-a-half years in Nipomo and we've got to focus on that, and if you look at the city of Arroyo Grande, they're right now facing down the prospect of facing some significant water hikes. The incumbent has ran on new sources of water. He said he was going to provide that. It has not been provided and now now we're looking at the consequences of that."
Another question asked the two candidate to describe the differences they see between themselves and their opponent.
"I come from a place where we we measure we measure ourselves on how we get things done and not how much we talk about getting things done," said Verdin. "We have a very successful restaurant. My wife has a very successful advertising marketing business, and I view doing this job not as another job or to keep a job, but to do a good job for the on behalf of the community. My priority is the community. My priority isn't keeping a job."
"I think the key difference is one based on integrity," said Paulding. "So much of our job is reviewing land use projects and I don't take money from real estate developers because I don't want their money influencing my votes. My opponent has been very clear that he has no trouble with that. You look at who's backing his campaign, that's a lot of real estate developers, a lot of out of town money. I really don't think that that reflects the kind of character and integrity that we want in our county supervisor."
District 4 in San Luis Obispo County represents Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, Oceano, Huasna, Edna Valley, California Valley and other unincorporated portions of the South County.
Voting for the seat will be held during the Primary Election on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
A candidate will need to capture a majority of votes in June to win the election. If not, a runoff will take place during the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.
The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.
Hotly Contested SLO County District 4 Supervisor Race Reaches Final Stretch News Channel 3-12.
Hence then, the article about hotly contested slo county district 4 supervisor race reaches final stretch was published today ( ) and is available on News channel ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Hotly Contested SLO County District 4 Supervisor Race Reaches Final Stretch )
Also on site :
- U.K. Music Tech Firms Face Growth Investment Crisis, “AI Raises Stakes for Gov’t Action,” Study Warns
- How Lebanon’s Best Chance to Disarm Hezbollah Failed
- Psychologists Say if You Prefer Cats Over Dogs, You Likely Have These 7 Traits