Gov. Newsom selects appointee to fill Supervisor Adam Hill’s SLO County board seat
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed a San Luis Obispo County planning commissioner to replace Adam Hill as District 3 supervisor.
Dawn Ortiz-Legg confirmed the appointment to The Tribune on Friday afternoon, saying Newsom called her personally to tell her the news.
Hill’s seat on the county Board of Supervisors has remained vacant since Aug. 6, when he died at his Shell Beach home. He had represented District 3 since 2008 and was re-elected to the board in March after winning his primary contest against challenger Stacy Korsgaden.
Ortiz-Legg will serve two years of Hill’s four-year term, and the seat will be up for grabs during the 2022 general election. Her swearing-in date has yet to be scheduled, a county news release said.
Ortiz-Legg was part of a field of local leaders who applied to the governor’s office to be considered for the District 3 seat. Korsgaden, Grover Beach City Councilwoman Mariam Shah and San Luis Obispo City Councilwoman Erica Stewart were among the other candidates vying for the position.
Who is Dawn Ortiz-Legg?
Ortiz-Legg has served on the county Planning Commission since 2018, when Hill appointed her, and currently works as an enterprise agency liaison for PG&E.
She has also been a part of the San Luis Obispo County Economic Vitality Corporation, the SLO International Film Festival and the San Luis Obispo County Council of Governments Citizen’s Transportation Committee, the county news release said.
“Ortiz-Legg has a background in public affairs, regulatory compliance, and project management,” the release said. “Since 2010, she has supported a portfolio of utility-scale solar projects in San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Barbara and Kern counties.”
She was a candidate in the 35th District state assembly race in 2016 but was defeated by current Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham.
Reached by phone, Ortiz-Legg said she’s “honored to be selected” from a solid field of contenders.
“I was one of many eligible qualified candidates who will have a great future and I will continue to work together with,” Ortiz-Legg said.
She said she recognizes it’s different to be appointed to the supervisor role, rather than elected. But Ortiz-Legg’s goal is to “be something for everybody” by being accessible and listening to all her constituents.
“I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work,” Ortiz-Legg said.
She said she wants to help Central Coast families and also “(lay) the groundwork for the next generation to come.”
Ortiz-Legg said it feels “surreal in a sense” to be filling the seat previously occupied by Hill, who she’s still mourning as an elected official and a friend.
“I think we’re similar in many ways, but we’re different, too,” she said.
Central Coast leaders react to appointment
Local leaders began to learn of Ortiz-Legg’s appointment on Friday afternoon, with some calling to congratulate her on the news.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Dawn Ortiz-Legg in the past, in various capacities,” said District 4 Supervisor Lynn Compton in a statement. “I look forward to continuing that relationship in her new role, and have already called and congratulated her.”
Assemblyman Cunningham told The Tribune he supports Ortiz-Legg’s appointment for the supervisor seat.
“That’s the seat that represents Diablo Canyon, and I know Dawn will do everything she can for the local workforce and to create jobs,” he said. “I will do everything I can to work together with her to put our residents first.”
District 2 Supervisor Bruce Gibson said he’s worked with Ortiz-Legg on the Planning Commission and thinks she’ll do a “fine job” as supervisor. He said it will be good to “have the board back to full strength” with her presence.
“She’s intelligent, she’s hardworking and she’s deeply committed to public service,” Gibson said.
District 1 Supervisor John Peschong and District 5 Supervisor Debbie Arnold said they were happy to receive the news of Ortiz-Legg’s appointment.
Peschong called her a “good person” who would fill District 3’s leadership gap and represent the county’s small businesses well.
Arnold said Ortiz-Legg’s familiarity with county staff and procedures will be helpful as she joins the leadership team.
“I feel like it should be a fairly smooth transition,” she said.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 3:36 PM.
