This SLO attorney once sued the clerk-recorder. Now he’s running to lead the elections office
An attorney who sued the Clerk-Recorder’s Office on behalf of a supervisor candidate is now running to become San Luis Obispo County’s top election official.
Stewart Jenkins of San Luis Obispo recently pulled petition papers to run for county clerk-recorder in June. Candidates will vie for the position in the first election since former Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong’s resignation.
Gong left his position in July 2021 to take a new job in the Bay Area following attacks on his integrity that included racist rhetoric.
Jenkins has no full-time clerking experience but previously lobbied the county Board of Supervisors to appoint him as Gong’s replacement. However, supervisors in October instead chose Elaina Cano, Santa Barbara County elections division manager, to serve as Clerk-Recorder through the end of 2022.
Jenkins told The Tribune he wants to be Clerk-Recorder because he thinks he can bring together a county that’s politically divided.
“I’ve represented Democrats, I’ve represented Republicans, I’ve represented independents in election matters through the years. And I’ve been involved in elections,” Jenkins said. “It seemed to me that I was uniquely positioned to be able to bring everybody into the process as a county clerk, in order to make sure that people can trust in their elections again.”
Efforts to sue Clerk-Recorder’s Office, repeal rental housing inspection program
Jenkins is a local figure known for representing a variety of clients and causes over the years — and for being a thorn in the side of people and institutions he opposes.
He was Supervisor Lynn Compton’s attorney during the 2018 election, when she faced off against current Arroyo Grande City Councilman Jimmy Paulding in a very tight race.
Jenkins and Chuck Bell, Compton’s other attorney, sued Gong to prevent him from allowing voters to fix mismatched signatures on mail-in ballots. A county Superior Court judge initially granted a restraining order preventing Gong from counting the ballots, but he later allowed elections staff to count the votes.
In 2017, Jenkins, Dan Knight and former San Luis Obispo City Councilman Dan Carpenter were involved in efforts to repeal San Luis Obispo’s rental inspection program. The trio gathered 7,000 signatures and forced a special election asking voters to put in place a policy that they claimed would foster “nondiscrimination in housing.”
The City Council had already ended the rental inspection program, and members worried the language in the law could endanger existing affordable housing programs. The special election was projected to cost the city at least $119,000, and voters overwhelmingly rejected the policy — with more than 70% casting ballots against it.
Jenkins’ case for becoming clerk-recorder
Although Jenkins has never managed an election, he believes the skills he’s gained as an elections attorney, his work at polling places and registering voters and his public service at the Port San Luis Harbor Commission would all qualify him for the Clerk-Recorder job.
“There’s nothing in the management of the Clerk-Recorder’s Office that I’m not capable and competent and don’t have — you know, I’ve got the experience to do that,” Jenkins said. “I think it would be a myth to suggest otherwise.”
He also wants to “(bring) everybody into the process.”
Among his initiatives would be to “reestablish the North County office of the Clerk-Recorder’s Office” and open branches in the South County and on the North Coast, “so that people could be more connected.”
When asked if voters should make assumptions about his political views based on his decision to represent Compton in 2018, Jenkins said he’s been an attorney for all kinds of people.
“I‘ve been a lifelong Democrat,” Jenkins said. “I’ve represented the Democratic Party. I have represented Republicans, because what’s important about election law is election lawyers protect the lifeblood of our democratic republic. And if we don’t have fair and honest elections, we aren’t going to have a republic. We aren’t going to have a democracy. Some people who want to find an issue may suggest mythical things and make up stuff. I’m not going to do that.”
Jenkins lobbied for clerk-recorder appointment
When supervisors were selecting a replacement for Gong, Jenkins pushed the board to be considered during public comment periods.
Most members of the selection committee excluded Jenkins from their final candidate list, only picking applicants who had experience running elections.
But Bell, who represented Compton on the selection committee, suggested advancing Jenkins. Ken Hampian, a former San Luis Obispo city manager, strongly objected to his inclusion.
“In my 40 years of reviewing applications for professional, apolitical, nonpartisan jobs, a highly political application, like the one submitted by Mr. Jenkins, would be a big red flag,” Hampian said.
Some supervisors also wanted to see more candidates outside those who had election management experience.
Supervisor Debbie Arnold expressed frustration that the selection committee didn’t send the board the seven finalists they originally requested, even though the group would have included candidates like Jenkins, who has not run an election before.
After a couple of dramatic hearings, the board ultimately interviewed only Cano and Helen Nolan, a deputy clerk-recorder who led the office immediately following Gong’s departure.
Cano said during her interview before the Board of Supervisors that she would run for Clerk-Recorder this year if members appointed her to the office. Clerk-Recorder’s Office campaign finance records show Cano filed a Form 501 candidate intention statement on Nov. 29.
Jenkins said he thinks he would be a better Clerk-Recorder than Cano for a variety of reasons, one of which would be his intention to “conduct the office in a more independent way,” separate from the Board of Supervisors.
“I don’t believe in outrage,” Jenkins said. “I believe in bringing people in. I don’t think that the County Government Center should be isolated.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 9:00 AM.
