Commission dismisses SLO County supervisor’s campaign donation complaint
The California Fair Political Practices Commission has dismissed San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Jimmy Paulding’s complaint alleging his District 4 opponent Adam Verdin broke campaign finance rules.
According to a letter shared with The Tribune, the commission told Paulding on Wednesday that it would “not pursue an enforcement action in this matter” after completing a review of the complaint.
On Sunday, Paulding accused the Oceano business owner of taking twice the county’s legal limit of campaign donations from SLO County developer Covelop, Inc.
According to campaign finance records, the developer donated $5,900 to Verdin’s primary election campaign and $5,900 to his general election campaign, adding up to $11,800 in total.
In San Luis Obispo County, donations to electoral campaigns from individuals, businesses and committees are capped at $5,900 per election.
The FPPC explained that it would not pursue Paulding’s complaint because, “Under the Political Reform Act, primary and general elections are considered separate elections and contribution limits are applicable per election,” Kendall L.D. Bonebrake, the chief of the commission’s enforcement division, said in the letter.
Paulding had also filed a complaint with the SLO County District Attorney’s Office.
In a Thursday response to Paulding, District Attorney Dan Dow said his office had closed the complaint after “having found no evidence” to support his allegation. The DA’s Office arrived at its decision after reviewing local law, the FPPC’s dismissal letter and Paulding’s statement in New Times, Dow said in the letter.
District 4 challenger calls complaint ‘political theatrics’
Verdin said he considered Paulding’s complaint to be a smear campaign against him.
“I think you had a political person that wants to keep his job, using the FPPC complaint to smsear his opponent,” he told The Tribune.
Verdin said he never had any doubt that he acted on the right side of the law. He added that he was glad to see the complaint dismissed quickly — though not before media outlets across the county published headlines about the allegation.
“When you have elected officials resorting to political theatrics and false accusations, it doesn’t just hurt a campaign, it erodes public trust, and it encourages good people from engaging in local government,” he said.
Verdin said he now looked forward to an apology from Paulding.
Paulding told The Tribune he would not apologize to Verdin, and he said had no regrets about filing the complaint.
“This is about transparency for the voters of District Four, and I’m glad that I filed this complaint, because it’s creating that transparency.”
He said the heightened scrutiny that followed the complaint shed light on his opponent’s many campaign contributions from developers, as well as made Verdin publicly commit to returning the money if the District 4 race is decided in the primary election.
“We’re seeing all these large contributions going to Mr. Verdin, and it’s very clear that people are going to have two options: the candidate that is working to represent the citizens of South County and the needs of our streets and neighborhoods, or the candidate who is working for developer special interests? And I think the answer is pretty clear,” Paulding said.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 4:08 PM.
