SLO County Supervisor Lynn Compton plans re-election run — setting up a 2018 rematch
Supervisor Lynn Compton is preparing to run for a third term on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors — a campaign that would again pit her against the candidate she beat by just 60 votes in 2018.
Compton, who has represented District 4 since 2015, is “launching her re-election campaign” with a fundraising event on Sunday at Peacock Farms in Arroyo Grande, according to an email from Randall Jordan, chairman of the Republican Party of San Luis Obispo County.
“This is a great opportunity to meet and learn how Lynn sees the future for San Luis Obispo County,” Jordan wrote in the email.
The event will feature speaker Steven Hayward, the climate change science critic behind the movie “An Inconvenient Truth ... Or Convenient Fiction?”
Compton declined to discuss her re-election plans with The Tribune. County election records show she filed her Form 501 candidate intention statement on June 10.
Compton, Paulding will again compete for District 4 seat
Compton’s campaign kickoff means the June 2022 District 4 race will be a rematch with Jimmy Paulding, who lost by a tiny margin three years ago.
District 4 is made up of South County cities and communities, including Arroyo Grande, Oceano and Nipomo.
Paulding — who went on to become a member of the Arroyo Grande City Council — announced his campaign for the county Board of Supervisors seat in April.
The 2018 race was an expensive and contentious one, with both Compton and Paulding raking in more than $200,000 in donations, including money from outside District 4.
Since 2016, a three-member conservative board majority has maintained a voting block over the two-member liberal minority.
That dynamic will be up for grabs in 2022, when Supervisor Bruce Gibson also must run for re-election, along with Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg.
Gibson has announced his intention to run for a fifth term.
Ortiz-Legg — who Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed to succeed late Supervisor Adam Hill after his death in August 2020 — will also need to win an election to keep her seat.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 12:33 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Supervisor Lynn Compton filed her Form 501 candidate intention statement with the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office on June 10.
