Local business owner announces run for SLO County supervisor
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Business owner Adam Verdin launches District 4 campaign against incumbent.
- Verdin cites leadership, nonprofit service and local business ties in platform.
- District 4 contest marks first challenged race ahead of 2026 SLO election.
Another candidate has thrown his name into the hat for a seat on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, going up against a sitting member of the board.
Local business owner and community leader Adam Verdin from near Arroyo Grande announced his campaign for the District 4 seat, currently held by Supervisor Jimmy Paulding, in a news release Monday.
Paulding announced his bid for reelection on June 26. Verdin’s campaign announcement marks the first contested race for a board seat.
Local business owner, community volunteer announces campaign for county supervisor
Verdin is an owner of Old Juan’s Cantina in Oceano, a family business founded by his mother and father, John “Old Juan” Verdin, more than 40 years ago, according to the restaurant’s website.
The candidate is also chief pilot at MarcAir, a private charter airline service in San Luis Obispo, according to Verdin’s LinkedIn profile.
He is also a longtime community volunteer and board member for many nonprofit organizations.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he currently sits on multiple boards of directors, including Parks California, South County Chambers of Commerce, 5Cities Homeless Coalition and Jack’s Helping Hand, a nonprofit that supports children with cancer. He was also previously a member of the SLO County Airport Land Use Commission, according to his profile.
Verdin has written at least six opinion pieces for New Times and five opinion pieces for Cal Coast News, including multiple pieces commenting on Paulding’s leadership and endorsement of former Oceano Community Services District Director candidate Charles Varni.
Verdin kicked off his campaign with an announcement event on Monday at Café Andreini in Arroyo Grande.
A few issues that are important to the new candidate include agricultural and environmental protections and affordable living.
“There’s a lot of great work happening to create ‘head of household’ jobs in our region. But sometimes we forget the second half of that phrase: the house,” Verdin told The Tribune in an email statement. “If we’re serious about creating opportunity for working families, we need to make sure they can afford to live here — not just work here.”
Verdin is the third candidate to announce his campaign, following Paulding and Jim Dantona for the District 2 seat currently held by Bruce Gibson, who isn’t running for reelection.
The primary election will be held on June 2, 2026.
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 9:56 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Adam Verdin has written at least six opinion articles for New Times.
