Your guide to the race for California’s 30th Assembly District
Three candidates are competing in the race to represent San Luis Obispo County in the California State Assembly.
The eventual winner will serve the 30th Assembly District, which includes most of SLO County and parts of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
Incumbent Democrat Dawn Addis will face off against Democrat Susannah Brown, the former chair of the South County Chambers of Commerce, and Republican Shannon Kessler, the founder of the local Save Girls Sports campaign.
The primary election for the Central Coast seat will be held June 2. The top two finishers will make it onto the November ballot.
Where is the district?
The 30th Assembly District contains parts of Santa Cruz, Monterey and SLO counties, stretching from Santa Cruz and running down the Central Coast through Pismo Beach and Arroyo Grande.
Most of San Luis Obispo County falls into the district, besides Nipomo, Callender and other southern unincorporated areas, which are in District 37.
Who are the candidates?
Addis was initially elected to the District 30 seat in 2022 and re-elected in 2024. She currently chairs the budget health subcommittee and the Central Coast caucus and sits on the Ocean Protection Council.
The former special education teacher first entered politics in 2018 when she was elected to the Morro Bay City Council. During her time in the Legislature, she has authored bills to make utility rates more transparent and fund research to study the impacts of offshore wind projects. Addis also wrote legislation to end the civil statute of limitations for minors who experienced sexual abuse.
Kessler — who’s running as a Republican — is an Arroyo Grande resident, parent and small business owner. She’s also the founder of Save Girls’ Sports Central Coast, a group that advocates against the participation of transgender student athletes in girls’ sports and locker rooms.
In the past, she was on the Arroyo Grande Parks and Recreation Commission and currently serves on the SLO County Republican Central Committee, the Pismo Coast Association of Realtors and the Local Government Relations Committee, she previously told The Tribune. She is a licensed real estate broker and co-owner of Kessler Construction.
Brown, a Democrat, works as a data scientist and serves as an honorary commander with Space Force Delta 30 at Vandenberg Space Force Base. She chaired the South County Chambers of Commerce in 2025. She also currently serves on the Elementary School Site Council, which focuses on school planning and accountability, according to her campaign website.
Brown — whose husband works in operations at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant — said she’s a strong proponent for expanding renewable energy resources and modernizing California’s electric grid.
Who is funding the race?
Addis has raised just over $500,000 for her 2026 Assembly campaign, according to the California Secretary of State’s website.
Her largest donors include the Association of California School Administrators PAC, which contributed $23,600 to her campaign, along with Western Dental Services Inc. and SEIU’s California State Council Small Contributor Committee, who each chipped in $11,800.
Kessler has received around $144,000 in campaign contributions, according to the most recent finance records. Her campaign has mostly been self-funded by $130,100 in personal loans. Individual donors made up the rest of her funds.
So far, campaign finance records show that Brown has only raised $5,000 from a single contributor — herself.
Who else is supporting the candidates?
Addis has been endorsed by SLO County Congressmen Jimmy Panetta and Salud Carbajal, as well as Central Coast legislators John Laird, Monique Limón and Gregg Hart.
SLO County Supervisors Jimmy Paulding and Bruce Gibson have also backed her campaign, along with a lengthy list of California-wide organizations and local leaders across the county.
Kessler has received endorsements from the California Republican Party and the SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara county Republican Party chapters.
Former SLO County Supervisors Debbie Arnold and Lynn Compton have also endorsed Kessler, along with other local leaders.
Brown has not publicized any endorsements as of March 31.
Previous Tribune coverage on the 30th Assembly District race
- Save Girls’ Sports organizer to challenge Dawn Addis for state Assembly seat
- Another Democrat enters race for Central Coast state Assembly seat
This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Your guide to the race for California’s 30th Assembly District."
