Jimmy Paulding or Adam Verdin? Here’s our choice for South County supervisor | Opinion
When Jimmy Paulding was sworn in as District 4 supervisor in 2023, just like that, San Luis Obispo County changed for the better.
Paulding joined fellow Democrats Bruce Gibson and Dawn Ortiz-Legg in voting to reverse a string of bad policy decisions by the conservative board previously been in power.
The new board got rid of a gerrymandered map. It rejoined the countywide waste management agency. It allowed county residents to switch from PG&E to Central Coast Community Energy. And it repealed an ordinance that allowed donors to contribute up to $25,000 to county candidates. (The limit is now $5,900.)
Now, with the District 4 seat up for election again this year, many San Luis Obispo County voters fear the Board of Supervisors could swing back in the other direction, depending on the outcome of this race.
Paulding faces what appears to be a serious challenge from Adam Verdin, a first-time candidate for public office.
Verdin is well-known in the South County, where he operates a popular restaurant in Oceano. He’s also an attorney and a private pilot and is actively involved with several local nonprofits.
He is unabashedly upfront about being pro-housing and is supported by local developers who have made several large donations to his campaign.
To many Paulding supporters, that factor alone makes him unelectable, though to YIMBYS (”yes in my backyard”) he represents hope.
We’ve been following Verdin’s campaign for months and found him approachable and down to earth, with a sincere desire to help those struggling in today’s economy.
He comes across as a moderate Republican, a Katcho Achadjian, possibly, or a Paul Teixeira.
He could be a good fit for the 4th District and for the Board of Supervisors, but some of his positions give us pause.
He supported the politically manipulated Patten map, for example, and his election flyers recycle the same old nonsense accusing Paulding of being out to destroy Proposition 13 that we saw during former Supervisor Lynn Compton’s campaigns.
County supervisors do not have the power to change Prop. 13. End of story.
At this point in time, we remain wary about the damage the last board caused, and we cannot support the possibility of another similar power shift that does not represent the needs and wants of the majority of SLO County voters.
An endorsement — and an expectation
So for District 4 supervisor, we endorse Jimmy Paulding, and not only because he is the safer choice. He has also made notable progress, both on District 4 and countywide issues. Some examples:
He successfully pushed for funding for a sheriff’s substation in Nipomo — a project that had been hopelessly stalled for decades.
He was instrumental in passing a noise ordinance that made it easier to issue citations to late-night partiers — to the relief of their neighbors.
He lobbied to replace worn-out playground equipment at Oceano Memorial Park.
And he helped develop policies in response to the presence of federal immigration officers on our streets.
He’s been tenacious, hard-working, and he knows the county inside and out.
But our endorsement comes with an expectation. So, far there has been sluggish progress, at best, on affordable housing. At times, Paulding has been more of an obstructionist than facilitator.
Disparaging for-profit developers has got to end
Increasing the supply of affordable housing has been one of Paulding’s main talking points in every one of his political campaigns. He is a fan of accessory dwelling units and infill housing, but large developments — projects that could really move the needle — don’t get much love from him.
One of his biggest decisions — perhaps the biggest of his political career to date — was to vote against the Dana Reserve, a 1,242-unit housing project in Nipomo that features various housing types, including affordable units.
Paulding says he supported a scaled-down project favored by the community, but that was an eleventh-hour proposal drafted by the opposition. It was more about paying lip service to compromising than actually negotiating in good faith.
We take even greater issue with Paulding’s disparaging attitude toward some for-profit developers he has accused of trying to “build out” SLO County — implying there would be no oak tree left standing if they had their way.
It would be one thing if local developers were seeking permits to build AI data centers or Amazon warehouses. They are not. They are trying to build the very thing we need the most: housing.
We do need to encourage them to build the smaller, more affordable units we lack. As we’ve said many times, we don’t need another golf-course resort where a million-dollar home is considered a bargain.
And if there are areas that should absolutely be off-limits to development, we need to act now to preserve them, as was done with the Pismo Preserve.
But broad-brushing developers as callous, money-grubbing, out-of-towners seeking to pave over San Luis Obispo County is an outdated trope that helped land California in this housing crisis in the first place, by persuading elected officials to vote against projects to appease their voters, often to the detriment of younger generations coming up.
Elected officials must be willing to work with developers to get the best projects for our communities, and treating them like pariahs is a weird way to go about doing that.
Paulding has successfully tackled several other issues with success and deserves a second term to prove he can deliver his promise on affordable housing.
The Tribune Editorial Board urges voters in District 4 to reelect Jimmy Paulding.