My opponent has been spreading lots of misinformation about me. Get the facts about the battery storage project, my support for Proposition 13, the salary increase I declined, and how I’ve made roads a priority.
For years, real estate developers had a friend in the District 4 Supervisor. They donated more than $150,000 to elect former Supervisor Lynn Compton and keep her in power. And during that time, Nipomo and the rest of South County saw unprecedented growth. It’s hard to name a housing project that Lynn Compton didn’t vote to approve.
I first ran for District 4 Supervisor in 2018 because I knew we needed someone who wasn’t beholden to developers. Yes, we need housing, but that doesn’t mean sprawling luxury developments are the answer. We need to preserve the hills, oak woodlands, and farmland that make this place special while focusing on building housing that our families, seniors, and workforce can actually afford.
I ran on a commitment that I would judge every housing project fairly and independently and only vote to approve a project if it was right for South County. That’s why I pledged not to accept campaign contributions from real estate developers—a promise I have kept since 2018.
Developers didn’t like that, and they spent tens of thousands of dollars to defeat me. They knew they couldn’t buy my vote.
After I was elected in 2023, they especially didn’t like that I voted against the Dana Reserve project, one of the largest and most controversial housing projects in South County history. A project that increases the Nipomo population by 25%, adding more than 1400 homes and requiring the removal of 3000 native oak trees was clearly not the right fit for a community that needs more investment in roads, parks, and public safety.
Now those same developers that controlled South County before I was elected are desperately fighting to get the District 4 seat back, and they’ve found their perfect candidate in Adam Verdin. Someone who doesn’t have a problem accepting tens of thousands of dollars from them. Someone who used to work for the Dana Reserve developer. And most importantly, someone who will rubber stamp any housing project they put forward regardless of its impacts on the surrounding community.
I refuse to let South County go back to a time when developers controlled our future. We need someone who will focus on real affordability issues but also isn’t afraid to say “No” to a project if it isn’t right for our community.
That’s been my position from day one, and why I’m running for re-election. I hope you’ll join me in this fight.
I’m Jimmy Paulding and I ask for your vote on or before June 2, 2026.
Jimmy’s opponent has claimed that Jimmy helped get the Caballero Battery Storage Project approved in Nipomo. That’s false, and the “evidence” he’s sharing are from emails that were sent more than a year after the project had already been approved by the Planning Commission in June 2023.
Here are the facts:
Jimmy never voted on the battery storage project. And he had zero communication with the developer until after the project was approved.
So during a radio interview when Jimmy said the project “wasn’t even on my radar” before the project was approved, that was the truth. The project had not received any public interest or opposition, and he not been involved with it in any capacity.
Listen to the full Dave Congalton radio interview here (discussion starts around 13:53)
In December 2024 — nearly 18 months after the project had been fully approved by the Planning Commission — the project developer contacted Jimmy’s office with permitting questions. Jimmy’s staff helped facilitate communication with County departments to ensure timely responses. That is a standard constituent service he provides to property owners, businesses, and residents across the district on a near weekly basis.
Here’s what Jimmy’s opponent doesn’t want you to know. Email records show that the battery storage project had been shared with former Supervisor Lynn Compton as far back 2019, yet she did nothing to alert the community or try to stop it.
If Adam Verdin believes Jimmy had a responsibility to warn the community about this project, why didn’t Lynn Compton—who has endorsed Adam—do so anytime during the 3 years she knew about the project while she was in office?
After the Moss Landing fire in January 2025, people in our community understandably began raising concerns about battery storage. Jimmy responded by improving the County’s notification standards for energy projects, helped organize additional safety training at the facility, and advocated for state legislation that has since increased battery safety requirements.
What did Adam Verdin do? He said he doesn’t have anything against battery storage projects and even declined to say he would have voted against the project if he had had a chance to do so (Dave Congalton Radio Interview 4/28/26).
Jimmy has always supported the taxpayer protections of Proposition 13. He’s also voted to ensure that support for Prop 13 was included in the County’s Legislative Platform every year he’s been a County Supervisor.
Adam Verdin claims the Legislative Platform Jimmy voted for in 2023 didn’t support Prop 13. That’s nonsense. Here’s the exact language from the platform:
“Oppose any legislation or initiative that proposes to modify Proposition 13. Specifically, oppose any proposal that would weaken the homeowner protections afforded by Proposition 13 by increasing or eliminating the 2% cap on annual property tax increases for homeowners. Oppose any legislation or proposal that would establish a so-called ‘Split Roll’ for property tax, which would thereby reduce protections for commercial property owners.”
Clear as day. Jimmy fully supports Prop 13 and always has.
It’s been suggested that Jimmy “voted himself a 26% pay raise,” but the truth is that Jimmy’s pay has stayed virtually the same the entire time he’s been in office.
While he voted to approve a salary increase for future County Supervisors back in 2023, Jimmy declined any raise for himself.
Former District 5 Supervisor Debbie Arnold didn’t even decline her own pay raise, and she received the Central Coast Taxpayers Association’s Hero of the Taxpayer Award!
Don’t believe it? Check out the records from Transparent California.
By declining the raise, Jimmy saved SLO County taxpayers over $65,000 during his first term.
And this isn’t the first time he’s declined a raise. As a member of the Arroyo Grande City Council, Jimmy voted against a council pay raise—twice.
Maintaining our roads and infrastructure has always been a critical responsibility of local government. Jimmy has made sure it’s a priority for the Board of Supervisors. The County has maintained consistent funding for our roads since 2017, and the data shows our Pavement Condition Index or PCI (essentially our road report card) has gone up in recent years.
Importantly, South County has seen big improvements since 2021:
That’s possible because the County has repaved 227 miles of roads since the year Jimmy was elected.
And when the Board received a recent report showing more funding was needed for the Road program, Jimmy directed staff to bring back a plan to increase funding in next year’s budget so we can keep our pavement program fully funded.
